Leading up to release of Blade Runner 2049, the sequel to Ridley Scott's 1982 sci-fi noir had all the ingredients of a box-office smash: glowing reviews, a star-studded cast featuring newcomer Ryan Gosling and returning star Harrison Ford, and a hot director - Denis Villeneuve - coming off the highly successful alien sci-fi Arrival. Throw in the fact that it was a long-awaited sequel to one of the most influential sci-fi films of all time, and Blade Runner 2049's box office disappointment is a mystery to many, including director Denis Villeneuve.
Speaking to Yahoo Entertainment, during a Facebook Live interview, Villeneuve was asked to make sense of the disappointing box office run of Blade Runner 2049 which grossed just $249 million worldwide.
“I’m still digesting it,” Villeneuve admitted. “We had the best [critics’ reviews]. I’ve never had a movie welcomed like that. At the same time the box office in the United States was a disappointment, that’s true, because those movies are expensive. It will still make tons of money, but not enough.”
With production and marketing costs factored in, Blade Runner 2049 is believed to have lost $80 million. Although the film did perform well in Europe and larger U.S. cities, Villeneuve could only speculate why it didn't resonate with a larger audience.
“I think because maybe people were not familiar enough with the universe. And the fact that the movie’s long [2 hours, 44 minutes run time]," the French-Canadian filmmaker guessed. "I don’t know. It’s still a mystery to me. I make movies — I don’t sell them.”
With that in mind, Villeneuve acknowledged that he is "at peace with is the fact that the hardcore fans that loved the first movie really welcomed this one," adding: "that for me means the world.”
So perhaps its destiny then, that Blade Runner 2049 is experiencing the same fate as Scott's original Blade Runner, which also bombed at the box office, despite later becoming a cult classic and an inspiration to many future sci-fi films.
You can watch the full interview with director Denis Villeneuve below.