Blade Runner 2049 disappoints at box office

Taking $31.5m (£24.1m) in the US when expected to make $45m and $50m

When Blade Runner initially reached cinemas — back in 1982 — the movie grossed $33.8 million, only $5 million more than the production budget, not including advertising.

Since then, of course, Ridley Scott’s breathtaking neo-noir adventure has been heralded as a masterpiece, gaining critical adoration across the board.

Many expected the sequel — release last week to large amounts of fanfare and incredible reviews — would make huge amounts at the box office.

However, Blade Runner 2049 has so far dissented, taking just $31.5m (£24.1m) over the weekend, down from the $45m and $50m expected by distributor Warner Bros.

The Harrison Ford and Ryan Gosling starring blockbuster — which took over £6 million in the UK — cost Sony and Alcon Entertain $150 million (£114 million) to make.

Paul Dergarabedian, a senior analyst for comScore, told the BBC: "The core of enthusiastic and loyal Blade Runner fans were over 25 and predominantly male, and propelled the film as expected to the top spot, but a lengthy running time and lesser interest among females made it tougher for the film to reach the original weekend box office projections.”

At least half the audience were men over 25, with women over 25 making up just 27%. Warner Bros’ Jeff Goldstein said the film disappointed in smaller cities where the long run-time and baseball playoffs were a deterrent.

Blade Runner 2049 grossed $50.2 million globally, taking the top spot in 45 of the 63 countries where the picture was playing. However, the global number one spot wen to the Chinese comedy Never Say Die, which took $66m at the international box-office.

Thanks to some astounding reviews and positive CinemaScore of A-, though, there’s still hope for the sci-fi sequel which could prove a slow burn.