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'Blade Runner' Disappoints at Box Office, Faces More Horror Movie Competition

John Harrington

Published: October 16, 2017 8:45 am

Last Updated: January 12, 2020 7:10 am

“Blade Runner 2049,” the sequel to the 1982 cult classic, continued to disappoint at the box office, despite critical acclaim and high ratings from die-hard fans on movie websites.

Domestic ticket sales for the film slid 54% to $15.1 million from its weekend’s opening of $31.5 million, according to Box Office Mojo.

“Blade Runner” was in second place behind horror film “Happy Death Day,” which took in $26.5 million in its opening weekend.

Internationally, “Blade Runner” added $29.3 million, bringing its overseas total to $98 million. The film will be released in China and Japan on October 27.

It might become more difficult for “Blade Runner” to find its audience as the calendar draws closer to Halloween. Besides “Happy Death Day,” which was released by Universal, other horror movies set for release before Halloween are “Jigsaw” (October 27) and “Amityville: The Awakening” (October 28).

It is a bit puzzling that “Blade Runner” is not pulling in larger audiences. The film depicts a dystopian future in Los Angeles. It stars Harrison Ford, reprising his role as retired L.A. cop Rick Deckard from the original movie, and Ryan Gosling.

The new “Blade Runner” film, released by Warner Bros., in association with Alcon Entertainment and Sony, topped all films in its opening weekend, but that was perceived as a disappointment. Industry experts thought “Blade Runner 2049” could bring in from $45 million to $55 million domestically, according to Box Office Mojo.

The film cost $150 million and opened at 4,058 theaters in North America.

“Blade Runner 2049,” directed by Denis Villeneuve, was rated 89% by Rotten Tomatoes and received a positive A− CinemaScore. However, the audience skewed heavily male: 71% male versus 29% female. And 63% of the total audience was over the age of 35.

The original “Blade Runner,” which was not a hit at the time of its release, has become a cult classic, a kind of noir sci-fi film, depicting a bleak Los Angeles circa 2019 that is overrun by advertising excess and flying cars, as well as choked by pollution. The 1982 movie was directed by Ridley Scott and was also released by Warner Bros., and it has 90% freshness rating and gets 91% approval from audience.