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'Blade Runner 2049' Is A Box Office Disaster With Poor $13M Friday

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BocoDragon

or, How I Learned to Stop Worrying and Realize This Assgrab is Delicious
This movie can't hold Fury Road's cod piece.

In terms of sequels to franchises from the late 70s/early 80s, this was more in line with the The Force Awakens/Rogue One school of sequels than Fury Road - right down to trotting out old Harrison Ford and CG versions of characters from the old movie. Getting a sequel to an established IP that just throws out all the old, keep the callbacks to a minimum, and moves forward with basically new everything is a rare gem that I imagine will not come along again for a long time.
That just sounds like a reboot to me.
 

Robot Pants

Member
This movie can't hold Fury Road's cod piece.

In terms of sequels to franchises from the late 70s/early 80s, this was more in line with the The Force Awakens/Rogue One school of sequels than Fury Road - right down to trotting out old Harrison Ford and CG versions of characters from the old movie. Getting a sequel to an established IP that just throws out all the old, keep the callbacks to a minimum, and moves forward with basically new everything is a rare gem that I imagine will not come along again for a long time.
Nah. You just plain wrong on this one.
 

Malvingt2

Member
I watched the movie today... NY... only 2 people.... that is insane how empty it was.. mind you I went to an early show time
 

BocoDragon

or, How I Learned to Stop Worrying and Realize This Assgrab is Delicious
Was actually more excited about possibly seeing some of this universe's "off world" efforts they keep alluding to. Would be cool to see.
I really think this is a case of be careful what you wish for. The idea of turning this into some big universe would dilute the bleak setting on earth.
 

RMI

Banned
Welp, between this and GITS bombing, no more cyberpunk.

Fuck I hate people.

After all the handwringing over Akira, if it actually gets made, I bet it bombs too.

GITS deserved to bomb because it was a terrible movie. I haven't seen Blade Runner 2049 but I hope it has legs because I might not have a chance to get to the theater for a while and it looks amazing.
 

TyrantII

Member
Columbus day weekend in the middle of Halloween month seems like s terrible fit IMO. Maybe not true, but I've always felt like winter, especially Christmas, is a good fit for sci-fi.

Dark winter months, vacations, people not running around worried about school, of sports, or housework to prep for winter.
 

Ether_Snake

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It needed to be shorter and have a more concise plot, not a scattershot of plots and characters with a 2h45 length that doesn't resolve itself anyway. Also, don't market it as essentially "If you didn't see or like the original, you won't like it." Could have been a standalone story in the same world.

Should do well WW though.

Wtf we're they thinking releasing this in October?

Avoiding Star Wars.
 

norm9

Member
My fault, guys. I told my friends I'd see it with them last night, but I stayed home and rewatched Rush Hour instead.
 

BocoDragon

or, How I Learned to Stop Worrying and Realize This Assgrab is Delicious
GITS deserved to bomb because it was a terrible movie. I haven't seen Blade Runner 2049 but I hope it has legs because I might not have a chance to get to the theater for a while and it looks amazing.
I thought it was shitty when Hollywood learned no one wants adult animation after Titan AE and FF: The Spirits Within. Those were bad movies, but their failure defined the rules of what Hollywood makes, in the same way that two cyberpunk movies bombing will.
 

Epcott

Member
It’ll become a cult classic and have amazing lifetime sales, like the original probably. Still sucks to hear weekend sales were subpar.
 
This movie can't hold Fury Road's cod piece.

In terms of sequels to franchises from the late 70s/early 80s, this was more in line with the The Force Awakens/Rogue One school of sequels than Fury Road - right down to trotting out old Harrison Ford and CG versions of characters from the old movie. Getting a sequel to an established IP that just throws out all the old, keep the callbacks to a minimum, and moves forward with basically new everything is a rare gem that I imagine will not come along again for a long time.
Can we even call Fury Road a sequel though. 2049 is a direct sequel way more original and able to stand on its own than TFA. Like it's not even close.
 
It needed to be shorter and have a more concise plot, not a scattershot of plots and characters with a 2h45 length that doesn't resolve itself anyway. Also, don't market it as essentially "If you didn't see or like the original, you won't like it."

Did they market it like that?

