It’s been a little over a month since the sequel to Ridley Scott’s seminal sci-fi was released, and it has fallen far short of box office expectations. However, this hasn’t come across as the disaster it might have been for another film, and actually, it might even be a good thing. Allow me to explain.
Firstly, it seems to have now been accepted that the projected box office was too optimistic, and overly so. The film was highly anticipated within the film world, and by big fans of the original, but that isn’t the majority of moviegoers. Outside of cinephiles, Blade Runner fans are a small group, but if you are on the internet reading about the film, it’ll likely be on a film site, and thus appear as though there are more interested in it than in the general cinema population. The original Blade Runner wasn’t a success on release either, it flopped and took decades to find its audience as it slowly built up a cult following. Thus in realistic terms, the film hasn’t fallen far short of expectations, but has of the arguably misjudged projections prior to its release.
Secondly, this apparent lack of a big box office showing also proves that in the sequel, the filmmakers didn’t pander to mainstream tastes. The fact that the box office effectively mirrors the franchise’s fanbase suggests that the film was made to appeal to them and not the masses, which is reflected in the film’s quality and loyalty to the original. Despite its marketing attempting to give it the air of a blockbuster, it really is less action film, more slow-burning mood piece; it is the extremely rare big-budget arthouse film. The film is all the better for the decisions that perhaps restricted its mainstream appeal, but seriously satisfied fans and critics, whilst injecting the multiplexes with something different.
However, the downside to this lack of box office could mean that the possibility for more big-budget films that aren’t in the superhero genre is put in jeopardy. They are already an extremely rare beast, even including less arthouse-esque offerings, and the lack of huge financial success for this may turn studios away from them even more. Or perhaps, it might prove that a film is worth making, and worth making right, even if that doesn’t lead to towering box office numbers. Maybe, after a huge number of critical (and commercial) flops that studios keep churning out, it’ll suggest to invest in more fair like this, as the ambitious gamble clearly paid off in terms of quality, and didn’t fail financially.
Overall, the quality of the film far overrides any disappointment in box office takings. We’ll just have to hope that this has the unexpected positive effect on the industry, as opposed to turning them even further away from different big-budget productions.
