Support NeoGAF

[Shoeless]

With the current audience climate in America, it's really not a huge surprise that a slow, ponderous, hard SF/Cyberpunk film that makes the audience work for it isn't going to do gangbusters theatrically.

I loved this movie, but I believe, like the first, it will find its home on home video, through word of mouth. This kind of movie was never going to be popular with a mainstream audience.

 

[Einchy]

Movies can only succeed relative to the audience they are made for. I enjoyed it, but this type of movie just doesn't cut it nowadays. To be successful, while adhering to its ideals, it had to be flawless, and that it was not.

That doesn't answer what I asked, so I'll ask it again: How does this movie not being for everyone mean that it's bad and that it deserved to bomb?

 

[SoundofSilence]

God I hate people who can only take things to extremes. If this is a disaster then what was Valerian which had a bigger budget and only had a $17 million weekend total?

Hell, I know plenty of people who refuse to watch anything with subtitles. They consider it too much work.

 

[Salty Rice]

No worries international gonna save americas mistakes like always.

 

[ronaldthump]

added in forbes' bit about budget to the OT. people don't seem to be responding to the whole article which is worth a read

The lesson boils down to budget. It’s not handwringing about audiences rejecting intelligent adult fare, and it’s not quite a rant about Netflix and VOD gobbling up adult moviegoers. If you want to make a sequel to Blade Runner, don’t make it so bloody expensive that it has to play like a sequel to Star Wars. That Blade Runner 2049 will outgross Blade Runner in the first weekend and still be a borderline flop says it all.

 

[hydruxo]

It's not that surprising if you think about it. Blade Runner bombed at the box office back in the day and this is a sequel to that 35 years later. As renowned as Blade Runner has become it's not a household franchise. Doesn't mean it's a bad movie because it flopped, the audience just wasn't as big as people thought. It's going to make a ton of cash off bluray/dvd sales.

 

[Fudgepuppy]

At a certain point during the making of it, I have a feeling the production companies were like "Yeah we can't market this, but it's a such a beautiful and poignant piece of art that we'll just gonna roll with it".

 

[Shaanyboi]

might have saved it from being a disaster. It does move at a glacial pace

Because when I think Blade Runner, I want a fast-paced action blockbuster

 

[Saint Gregory]

This doesn't bode well for Dune. I think the subject matter of that story would be even more difficult to get into and it's probably going to have an even longer runtime.

 

[DonShula]

Was almost no one in a Saturday 6ish showing... maybe 16 people total.

I’ll concede the movie probably didn’t need to be that long, but that’s hardly the reason people aren’t going to see it the first weekend. I didn’t even realize it was that long until I’d been sitting there for 90 minutes already.

 

[BlueTsunami]

People cant enjoy mood pieces without having the instant gratification of the main character selling meth, avoiding their DEA brother in law and saving a Goddamn failing marriage.

 

[Ushojax]

It was never going to be a smash hit, it's a sequel to a niche movie from 30 years ago that was never going to attract the plebs. I'm just thankful that it exists at all.

Studios release bombs all the time, at least this one brought some artistic credibility to the studio. Kudos to them.

 

[duckroll]

Weird, my theater on Saturday was completely sold out

Mine too, but I'm sure almost everyone in it told their friends not to watch it after that.

 

[SuperBanana]

I hope the strong reviews and word of mouth gives it good legs. Though the original didn't go that well in the cinema as well, right?

 

[HP_Wuvcraft]

Deserved. It was a bad movie tbh. I just cannot recommend a 2.5hrs movie like that to anybody but the biggest of cyberpunk fans.

I enjoyed it, but I feel awful for asking friends to come see it with me.

.... what? Like, what?

Okay, edgelord.

 

[Hyun Sai]

45 mn more than the first movie and around the same spacing ?

This better be as good as you guys are saying, especially when it's only available in fucking 3D in my city.

 

[ronaldthump]

Because when I think Blade Runner, I want a fast-paced action blockbuster

It does not have to be a fast-paced action blockbuster.

you don't have to have it move as slowly as it does or be as long.

 

[Slayven]

maybe the same nerds kept rebuying the blurays = wow there's so much interest in all the cuts!!!



lol

.

 

[Bronx-Man]

a

Spoiler

replicant uprising

movie is a movie that the world don't need. :/

I feel like that would be missing the point of both Blade Runner films. It’s not this big action blockbuster about uprisings and the like, it’s arthouse sci-fi noir. They can save that for an anime spin-off or something.

 

[FutureLarking]

Cinema I watched it in in the UK was basically full, which was strange. Be interested to see the UK numbers.

 

[MMarston]

My theater audience was full too, but I'm fairly certain most of the audience was well over 30 as well who were probably big fans of the first one. Didn't see much of my early/mid 20s demo.

 

[-Plasma Reus-]

Good job world.
Enjoy your fucking transformers movies.

 

[ResidentWeevil13]

From the movie podcast I was listening to said the same thing. Great visuals but an overbloated mess. Was thinking of watching it, but now I am thinking otherwise.

Woah, I've never listened to his podcast, but I seriously question the taste of those on it. An 'overbloated mess'? That's like language reserved for something like Batman v. Superman

Blade Runner 2049 may be long and it may be slower paced, but an overbloated mess it is not. It's a noir movie for Christ sake. What were people expecting?

My theater audience was full too, but I'm fairly certain most of the audience was well over 30 as well who were probably big fans of the first one. Didn't see much of my early/mid 20s demo.

Cinema I watched it in in the UK was basically full, which was strange. Be interested to see the UK numbers.

