Tuesday, March 19, 2024

“Blade Runner 2049” Update: $31 Mil Weekend Disappoints After Huge Build Up

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“Blade Runner 2049” will be one of the great disappointments of 2017. Weekend box office was just $31.5 million, about half of what it should have been.

What went wrong? The only thing I can say is, October is not an Oscar month. With an 89 on Rotten Tomatoes, falling slightly from a 98, I thought more would have been made of this stunning film. But there was no New York premiere, no NY hoopla, and in LA Warner Bros. waited so long for a premiere that they got knocked out by the tragedy in Las Vegas. So the west coast premiere went off the record with red carpet.

Also, just Monday morning quarterbacking, there might have been a week of the original “Blade Runner” in theaters or on platforms so the audience didn’t feel lost. A lot of people felt that if they didn’t know the first movie they wouldn’t get this one. So only hardcore fans went to see 2049.

What a shame. You don’t need to see the original to enjoy “2049.” You can go and enjoy it for what it is. Denis Villeneuve has made his own masterpiece, with a great performance by Ryan Gosling and and amazing cinematography by Roger Deakins.

Roger Friedman
Roger Friedmanhttps://www.showbiz411.com
Roger Friedman began his Showbiz411 column in April 2009 after 10 years with Fox News, where he created the Fox411 column. His movie reviews are carried by Rotten Tomatoes, and he is a member of both the movie and TV branches of the Critics Choice Awards. His articles have appeared in dozens of publications over the years including New York Magazine, where he wrote the Intelligencer column in the mid 90s and covered the OJ Simpson trial, and Fox News (when it wasn't so crazy) where he covered Michael Jackson. He is also the writer and co-producer of "Only the Strong Survive," a selection of the Cannes, Sundance, and Telluride Film festivals, directed by DA Pennebaker and Chris Hegedus.
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