BLADE RUNNER 2049 Director Denis Villeneuve Still Doesn't Understand The Film's Low Box-Office Numbers
Blade Runner 2049 is by far one of my favorite movies of this year. The story was compelling and the world that was created for the movie was solid and believable. The only faults that stood out to me were the long establishing shots seemed too long and Dave Bautista’s storyline as Sapper Morton was far too short. Both of these things can be excused:
- The long establishing shots are in the DNA of the first movie and it is only fitting that they be in the second movie.
- Bautista’s performance was so amazing that they didn’t want to dilute it with any more scenes than necessary. The pain and pride that you see in his eyes for the job he was left with was overwhelming. I hope that someone picks up his story and makes a movie or short story based on Sapper Morton.
Despite how I feel about the movie, it didn’t do as well domestically as was expected. Director Denis Villeneuve doesn’t understand what went wrong either. This is what he had to say to Yahoo! Entertainment about how such a critically acclaimed film could do so poorly at the box office:
"Honestly, I don’t know because we had the best critics. I’m still digesting it. I had the best critics of my life, I’ve never had a movie welcome like that, okay? At the same time, the box office in the United States was a disappointment, that’s the truth. Because those movies are expensive, and it will still make tons of money but not enough. I think the thing is that it’s maybe because people were not familiar enough with the universe, and the fact that the movie’s long. I don’t know, it’s still a mystery to me."
With the money not rolling in like was expected, there is a silver lining to all of this. If you remember, the original film didn’t do as well as expected in its theatrical debut. It was only afterwards that it become the cult classic that we all love. Here is Villeneuve’s outlook on that:
"That’s the first thing one of my sons told me: 'Papa you honor the first movie until the very end.' Because the first movie had the same fate. The original Blade Runner when it came out wasn’t a success, and through time became was it is today. I was not looking for that. But what I really am at peace with is the hard core fans that love the first movie really welcome this one, and that for me it means the world."
I loved the film. I can’t wait till it comes out for me to own. In the theater that I saw it in, there were two couples that saw the original movie together in the theater, seated in the row right in front of me. It was awesome to see the movie through their eyes and get their perspective once they were done watching 2049. It just added to the film's legacy. If you haven’t seen it yet, please take the time to watch it while it is still in theaters. You won’t regret it.