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Blade Runner 2049 Takes First Place at the Weekend Box Office

When does coming in first still mean you’ve failed? When it comes to the movie box office, that’s when. Blade Runner 2049 won the weekend box office bringing in an estimated $31.5 million. Expectations had the film opening somewhere between $41-$55 million. Those expectations seem to forget that the original film was considered a failure when it first opened and it has only gained popularity and a cult following over the years since.

The film debuted overseas with $50.2 million which met expectations for that. The $150 million film opened with $81.7 million. Another example of the fact the international box office is what matters now. The movie falls into the 60/40 international/domestic ratio we’d expect for modern films’ earnings.

The movie was 71% male vs. 29% female, of which 63% of the total audience was over the age of 35. It did receive an “A-” CinemaScore. It’s possible word of mouth may help the film but it has a short window to make up ground domestically.

In second place was another new film The Mountain Between Us which earned $10.1 million. The film’s budget is just $35 million so should do well enough to make that back over the long run.

In third place was It which dropped from second last weekend. The film added $9.7 million to its domestic total and has earned $304.9 million domestically and $603.7 million on a budget of just $35 million.

In fourth place was another new film, My Little Pony: The Movie which debuted with $8.8 million domestically and $3.8 million at the foreign box office. The film met or barely beat expectations.

Rounding out the top five was the comic adaptation Kingsman: The Golden Circle which dropped from first to fifth adding $8.1 million to its domestic total. The film’s domestic total is just under $80 million and foreign is $173.6 million for a total of $253.6 million on a $104 million budget. The film lags behind the original but it currently ranks about the same for the year, so it’s possible the film is suffering from the year’s issues.

We’ll be back in an hour to take a look at this year’s comic adaptations and where things stand.

By Brett

Brett is a political consultant who resides in Arlington, VA. He grew up in Cleveland, OH and Buffalo, NY and attended the University at Buffalo, majoring in Political Science.
Since then Brett has made his mark on politics working in various positions such as a Legislative Staffer for the Erie County Legislature, Special Assistant for Senator John Kerry, as the Database Administrator for Forward Together PAC, Database Director for Chris Dodd for President, and Internet/Database Director for Virginians for Brian Moran, and Email Deliverability Czar for Salsa Labs and NGP VAN.
In 2007 Brett formed 5B Consulting providing his expertise on database solutions, new media and email strategy.
He's a long time geek, reading comics since he was a child and learning to spell his name on an Atari 800. When he's not working, he's reading comics, playing video games and relaxing with a nice cup of tea.
You can follow him on Twitter @bhschenker