Blade Runner Sequel Disappoints at the Box Office

Blade Runner 2049 opened surprisingly weakly at the North American box office, debuting with an estimated $31.5 million, AP reports. That's a disappointing start for a highly touted, well-reviewed sequel that cost at least $155 million to make. Warner Bros. and Sony Pictures, which collaborated on the Alcon Entertainment production, had targeted closer to a $50 million opening.

The problem Blade Runner 2049 ran into is clear from opening-weekend data. The audience was overwhelmingly male and over the age of 25. Blade Runner 2049, starring Ryan Gosling and Harrison Ford, failed to pull in moviegoers beyond fans of the 1982 original. The Kate Winslet-Idris Elba adventure romance The Mountain Between Us debuted in second with $10.1 million. The horror hit It followed in third with $9.7 million in its fifth week. (More Blade Runner stories.)