Blade Runner 2049Director Is Still Wrapping His Head Around Why It Underperformed

Blade Runner 2049 was a critical ducky , scram a for the most part gush receipt , but audiences did n’t seem to reciprocate . The movie had lackluster success , failing to bring in little more than half its budget domestically . And while it ’s done better overseas , director Denis Villeneuve is struggling to read why the movie was such a corner office disappointment — though it could be account repeating itself .

In an consultation with Yahoo ! Entertainment , Villeneuve was need about how he felt about the movie ’s less - than - star performance in the United States over the past calendar month , make little over $ 90 - million so far . In short , he ’s still trying to figure it out . As he mentioned in the chat , the movie did well overseas , where it brought in over $ 150 - million , but it ’s not enough to make 2049 a commercial bang . Villeneuve said he ’s having trouble grasping why a movie that was so dear by critics ended up being rejected by audience , theorise that it could be because the serial ’ universe was n’t conversant enough for masses to need to spent time in it , peculiarly since the film was so long ( clock in at nearly 3 hours long ) .

Honestly , I do n’t know because we had the best critic . I ’m still digest it . I had the best critics of my life , I ’ve never had a movie welcome like that , okay ? At the same time , the boxwood post in the United States was a letdown , that ’s the truth . Because those movies are expensive , and it will still make tons of money but not enough . I mean the thing is that it ’s maybe because people were not familiar enough with the universe , and the fact that the picture show ’s long . I do n’t know , it ’s still a mystery story to me .

Argentina’s President Javier Milei (left) and Robert F. Kennedy Jr., holding a chainsaw in a photo posted to Kennedy’s X account on May 27. 2025.

However , the actual intellect could be , as Villeneuve later on point out , that it ’s simply account replicate itself . The original Blade Runner was n’t a smash , only bringing in $ 27 - million during its theatrical run , but it ’s since become one of the most iconic scifi films of all time . That seemed to assure triumph for its highly exalt follow - up . Blade Runner 2049 was hypothesize to be the box office hit that Blade Runner fans take a firm stand the original deserved to be . Instead , it might be another berth where the film ’s legacy is defined well after it come out in theaters .

That ’s the first matter one of my sons told me : “ Papa you respect the first moving picture until the very end . ” Because the first movie had the same fortune . The original Blade Runner when it come out was n’t a succeeder , and through fourth dimension became was it is today . I was not appear for that . But what I really am at peace with is the hard sum fans that bed the first movie really welcome this one , and that for me it mean the world .

I presuppose we ’ll have to expect and see what happen over the next 30 year , to see if Blade Runner 2049 unfeignedly follows in its precursor ’s footsteps . you may watch the integral interview below .

William Duplessie