Ridley Scott Shares Thoughts On Why ‘Blade Runner 2049’ Failed In The Box Office
Blade Runner 2049, helmed by Arrival director Denis Villeneuve, was lauded by critics and audience alike but was a huge disappointment at the box office.
Box Office Blunder
Blade Runner 2049 earned high critical praise but the box office performance did not reflect the critical acclaim that the film received. Starring Ryan Gosling and Harrison Ford, the sci-fi film received an 87 percent rating from critics on the review aggregation website Rotten Tomatoes after opening in theaters on Oct. 6. The film also earned an A score from the audience on CinemaScore.
However, the film that was made with a production budget of $150 million only hauled in only $258 million worldwide, including a mere $91.5 million at the domestic box office based on the statistics obtained by Box Office Mojo.
Ridley Scott Reveals Reason Behind Film's Poor Box Office Performance
Now, in a recent interview with Al Arabiya, Ridley Scott, who directed 1982 original film, shared his thoughts on why the reboot didn't suffer at the box office.
"It's slow. It's slow. Long. Too long. I would have taken out half an hour," said Scott, who also served as a producer of the 2017 sequel.
The director could be right after all. Blade Runner 2049 had a lengthy running time of 164 minutes or two hours and 44 minutes while Scott's 1982 original clocked in at a reasonable 117 minutes.
In a separate interview with Vulture for his new film All The Money In The World, Scott reiterated the reason why Blade Runner 2049 failed to perform at the box office.
"it was f--king way too long," Scott said.
Lengthy Runtime Behind Box Office Disaster
In a November interview with Yahoo! Entertainment, the film's director also admitted previously that the film's strenuous runtime may have contributed to its box office downfall.
"It [Blade Runner 2049] had the best [reviews] of my life," he said. "At the same time, the box office in the United States was a disappointment, that's the truth because those movies are expensive. I make movies, I don't sell them."
Not many people are aware of this but even though 1982 original movie is considered as a sci-fi classic today, the film wasn't exactly a huge success at the box office either. It received the same criticism that the second film has been subjected to.
Despite the criticism, Bladerunner 2049 has picked up two Oscar nominations in the Best Visual Effects and Best Production Design category.