I don't get it. When the trailers came out, everyone was complaining that it was gonna be a generic mass marketed fast paced action movie. Now that it comes out, people are complaining that it's a slow, long film without mass appeal. Make up your minds people. windwaika.jpg
 
One of the greatest movies ever made. A masterpiece. If people don't like it then it's on them to refine their film tastes. The movie doesn't need to be dumbed down to cater to an audience that can't sit through a fucking movie without going on their cell phones every five minutes.
 
Shiiiittttt.....Bladerunner was fucking amazing and the best sci-fi movie I've seen and years and it bombs?!?! Proof that modern movies suck and modern movie-goers have no taste. I guess it's just super hero and star wars movies from now on
 
That sucks but I did my part internationally, hopefully they get a better success outside the US and in the future through word of mouth.
 

BocoDragon

or, How I Learned to Stop Worrying and Realize This Assgrab is Delicious
Shiiiittttt.....Bladerunner was fucking amazing and the best sci-fi movie I've seen and years and it bombs?!?! Proof that modern movies suck and modern movie-goers have no taste. I guess it's just super hero and star wars movies from now on
Fuck this Disneytopia :(
 

Ether_Snake

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Did they market it like that?

I don't get it. When the trailers came out, everyone was complaining that it was gonna be a generic mass marketed fast paced action movie. Now that it comes out, people are complaining that it's a slow, long film without mass appeal. Make up your minds people. windwaika.jpg

It was marketed as "HARRISON FORD IS BACK IN THE BLADE RUNNER SEQUEL!", Harrison Ford everywhere in all marketing. So anyone who heard of the original and never wanted to see it, or who saw it and didn't like it, expected it to be a direct sequel, no matter how many explosions there were. The trailers themselves were not wrong, it is a direct sequel to the original, and people saw it as that. Add the near 3 hour length, R rating. Didn't help.

Shiiiittttt.....Bladerunner was fucking amazing and the best sci-fi movie I've seen and years and it bombs?!?! Proof that modern movies suck and modern movie-goers have no taste. I guess it's just super hero and star wars movies from now on

The original bombed too, so you can't blame modern movie-goers with no taste.
 

The Cowboy

Member
Well at least it had what can be considered an actual end, it didn't go full sequel bait.

So despite the travesty that this is bombing, we still at least have a 2 great blade runner movies now.
 

Sean

Banned
I'm not surprised, there was at most a dozen people when I went Friday afternoon. As we were all exiting the theater I heard a group saying it was boring and "nothing like the trailers."

Shame, I really enjoyed it.
 

Raziel

Member
That just sounds like a reboot to me.

Hollywood thinks the same, which is what's sad.

A sequel nowadays needs to have all the old actors playing all the old characters repeating all the one liners everyone remembers, set to the music everyone remembers. They should also feature literal video clips/voiceovers from the old movie(s) whenever possible.
 
It was marketed as "HARRISON FORD IS BACK IN THE BLADE RUNNER SEQUEL!", Harrison Ford everywhere in all marketing. So anyone who heard of the original and never wanted to see it, or who saw it and didn't like it, expected it to be a direct sequel, no matter how many explosions there were. The trailers themselves were not wrong, it is a direct sequel to the original, and people saw it as that. Add the near 3 hour length, R rating. Didn't help.

That's not the marketing's purpose though. Harrison Ford is a nerd icon so they put him in the trailer. The point of the marketing wasn't to say "only for BR fans." You could argue simply calling it Blade Runner 2049 was already going to alienate people. I'd argue having Harrison Ford in all the marketing probably gave it more sales than not. Otherwise the biggest names you have are Gosling and Leto in what is still a 3 hour long film.
 

Paragon

Member
Well I hope it doesn't have too much of an impact on the recent Dune news, as that is very exciting.

Honest question: I generally don't care about seeing most movies right away, as a good film should stand the test of time and there are thousands that I've yet to see, but I'm really looking forward to watching Blade Runner 2049.
When can we expect it to be available to buy or rent? I can't find a release date anywhere, and have no idea how long that normally takes.
Earlier this year I remember reading something about a new service that planned to let you rent movies currently showing in theaters, but it doesn't appear to be available yet.

