20 Things You Didn't Know About Blade Runner 2049
8. Blade Runner 2049 LOST Money
The original Blade Runner was, believe or not, considered a failure; critically panned and largely misunderstood, its more philosophical themes clearly subverted expectations for a more action based, Star Wars type affair.
Blade Runner 2049, while scoring praise with critics and audiences alike, failed to even cover its own costs, taking a staggering $260.5 million worldwide but losing around $80 million. So what happened?
Most, including Ridley Scott, would blame the 163 minute run time and that audiences wouldn't sit through that much sci-fi, fan or not. Another factor is that the length would've reduced the number of screenings most theatres could run in a day, reducing the profit considerably.
2049 should've spawned a franchise but the financial losses make this increasingly unlikely, for now.