Blade Runner 2049 opens in China and Japan

Blade Runner is a niche cult classic, with the sequel being 3-hours long and not filled with your typical fanfare, it's no surprise really.

Lawrence of Arabia

Niche ? I don't know it man, it single-handedly invented cyber-punk as a genre. And you think your precious David's budget won't be affected by these results?

red0guy

You're right, Blade Runner is very influential within pop culture but ask any casual movie watcher what it is and you'll be surprised how many don't even know of it's existence or watched it. Also, am I sensing hostility? lol 

Lawrence of Arabia

It's just the Persian sun :P

Lawrence of Arabia - I see you have a new true friend for a long journey. :DDDDDDD

Ati

Lawrence of Arabia - :D

Ati XD

Lawrence of Arabia - :DDDDDDDDDDD

And of all movies, it was "Geostorm" the movie to beat "Blade Runner: 2049" in its debut, making 4 times as much. Crazy.

Very bad news for movies in general. But if as a byproduct of this debacle we get an Alien movie that is not all about A.I. I won't complain. Ridley said there would be news about the AC sequel "in two weeks" in an interview posted here. It's been a month already and we haven't heard anything.

joylitt

Geostorm beat Blade Runner? Sad world we live in where sophisticated storytelling is passed up for explosions :(

A.I. in Sci-Fi will definitely keep pushing forward. I mean, with all the technology and social issues now, the climate is rife with stories to tell. Unfortunate that BR 2049 did so horribly. I saw it twice and the second time, it just clicked and I really like it. Still, Lawrence of Arabia is correct, with it's prequel's original box-office/critical reaction, runtime, pacing, style, and marketing it just was not set up for success. 

Lawrence of Arabia 33 million vs 7.6 million in the 1st week for both films in China. It seems "Blade Runner: 2049" is going to end up losing money. I read in the news its underperformance in the US caused AMC stocks to fall.

joylitt That really blows man, hard :( Blade Runner 2049 deserved so much more than this as it was such a great sequel.

cuponator3000 Eureka. Well your observation is on point. Generally people are in negation or don't want to get "entertained" by a movie about something that affects them directly. That was the case with Geostorm bombing in the US (blame Hurricane Harvey and Irma). The AI theme is also very ubiquitous nowadays even though I don't think humanity will be so dumb to allow a rogue AI to emerge and destroy or enslave us. If people was eager to watch AI theme movies, Transcendence, Morgan, Artificial Intelligence, Termination Salvation, Terminator Genisys, Blade Runner: 2049 would have been box office successes. Roboapocalyse, once a Spielberg project is stuck in development hell. And we are going to have a new test for an AI centered movie at the beginning on 2018, which I am sure is going to be a big flop.

joylitt Sci-fi films that aren't about cute animals or filled with jokes sadly nowadays get passed up, though, I don't think that studios should stop pushing them for those who aren't so easily entertained. They may not always be box office hits, and I know studios are about that buck, but I'm glad real sci-fi is still given the chance as high-profile properties and is prevalent these days. It sucks when it becomes art vs commerce.

Can we assume Blade Runner: 2049 will be a success in Blu-Ray sales? 

I know I'll buy both together in a set. I have my original Blade Runner DVD and could use an upgrade.

I think Spielberg's prediction of a movie industry implosion is close to come true. He said he thinks soon they will start to charge high prices for big superhero movies and cheaper prices for serious movies. I assume it would be the same for different type of sci-fi films.

http://www.hollywoodreporter.com/news/steven-spielberg-predicts-implosion-film-567604

Sad news for Sci-Fi as a movie genre. Call me crazy but I think the future of Sci-Fi is in TV series on platforms like Netflix, look at shows like The Expanse and The 100 going great-guns!

And let's face it, can you really tell a rich, deep and engaging Sci-fi story in a 2-3 window strategically produced to accommodate those with small attention spans.

Let cinema have their 2 hour explosion-fests and allow sci-fi series to delve and explore much much deeper into their worlds!

Lawrence of Arabia Yeah, you are right. Specially about humor, fast paced action etc. That is the trend right now, and that is why some DC universe fans are dismayed Joss Wheadon is taking over their beloved franchises. But once upon a time darkness and Christopher Nolan ruled. So maybe this is just a cycle.

IRaptus Precisely. Netflix, Hulu, Amazon an other non traditional studios are coming up with very good productions. The last "Stranger Things" season let me down a little bit but I just discovered "Mindhunter" from David Fincher and the second season of "Channel Zero" is pretty awesome (I recommend you check it out, very original and scary sci fi)

joylitt

"Stranger Things" season 2 was the third disappointment of the year for me after King David's movie  and BR2049. And going back to your prediction, I think that big budgeted sci-fi might altogether disappear. And i don't think that it would be a bad thing necessarily as things like BR2049 ripping off Her and Children of Men (inspired by the original BR)  won't happen anymore.

