“Blade Runner 2049” Gets Chilly Reception at Box Office

By Kip Mooney • On • In Weekend Box Office Report Weekend Box Office Report 0

BOX OFFICE REPORT

October 6-8, 2017

(estimates from BoxOfficeMojo.com)

 

TOP 5

Blade Runner 2049   $31.5 million
The Mountain Between Us  $10.0 million
It $9.6 million
My Little Pony: The Movie $8.8 million
Kingsman: The Golden Circle  $8.1 million

 

Arriving 35 years after the groundbreaking original, Blade Runner 2049 received rave reviews and opened against a lot of competition. But just like the original, it's more likely to be a cult sensation than a major phenomenon. This very belated, much-hyped sequel is one of the most stunning visual achievements of 2017, but still fell well short of expectations. Even so, $31.5 million is the biggest opening for director Denis Villeneuve, whose star has been rising for four straight years. It's also already made more than the original film, even though of course ticket prices (and viewing habits) have changed a lot since 1982. With no big movies opening until November, there's still a chance it could break $100 million and not be seen as a total flop.

 

The Mountain Between Us, which tried to combine disaster movies with epic romance, did all right for itself. The Idris Elba-Kate Winslet adventure took in around $10 million. At a price tag of only $35 million, that should see a nice return for Fox, which is still reeling from underperforming blockbusters like Alien: Covenant and War for the Planet of the Apes. That $10 million was barely enough to beat the fifth solid week for It, which became only the fourth R-rated movie to cross $300 million and the biggest horror movie of all time.

 

Yet despite a very intense fanbase of all ages, My Little Pony: The Movie did not make a successful leap to the big screen. Bronies and little girls didn't really show up, as the film made only $8.8 million. Yet it's sure to recoup its cost when it hits home video and streaming. Kingsman: The Golden Circle dropped from first to fifth – one of the few times that's ever happened – as it made only $8.1 million in its third weekend.

 

Outside the top 5:

  • This Weekend's Indie Champ: Sean Baker's highly anticipated The Florida Project. The dramedy about kids navigating the weekly hotels and off-brand shops of Central Florida took in a whopping $38,336 on each of its four screens.
  • Victoria and Abdul continues to be a massive success, despite a small theater count. Judi Dench reprises her role as Queen Victoria, and audiences have been turning out. It's only playing on 732 screens, yet beat out the second weekend of Flatliners, which is on more than three times the screens. If this continues, some Oscar nominations might be coming its way.
  • Sadly, no one wanted to take in The Stray. It's the latest inspirational movie with a cute dog, from Mormon film distributor Purdie. It only made $550,000.

Next week: The Foreigner, in which Jackie Chan goes full Liam Neeson, takes on gimmicky horror movie Happy Death Day. I'm betting people aren't tired of the former, which should be No. 1 with about $20 million.

Facebooktwitterredditmail

About Kip Mooney

Kip Mooney
Like many film critics born during and after the 1980s, my hero is Roger Ebert. The man was already the best critic in the nation when he won the Pulitzer in 1975, but his indomitable spirit during and after his recent battle with cancer keeps me coming back to read not only his reviews but his insightful commentary on the everyday. But enough about a guy you know a lot about. I knew I was going to be a film critic—some would say a snob—in middle school, when I had to voraciously defend my position that The Royal Tenenbaums was only a million times better than Adam Sandler’s remake of Mr. Deeds. From then on, I would seek out Wes Anderson’s films and avoid Sandler’s like the plague. Still, I like to think of myself as a populist, and I’ll be just as likely to see the next superhero movie as the next Sundance sensation. The thing I most deplore in a movie is laziness. I’d much rather see movies with big ambitions try and fail than movies with no ambitions succeed at simply existing. I’m also a big advocate of fun-bad movies like The Room and most of Nicolas Cage’s work. In the past, I’ve written for The Dallas Morning News and the North Texas Daily, which I edited for a semester. I also contributed to Dallas-based Pegasus News, which in the circle of life, is now part of The Dallas Morning News, where I got my big break in 2007. Eventually, I’d love to write and talk about film full-time, but until that’s a viable career option, I work as an auditor for Wells Fargo. I hope to one day meet my hero, go to the Toronto International Film Festival, and compete on Jeopardy. Until then, I’m excited to share my love of film with you.

Leave a Reply