Blade Runner 2049 (2017)

One consequence of this movie's underperformance is that it won't be in those premium Dolby/XD theaters for much longer. So catch it this weekend if you haven't already. Best movie of 2017 unless Ep8 runs the tables.

I finally caught it in 3D this week. It was pretty cool but I would've been irritated if it was the first time I'd seen it. Since I'd already seen it a couple times I spent more time taking in how they implemented the 3D---and it was very well done. I went with a friend who had never seen it before though and he mentioned how it had been prolly too dark, which makes sense.

Usually don't buy movie books and stuff but I wanted some of the behind the scenes and concept screen shots for this movie
http://smile.amazon.com/gp/product/B075WB78NH

With the visuals this movie had I'm looking forward to what some independent artists might end up doing with alternate movie posters or pictures. Not a lot out there for it yet.

Royal said:

With the visuals this movie had I'm looking forward to what some independent artists might end up doing with alternate movie posters or pictures. Not a lot out there for it yet.

Spoiler

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I doubt many will waste their time for a box office failure

Apparently they already are pulling this from half the theaters it opened in.

Palum said:

I doubt many will waste their time for a box office failure

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Alternate movie posters aren't a high volume item to begin with. Most are limited print runs. You see them for what amount to cult films all the time.

Harshaw said:

Apparently they already are pulling this from half the theaters it opened in.

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Nah. It's still in over 3000 nationally and it opened in around 4000.

Royal you should know that a quarter is the doomsayer's half

a_skeleton_02 said:

Watching it as we speak. Got about 10 people here. Most of them are like 80.

Sitting in the ultra cush cripple seats in the back.

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Here's a philosophical question for everyone. Do you think its right or wrong to sit in the handicap/cripple seats in movie theaters?

I don't sit in them. Not because it should only be for the handicap, but because I figure a lot of (literal) retards sit there and they probably shit their pants a lot.

Blitz said:

Yeah it sucks this movie is bombing, but for whatever reason people are not going to see it.

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If I had to guess it's because most people, myself included, can't afford it. Every dude in my office wants to see it but they can't afford to go or their wives/girlfriends can't be bothered for sci-fi.

Eh, it isn't like it is more expensive than other movies.

It's Blade Runner, which was a divisive movie when it got released. And this is a sequel 30 years later, but it is still Blade Runner. Add in the word of mouth that this is a long ass movie with little action, and that the resolution might make you feel a bit upset (easily 1/2 of the audience when I saw it last Thursday left with audible "WTF was that?" type conversations, and not the good kind) and I can see this not going well for a movie going experience. Saw some couples at the showing and you could tell the dudes knew fairly quickly into the movie that they made a poor decision.

I loved it, but then I love Blade Runner anyway. I'm definitely not some pretentious art-fag who thinks their opinion is better than others, but it had a lot of cool visuals and I liked the storytelling, especially the tragic-hero ending.

But it is very, very easy to see why this isn't doing well.

Rezz said:

But it is very, very easy to see why this isn't doing well.

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And it's only not doing well relative to it's budget. If they could have somehow made it for closer to $100 million it would be approaching it's break even point with it's world wide box office currently close to $200 million. Apparently Villeneuve spent a lot of money building practical sets on location rather than CGI'ing everything. CGI work can get very expensive but so can practical sets. The Star Wars movies are going heavy practical and the budgets for those movies ranges well over $250 million.

Yeah, there's definitely that going as well. Which honestly I wish would attract more people, because we are still (mostly) in the uncanny valley era of film making, where CGI is still pretty noticeable. It isn't insane over the top obvious, but it makes you go "Oh yeah that's clearly generated" even without knowing that Cushing was 20 years + dead before the Tarkin CGI fest was developed. It still looks off. Practical, even if it is pretty obviously miniatures, still just looks more "real."

I -do- think that the developers are actually banking a little on the post-theater release experience being enough to prop this up, as that is exactly how the original made money overall. Them thinking a 2 hour 40+ minute movie, in modern theaters, with a moderately thought provoking and not completely obvious self-sacrifice ending was going to do well in theaters is a stretch. Movie execs may be pretty retarded about most things, but I think they know where their revenue is going to come from. It "bombing" is actually going to increase the likelihood it has a stronger post-theater life cycle. And honestly, I hope the almost guaranteed Oscar this gets for cinematography continues to let them just give Villeneuve the reigns and curb their egos at the door. Dude can make a fucking movie. Those panning shots of post-apoc LA, or the statues? Yeah... it is going to be a rough sell to outbid that angle for an Oscar.

jayrebb said:

I'd suggest not watching any more movies by this director, like, ever again.

Never ever. Really, no.

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Sicario was fucking great.

And unless this is all bullshit, the international box office seems to have recouped the original budget.

Not a complete financial disaster. Also hasn't opened in China yet.

Vulg said:

Sicario was fucking great.

And unless this is all bullshit, the international box office seems to have recouped the original budget.

Not a complete financial disaster. Also hasn't opened in China yet.

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I think general rule of thumb is that only 50% of domestic box office goes toward the production budget. Less for international. So it's not 1:1, and it's hard to tell exactly.

One of the Alcon execs has said the movie has to make around $400 million for them to be good (meaning to make a profit on the $90 million that Alcon put up itself for the budget). Add in marketing costs and the assorted wild cards that come with international box office figures and it's still a good bet it hasn't made it's money back yet.

Rezz said:

Saw some couples at the showing and you could tell the dudes knew fairly quickly into the movie that they made a poor decision.

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Oh yeah, my girlfriend started fairly quickly to complain about the slow pace and had her head in her hands at some points. I suggested that we walk out but she stuck it out. We definitly had the bad kind of "WTF was that?" conversation afterwards and have no desire to watch the original.

I hope I'm not repeating myself but a great point I saw in a review is that the main character learns that he may be a real boy and has his first emotional reaction of the movie, leading to him almost being terminated himself by the LAPD. The next scene he has a weird replicant prostitute and hologram girlfriend threesome, it breaks the tension built up and your desire to see how he escapes his situation - because he has time to do that then can apparently just freely fly his car out to Las Vegas despite failing his baseline test. That scene should be in the movie be perhaps much earlier, when we meet the prostitute for the first time.

Doing my part and going to watch it again tomorrow, taking 4-5 friends with me.