‘Blade Runner 2049’ pulls in narrow audience
“Blade Runner 2049” had the pedigree, the stars and the stellar reviews. But even though the highly touted sequel had seemingly everything going for it, something didn’t click with audiences.
The big-budget, handsomely crafted sequel to the 1982 sci-fi classic opened surprisingly weak at the North American box office. According to studio estimates Sunday, “2049” grossed $31.5 million, a poor start for a movie that cost at least $150 million to make.
The problem “Blade Runner 2049” ran into is clear from opening-weekend data. The audience was overwhelmingly male (71 percent) and over the age of 25 (86 percent). The movie, starring Ryan Gosling and Harrison Ford, simply failed to pull in moviegoers beyond fans of the 1982 original.
The opening was a blow most of all to Alcon Entertainment, the production company that split the film’s cost with Sony Pictures. Warner Bros., which released the original and maintained rights for any follow-ups, distributed domestically. Sony released the film internationally, where it performed better with $50.2 million in overseas ticket sales over the weekend.
Estimated ticket sales for Friday through Sunday at U.S. and Canadian theaters according to comScore. Final domestic figures will be released today.
1. “Blade Runner 2049”: $31.5 million
2. “The Mountain Between Us”: $10.1 million 3. “It”: $9.7 million
4. “My Little Pony: The Movie”: $8.8 million 5. “Kingsman: The Golden Circle”: $8.1 million 6. “American Made”: $8.1 million
7. “The Lego Ninjago Movie”: $6.8 million 8. “Victoria & Abdul”: $4.1 million
9. “Flatliners”: $3.8 million
10. “Battle of the Sexes”: $2.4 million