Blade Runner 2049 underperforms at the box office on its opening weekend

‘Blade Runner 2049’ has failed to turn its dazzling crop of five-star reviews into cold hard cash on its opening weekend at the box office.

What was thought would be a sure-fire success appears to be off to a much slower start than expected, with $31 million coming in from the US market.

It’s notably less than was expected from the big budgeted, long-awaited sequel, directed by Denis Villeneuve for a reported $150-$185 million – projections were more in the $45 to $50 million region.

Jeff Goldstein of Warner Bros has called the taking so far as ‘narrower than we anticipated’.

Meanwhile, Paul Derbarabedian of movie business analysts comScore said: “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.”

Talk of the movie flopping are a little premature, however.

It did better business in foreign markets, making more than £6 million in the UK, and over $50 million in all, bringing its total to $81.72 million, according to Box Office Mojo.

Though there’s still some way to go before Warner Bros can begin thinking about profits.

The movie finds Ryan Gosling’s Agent K as a new generation of ‘blade runner’, seeking out the last of the rogue, older model replicants, but makes a shocking discovery.

It’s Harrison Ford, reprising his role as Deckard, the retired blade runner from Ridley Scott’s 1982 original, who holds the key both to the replicants’ past and their future.

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