IRaptus

Talking about tv, i hated that Star Trek Discovery ripped off Alien, Dune and Groundhog Day. Where is the originality there.

But the Expanse now there is some good stuff, but it's script is adapted from a book.

My conclusion is that Hollywood script writers are totally awful in producing a good sci-fi story without adapting one from a book. Let's Annihilation will be good.

red0guy To me "Blade Runner: 2049" was not a disappointment at all. The only bits I did not like were Jared Leto's over the top lines. It is a movie so strong visually that you can forgive the flaws. I re-watched "Her" and I found that the treatment of the AI element was very different. And "BR:2049" is light years ahead of Alien Covenant on every level.

joylitt I've heard about Mindhunter, but haven't seen it yet. I didn't know it was a Fincher project, Ill definitely check it out now, and Channel Zero scary sci-fi sounds good too. 

Thank you kindly :) 

red0guy yeah agreed, that seems to be a big problem with tv series. Easy to become clones of something, become stagnant and predictable, or go totally off the rails like Lost....(although I did enjoy Lost I will admit) if not produced and managed well. 

Some like Falling Skies get a bit of an ego with their success and then try too hard to be cool, and move away from what made them good to begin with.

The box office numbers begin to tell more about the audience quality than about the movie quality. Same as with the shitty tv programs with a huge popularity among the masses.

 daliens

Let's not be snobs here, the situation is more complex and there is a general lack of new ideas in today writers and the lack of willingness to branch out.

Agree with IRaptus.

That said, don't forget how 2001 A Space Odyssey was ground breaking and 2010 didn't get rave reviews. 

We have discussed the Series angle before. The talent is out there. It seems to be about funding and getting the word out. Here is a 12 minute example about how episodic content can go. An off shoot of Half Life 2:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=FQ45ELH8Db8

you can mostly thank the mass market, commercial Superhero cross-over era we are in for that.

An abundance of pre-written popular/nostalgic source material gives writers an easy and lazy out, and Studios an easy buck.

dk Try to watch the second season of a series called "Channel Zero" on Netflix. It is really good sci-fi and it uses music from a film you once recommended to me. And since you like the egg from the Alien poster you are going to find something else to like here.

joylitt Which music is that? This brings up an additional issue. I have received more recommendations than I have time to watch. A movie? OK. A series- that is a different thing. I still have't touched Shattered Mirrors) or is it Black Mirrors? 

It would be more interesting if you find out for yourself. I mean, it took me a while to pinpoint it in my head. Unlike Black mirror, in which every episode has a different story, in Channel Zero each season has a different story, I would recommend starting with Season 2, called "The No End House". It is totally original and engrossing, even though I found influences of Ray Bradbury and David Cronenberg.

red0guy

Let's remove the popcorn stands from the theaters.  I bet the overall box office figures would have have a spectacular drop.

I've seen Melancholia by Lars von Trier in theater in the first week of its release. 2 spectators out of 4 left after 5 minutes,  with their smartphones and their popcorn.

I've seen Blade Runner 2049 four times. It's a great movie, as is Alien Covenant.

I do wonder if today's audiences are just getting dumber by being fed instant gratification crap. Like the other night in our pub quiz, a bunch of youngsters were asked to put their mobile phones in a plastic tub to avert cheating. Some of them literally could not do it. It was such an alien concept to them that they would be asked to survive without distraction for more than a few minutes. Later, some of them couldn't help themselves and grabbed their electronic taskmasters from the tub. It was awesome to see them being fined ten points, and the look of incredulity on their faces when it happened.

I do wonder how many people who went to see BR2049 could bother to think about the deep issues that it skirted around. Like K's lack (or not) of a soul; whether the JOI AI's final message had any real meaning. Instead, I mainly saw a bunch of people who likely hadn't even seen the 1982 movie. They would have been untouched by the mesmerising reprise of the BR theme near the end, and missed many of the subtleties.

There's no way it's as good as the original, because that one was so groundbreaking. But I give it a solid 8.5 out of ten.

I agree with Joylitt. Wallace was a bit too over the top and melodramatic. Minor gripe, though.

daliens

Well, in my local theater they bring almost only big budget crap... so at least you can contribute to good movies.

Not a surprise. I didn't have a single family member or friend who wanted to see it with me!

All about the merchandise ? Toys? happy meals? 

Meredith Vickers (Charlize Theron) is also executive producer beside David Fincher on Mindhunter. Just saying.

Ingeniero & joylitt this Mindhunters is sounding better by the second.

Righto, Im in. Binge watching it tonight lol