Ridley Scott Knows Why ‘Blade Runner 2049’ Bombed at the Box Office: ‘It’s Slow. Long. Too Long’
Between “Alien: Covenant” and “Blade Runner 2049,” 2017 was not Ridley Scott’s proudest moment at the box office (although the jury is still out on “All The Money in the World”). Scott executive produced the Denis Villeneuve-directed sequel, though it only grossed $91 million domestically. So what exactly went wrong? Scott may have the answer.
Read More:Warner Bros. Admits the Audience for ‘Blade Runner 2049’ Was ‘More Narrow Than Expected’
“It’s slow. It’s slow. Long. Too long. I would have taken out half an hour,” Scott told Al Arabiya. The length is something Villeneuve also mentioned during an interview with Yahoo! Entertainment.
“I’m still digesting it,” Villeneuve said. “It had the best [reviews] of my life. I never had a movie welcomed like that. At the same time, the box office in the United States was a disappointment, that’s the truth, because those movies are expensive. It will still make tons of money but not enough. The thing I think is that, it was maybe because people were not familiar enough with the universe. And the fact the movie’s long. I don’t know, it’s still a mystery to me.”
The lengthy running time was also listed as one of the reasons the movie bombed by comScore senior media analyst Paul Dergarabedian. Warner Bros. admitted following the movie’s poor opening that the fan base for “Blade Runner” was narrower than expected. Some criticized the studio for their spoiler-phobic marketing, which failed to get non-“Blade Runner” fans interested, although Villeneuve has gone on record in support of the film’s marketing.
Scott is back in theaters now with “All the Money in the World.”
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