I don't think there was any doubt about that happening, I'm calling this making between $80-90m in the US though.
Blumhouse has had a good year, the marketing was solid and it has decent reviews but I wasn't in on that conversation but I would have agreed with you wholly.
Part of it is payment, but a larger part is their willingness to do what they are told. If you get an established mainstream director like Michael Bay or Steven Spielberg they are going to want to do things their way, and established auteurs are going to want to take a film in directions that are not necessarily commercial. Regardless of the quality of the new Blade Runner, the performance of the film will always be placed on Villeneuve despite the fact that there are a lot of factors beyond his control, namely that it is a sequel to a 35 year old film no one saw in the first place. Sometimes that can derail a director's career for years.
I think that lack of agency is the exact reason, obviously Josh Trank proved them wrong but the idea is that if they're young blood they'll be more malleable
I feel like Villeneuve will survive and make more sizable films as he has had more hits than misses with Arrival, Sicario and Prisoners all making their budgets back.
Not something I do but bad box office returns can have a negative impact on someone's career as a director and that is unfortunately the way it is. This film isn't done yet, it certainly won't make what it needs in the US but internationally there is still hope especially if China receives it well as that country has boosted the box office of films way worse than this to stupid amounts.
I’d say it’s nearly the whole reason. Everything comes down to money. Edit: something Red Letter Media pointed out on their review of the latest Mummy movie is that is feels like it was 100% crafted for the Chinese market and it killed it there
What is so disappointing is that a lot of times the films that are perceived as flops still are profitable, just not to the extent that the studio wanted. Between international markets and future TV/digital distribution, Blade Runner 2049 will certainly make a profit but since it did not make what they wanted it to make it will be perceived as a failure.
That only made slightly more there than it did in the US, if you want to talk Chinese market just look at xXx: The Return of Xander Cage ($164m) and Resident Evil: The Final Chapter ($159m) two films that made very little in the US but did stupidly well over there. That is why I live in hope that this will do enough over there to make up for the modest reception in the US.
Lol, I remember people calling Batman Vs Superman a box office flop because it only made 873 million worldwide as opposed to the projected 1 billion. It’s insane
I want movies like Blade Runner 2049 to do well but I also don’t want studios to be sequel hungry so it feels like a catch 22
The whole thing is unsustainable; budgets (and expectations along with those budgets) keep going up while the number of people actually going to movies keeps dropping. Split and Get Out showed that audiences will turn out for well-liked films on a smaller budget, but for some reason studios do not learn that lesson. If the new Blade Runner was a little less expensive it would have retained exactly the same audience and would be looked at as a success.
I think the studios involved with this should be given some praise for daring to do such a thing and not even skimp on the budget. To pile $150m+ into a sequel to a film nearly four decades old is ballsy.
I doubt this film could have been made to the same quality as it was at a lower budget, the original Blade Runner would cost about $70m to make today so I don't think $150m is all that much for what was achieved, just a case of overestimating your audience. Seems like my favorite movies of the year are plagued by the same box office return woes though haha.
It sucks that very few people I know have seen this and the ones that have just say “it was weird” and “it was long.” Like I want to DISCUSS this movie and I’ve had one decent conversation about it.
Saw this movie tonight and it kicked ass. The incredible visuals are what stood out most for me; just the vast, depressing, desolate feel you got from the world was extremely my shit. Seeing that it's being considered somewhat a "failure" though?!?!?
Just saw today (in IMAX) as well. I don't really have an eloquent way to put it, this movie really is that much of a titanic achievement. Completely gutted for K at the end as well. Need to see this more times to digest things further
Well I am surprised, an estimated drop of 53.9% in its second weekend but I still doubt it will hit $100m. Weekend Box Office Results for October 13-15, 2017 - Box Office Mojo
I think Villenueve comes out of this just fine. He's had several critically-and-audience acclaimed films in a row, all those Oscar nominations last year, and is becoming more and more of a name with mainstream audiences. Most career-killing films are both critical and commercial flops, and this is making decent money overseas too, don't forget. He's going to be able to keep making films for a long time, I think.
Worst case scenario he never gets another $150 million budget but yeah, he’ll be fine. He can keep making Arrival-Sicario-Prisoners-sized movies for a long time
His career will be fine and quite frankly if he reverts back to doing films budgeted like Arrival then that will be fine too as he has clearly proven he can make great films where the budget doesn't matter. He has more good will on his side than other directors who have a film that hasn't met expectations, not like he has disowned the film or blamed anyone else to rub people up the wrong way.
The fact that his future based on this film is a possible discussion in this current landscape breaks my heart.