Blade Runner wasn't exactly a smoking hit at the box office in the 1980s. Otherwise, there would've been a sequel a lot sooner than there was. It took this long for the filmistas to delude some studio executives into thinking that a sequel would be a money-maker.
Sent from my NSA-approved tracking device via Tapatalk
If we have to march off into the next world, let us walk there on the bodies of our enemies.
Let's not BS ourselves. The studios didn't green light a $155 million dollar budget expecting to make a profit on foreign revenue. This movie grossed just barley higher then John Wick 2 on its opening weekend despite a substantially larger budget.
Financially BR2049 was a flop,even if it did break even on foreign sales. While a cinematic and conceptual masterpiece,its not a movie accessible to mass market audiences. My generation prefers movies that are short and fun, not long commentaries on the human condition.
Films like 2001-A Space Odessey,BR1, the original Star Wars trilogies, and other old-school Sci Fi films were about exploring human philosophical issues in ways not otherwise possible in conventional society. In the 1970s and 1980s movies were the only national form of reliable content delivery.
Today we have YouTube and social media for that. Commentary on any number of social and philosophical issues are now easily accessible 24/hours a day within seconds from your favorite smartphone via any number of apps . Blade Runner 2049 depicts and questions the reality of what we define as a real relationship,among other topics. Of course I can also access a multitude of philosophy videos which do the same thing within seconds off my device.
Given those realities,I'm forced to conclude those old school movies are conceptually obselete. Hence the anemic US box office,among other issues.
The Minority Marksman.
"When you meet a swordsman, draw your sword: Do not recite poetry to one who is not a poet."
-a Ch'an Buddhist axiom.
Studio acountants are among the most creative on the planet. Probably somebody has a spreadsheet that shows that Avatar wasn't profitable.
Anyway, supposedly there is some multiple of the production budget that marks when a movie is seen as being profitable. It took the original a long time to cross over into being considered to be profitable. BR2049 has got a good distance to go, I'll bet.
If we have to march off into the next world, let us walk there on the bodies of our enemies.
I would imagine that BR2049 will do quite well on the home format market (download, DVD, or BR) in much the same way that the original did.
"You win 100% of the fights you avoid. If you're not there when it happens, you don't lose." - William Aprill
"I've owned a guitar for 31 years and that sure hasn't made me a musician, let alone an expert. It's made me a guy who owns a guitar."- BBI
I disagree with your final analysis. I don't think they can do as well as often, but relatively recent films that were visually stunning and fairly "deep" like "Inception" and "Interstellar" did quite well at the box office. Besides their director (Nolan) and music (Zimmer), they had something else in common: neither was a sequel. I think a lot of people are sick of sequels.
The Minority Marksman.
"When you meet a swordsman, draw your sword: Do not recite poetry to one who is not a poet."
-a Ch'an Buddhist axiom.
[QUOTE=GardoneVT;665381My generation prefers movies that are short and fun, not long commentaries on the human condition. [/QUOTE]
My generation prefers movies that are not so overlong as to mandate a bathroom break before the credits roll. If they're going to run three-hour movies, they can go another 15 minutes and build in an intermission.
Last edited by Stephanie B; 10-21-2017 at 09:03 PM.
If we have to march off into the next world, let us walk there on the bodies of our enemies.
Saw it a week ago today, loved every minute... thought the plot was fantastic all the way through. It's already gone from my local theater, so glad I was able to catch it at the big screen before it went away. It was excellent, not just coming from somebody who loved the original... it was just a stellar production overall.