My theater was noticeably empty. I went Friday night, and I thought it was strange. But I chalked it up to being a fluke. Unfortunately, it was not

 

[Prompto]

Weird, my theater on Saturday was completely sold out

Where in the country do you live? Seems like it did well in the cities but not so much anywhere else.

Warner Bros. domestic distribution president Jeff Goldstein said “Blade Runner 2049” had fallen short of expectations in mid-sized and smaller markets along with the South and Midwest.

“We did well in the major and high-profile markets,” he added.

 

[Bronx-Man]

My theater was average. Not packed but there was a decent amount of people here to watch.

 

[ronaldthump]

Good job world.
Enjoy your fucking transformers movies.

not rated R.

 

[godhandiscen]

That doesn't answer what I asked, so I'll ask it again: How does this movie not being for everyone mean that it's bad and that it deserved to bomb?

Spoiler

Because it needed to be flawless, and that it wasn't. It has pacing problems, required you to watch a movie from 30 years ago in order to fully understand it, it doesn't develop key characters properly, it ends in a cliffhanger, it has silly plot details (they cloned Rachel, but somehow missed the eye color), etc.

 

[Nokterian]

going this evening. rip

that said, marketing was NOT strong for this film at all.

Marketing was pretty wrong in my eyes, even when it was announced..as a fan of the original it just seems weird to even see a sequel when that movie came out the year i was born..35 years later.

 

[televator]

My theater audience was full too, but I'm fairly certain most of the audience was well over 30 as well who were probably big fans of the first one. Didn't see much of my early/mid 20s demo.

So was mine and I went to a Dolby Vision screen with electric recliners. So tickets were more expensive.

 

[tuxfool]

Good job world.
Enjoy your fucking transformers movies.

That has all the whizbang action one could ever ask for.

 

[Glass Shark]

Where in the country do you live? Seems like it did well in the cities but not so much anywhere else.

Living in the South, I can confirm the only people who were in my screening were people who clearly wanted to be there, not just randos who wandered in because "yaaaasss Ryan Gosling!!!" The screening was half full at most.

 

[freeofgreed]

Holy shit. Really wasn't expecting a bomb like that, Thought this would do gang busters.

 

[Kenzodielocke]

It‘s the best movie of the year.

 

[duckroll]

.... what? Like, what?

Okay, edgelord.

I'm not really sure how that's being an edgelord. I actually expected it to be slow given that it is a Villeneuve movie and avoided asking a larger group of friends to watch this. Not everyone is a film buff who wants to spend almost 3 hours appreciating deliberate filmmaking, great cinematography and an arthouse character piece with long lingering shots. It's a great film, but it's not a film you force on people.

 

[soundscream]

There's a word out there reserved for box office performances like Valerian.

Funny I just found this guys read on it

https://www.google.com/amp/s/www.fo...-reasons-valerian-got-crushed-by-dunkirk/amp/

He liked Valerian but didnt like Blade Runner ......strange how he framed the 2 situations, hmmmmmmm.

 

[bob_arctor]

Never expected a smash. It's for the fans like me and the fact it exists at all is already a win. If it's the last one for the franchise, I'm good regardless.

 

[Busaiku]

Good job world.
Enjoy your fucking transformers movies.

Transformers isn't doing as hit these days either.

 

[Timbuktu]

Could Villneuve make a good Blade runner for 80 million. He probably could. How much of that budget was to do with castings Gosling and Ford? A more similar budget to Arrival would have been a safe bet.

 

[Hyun Sai]

Wow, full on spoilers here, I'm out.

 

[Pterion]

Less than 15 people in the theater as we watched it.

 

[tuxfool]

Because it needed to be flawless, and that it wasn't. ....

How about not posting spoilers out in the open for those that haven't seen it?

 

[Fury451]

This is unfortunate, but not really surprising in any way. The first is beloved and inspirational in all kinds of ways for sci-fi, but I wouldn't call it something that's ever had mass mainstream appeal.

In fact I know a lot of hard-core science-fiction fans in my circle that have a lukewarm opinion of the original (aside from aesthetics which everyone agrees are fantastic) or have never seen it at all.

That said, this will probably find its audience in the future, much like the first did, and be revered as the classic and achievement it is.

 

[Zampano]

Modern cinema audiences were a mistake.

 

[TetraGenesis]

I'm sorry what???

I literally cannot believe this. The buzz for this movie is insane! Isn't it?

Will it pick up with word of mouth? There have been plenty of films that open to $30 mil and end up grossing 200 mil or whatever.

Come on. Come onnnnnn.

 

[jetjevons]

A true modern classic that will endure the test of time. The questions surrounding Joi and K still keep me thinking for a long time. 2017 American mainstream cinemagoers reject it? Move along here folks, nothing to see. Enjoy Transformers 6 or Fast Furious 9.

 

[Merc_]

Good job world.
Enjoy your fucking transformers movies.

The last transformers film didn't do great either though.

 

[CrimsonCrescendo]

added in forbes' bit about budget to the OT. people don't seem to be responding to the whole article which is worth a read

That's very true. It's made almost triple what the OG Blade Runner did opening weekend but is still considered a massive flop. It could make 200 million and still be considered a flop. Hell, it probably needs around 350 to 400 million just to break even. This was absolutely a failure of budgeting.

 

[tuxfool]

The last transformers film didn't do great either though.

No. But it wasn't a flop.

 

[Garmonbozia]

My theater had 30-ish people on it, but it was a Thursday screening, so I didn't think much of it.

The movie itself was amazing, I really wish the studios made more blockbuster movies like it.

Can China at least save it?

 

[-Plasma Reus-]

Good job world.
Enjoy your fucking fast and furious Familia movies.