Harrison Ford in Blade Runner 2049

In Theaters This Week (10/6/2017): Blade Runner 2049, The Mountain Between Us

Idris Elba in The Mountain Between Us

Each Thursday we look at what is going to be coming out in theaters this weekend, show you the trailers for the big releases, predict the box office winner and just generally give you enough of a carrot to pull you through the rest of the work week.  This week one of the fall’s biggest films opens, really kicking off the autumn movie season.

Ryan Gosling in Blade Runner 2049

It has been 35 years since Ridley Scott’s seminal science fiction film Blade Runner, and its sequel-Blade Runner 2049-is getting reviews on par or exceeding the original.  The Denis Villenueve (Arrival, Prisoners) directed film is at 95% on Rotten Tomatoes at time of writing.  The Harrison Ford Farewell Tour of My Greatest Characters continues and it looks like he’s and Villenueve are delivering again.


The only other wide release this week is the plane crash drama The Mountain Between Us starring Kate Winslet and Idris Elba.  Despite middling reviews, I’m curious enough that I’ll probably catch this on rental, but the studio didn’t show a lot of confidence in the picture opening it against a giant like Blade Runner 2049.

Blade Runner 2049 (Ryan Gosling, Harrison Ford, R, 2hr 44m)


The Mountain Between Us (Kate Winslet, Idris Elba, PG-13, 1hr 40m)

How Did We Do Last Week?
KT picked Kingsman: The Golden Circle to JUST edge out American Made and IT and repeat at the box office, and we got it right, but this is the closest three-way finish since Killing Time started.  Check out the final weekend tally:
1. Kingsman: The Golden Circle $16,935,565
2. IT $16,902,442
3. American Made $16,776,390
Kingsman won the weekend by $123.  That’s insane.  IT should easily pass $300 million domestically this weekend and is the #4 R-Rated film of all-time.  American Made‘s inability to even score a $20 million opening with really good reviews, really hurts Tom Cruise after The Mummy already bombed this summer.  His ability to open a movie without a franchise like Mission Impossible to back him is now in question.
(2017 Prediction Record: 35-5; Lifetime prediction record 73-10).

Taron Edgerton in Kingsman: The Golden Circle

WHO WILL WIN THE WEEKEND?
I tried to find out what the record is for consecutive number of weeks with an R-Rated film winning the box office, but whatever it is, Blade Runner 2049 should easily make it eight in a row for fall 2017.  Yes, it’s 35 years later, but the star power and general awesomeness of the trailers should guarantee it around $50 million to open.
Ryan Gosling in Blade Runner 2049

7 thoughts on “In Theaters This Week (10/6/2017): Blade Runner 2049, The Mountain Between Us”

    1. Lol I actually don’t, but I love Villeneuve, and Ford and Gosling and I tried sooo hard to like the original, but I have high hopes for this.


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  1. I think you might like it more than the original, but you will be among the few, and it is not a masterpiece. The scope of it and the visuals had my jaw hanging open, the cinematography and atmosphere equaled the original (though they had a somewhat different quality) and every penny is on the screen. The ideas and creativity are far beyond the original. This is pure science fiction, not dress-up. It did not feel like a two hour and forty five minute long movie, and the plot kept me guessing all the way.


    It will be a box office disappointment. It is way, way far afield if the original. I get that they wanted to do something different, but for a Thursday night showing only the diehard fans show up, and the audience response in the theater tonight was muted to the point of utter silence at the end. Then came the negative chatter in the lobby. If the loyal fans have a serious problem, good luck with the rest of the world.

    It has been built up way too much. The surprises are not big enough to warrant the secrecy, or even going in unspoiled. People are going to feel cheated. The publicity might even have created a perfect storm for a bomb, though these days big franchise films have a way of squeaking by no matter what.


    Wish I had better news.

    Liked by 1 person

    1. I completely disagree. I loved it and I think it’s the second best film of the year behind Dunkirk. My review will go up at midnight. I think it surpasses the original in every way. People will be disappointed Ford and Leto aren’t in the film more, but Gosling was brilliant and the story is much better as is the pacing, which is my biggest problem with BR. I don’t think people will feel cheated, but if they do, honestly screw them, I had to sit through Scott’s overhyped original time and time again trying to figure out why its so amazing until I realized it wasn’t. This is.


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      1. We are obviously coming at this from different perspectives, given our differing views on the original. My complaint is not that I did not enjoy the film, because I did very much. That is why I started with the selling points. But I wish I had gone in spoiled. I did not go in expecting a masterpiece, because I never do with any film, but I did expect all the secrecy to pay off, and it really did not IMO. My major problem is with the marketing, and if the film underperforms the marketing is to blame. They need to start letting movies just be movies. Run an ad that says “Sure, we made a sequel to a beloved classic. Thought it might be fun, and profitable too. Come, and have a crazy time.”

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