Welp, between this and GITS bombing, no more cyberpunk.
Fuck I hate people.
I mean, Ghost in the Shell was a terrible adaptation, a bad movie in its own right, and there was that controversy surrounding the casting, so it's hardly surprising that it bombed.

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.
That's the problem with the internet today. Everything is personalized, from ads to search to social media, so you end up in your own filter bubble and mostly see things about your own interests and from like-minded people.
This causes a lot of problems. It's one of the (many) reasons why turnout is so poor for young voters - in their own filter bubble, it looks like everyone is voting a certain way, so they don't believe it's important for them to go out and vote since it appears so one-sided to them.
 

sans_pants

avec_pénis
maybe this has been covered but why does anyone think international box office can save this?


international audiences don't show up in numbers for thoughtful films light on action
 

Ether_Snake

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Well I hope it doesn't have too much of an impact on the recent Dune news, as that is very exciting.

If any movie is not getting made it's Dune, unless a studio is really dumb with its money. You'd have to find a way to get a really really low budget for it. Maybe for Netflix or some such. Sounds too costly either way. I don't think it's happening.
 

Hydrus

Member
This makes me sad :( The original is one of my favorites and Cyberpunk is my favorite genre. We are going to be cursed with shitty sequels and remakes no one asked for, forever.
 
I saw it in IMAX yesterday and there were maybe 6 people in the theater. That was a noontime showing.
Saw it again today at 10:55 am, in a much more popular theater, and my row was completely full. Lots of people behind me.

It was just weird to see two crazily different audience sizes.
 

RS4-

Member
People have no taste.

They'd wish for a BBT and 2 broke girls crossover movie with a side of Mist and Under the Dome
 

Dead Guy

Member
Shitty. But I can't say I'm really surprised due to a lot of what others have already mentioned here. Blade Runner is still very niche and won't be appreciated by your general audiences. Hopefully word of mouth will give it some longer legs.
 

Apathy

Member
Were you guys actually thinking it was going to be a financial hit? This isn't a big blockbuster. It was slow placed on purpose. It has you thinking on purpose. It wasn't going to play into what the masses like.

I loved the movie, I'm a huge fan of the original, I'm glad this got made, but cyberpunk movies are hard to get people to watch.

At least I can always go like this to people that don't like it

tumblr_mj12ll9k1m1s5kkwjo1_250.gif
 
Were you guys actually thinking it was going to be a financial hit? This isn't a big blockbuster. It was slow placed on purpose. It has you thinking on purpose. It wasn't going to play into what the masses like.

I loved the movie, I'm a huge fan of the original, I'm glad this got made, but cyberpunk movies are hard to get people to watch.

At least I can always go like this to people that don't like it

tumblr_mj12ll9k1m1s5kkwjo1_250.gif

It was a big budget arthouse sci-fi film. Arthouse like stuff doesn’t do well. It isn’t shocking, at least to me.
 

TheXbox

Member
Cyberpunk as a genre is probably dead for a good while. Dune is also probably dead.
This would add credence to all the scuttlebutt about Denis taking on junk like Bond and Cleopatra. Maybe he has to prove he can make a buck before they let him touch another $150 mil addition to a derelict property.
 

Vice

Member
Shiiiittttt.....Bladerunner was fucking amazing and the best sci-fi movie I've seen and years and it bombs?!?! Proof that modern movies suck and modern movie-goers have no taste. I guess it's just super hero and star wars movies from now on
There will always be good sci fi films. Gravity, Interstellar, Arrival, Ex Machina, etc. Have all done well in recent years as smaller-scale sci-fi. Plus there are tons of indie science fiction films that are worth seeing that release every year.
 

sans_pants

avec_pénis
btw should i see this in 3d? i didnt even know it was getting a 3d treatment


i hear the dolby atmos is the way to go but I'd have to go to the palms casino when I have a good premium theater right down the road (palms also has the only "real" imax in town but supposedly the aspect isn't as nice)
 
It’ll become a cult classic and have amazing lifetime sales, like the original probably. Still sucks to hear weekend sales were subpar.

Nah. Beside the visuals there is nothing special about it. The movie bogged down by the Blade Runner IP. It would have worked a lot better without it but with the same basic plot.
 
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