LOS ANGELES -- Warner Bros.' Blade Runner 2049 topped the box office last weekend, but despite some strong reviews and positive audience reaction, sales were about $33 million in U.S. and Canadian theaters, according to the measurement firm ComScore.
A sequel to Ridley Scott's 1982 sci-fi cult classic Blade Runner, about a futuristic society where androids known as replicants are almost indistinguishable from humans, Blade Runner 2049 had been estimated to debut at $50 million. The movie -- directed by Denis Villeneuve and starring Ryan Gosling and Jared Leto, with Harrison Ford reprising his role as Deckard -- cost an estimated $150 million to produce after rebates and before marketing costs.
The picture earned an 89 percent fresh rating from critics on Rotten Tomatoes, and Los Angeles Times critic Kenneth Turan wrote, "this film puts you firmly, brilliantly, unassailably in another world." The movie received an A-minus grade from audiences surveyed by CinemaScore.
Despite the positive reception, Blade Runner 2049 debuted way below comparable fall-season sci-fi titles such as Gravity, The Martian and Interstellar and below the franchise revival Mad Max: Fury Road, all of which opened in years past with more than $45 million.
Fox Searchlight's The Mountain Between Us debuted at No.2, earning $10.5 million.
The film, starring Kate Winslet and Idris Elba, follows the survival saga of strangers stranded together atop a remote snow-covered mountain after a plane crash. The $35 million film earned an A-minus rating on CinemaScore but a rotten 46 percent on Rotten Tomatoes.
After briefly reclaiming the top spot, New Line Cinema's It, now in its fifth weekend, came in third, earning about $10 million for a total of about $305 million.
Lionsgate's animated family picture My Little Pony: The Movie opened at No. 4, taking in about $8.9 million. Featuring the voices of Liev Schreiber, Michael Pena, Emily Blunt, Kristin Chenoweth, Taye Diggs and Zoe Saldana, the film earned an A-minus rating on CinemaScore and a rotten 58 percent rating on Rotten Tomatoes.
In fifth place, Fox's Kingsman: The Golden Circle brought in about $8.7 million. The film is a sequel to the 2015 hit Kingsman: The Secret Service; the two are based on a comic book about a secret organization of British super-spies.
In limited release, Focus Features' Victoria and Abdul, now in its third weekend, added 655 theaters for a total of 732 and brought in $4.2 million. The picture is based on the relationship between Queen Victoria and an Indian attendant.
Fox Searchlight expanded the Steve Carell-Emma Stone Battle of the Sexes to 1,822 locations and earned about $2.6 million.
THE ASSOCIATED PRESS
The top 20 movies at U.S. and Canadian theaters Friday through Sunday, followed by distribution studio, gross, number of theater locations, average receipts per location, total gross and number of weeks in release, as compiled Monday by comScore:
Blade Runner 2049, Warner Bros., $32,753,122, 4,058 locations, $8,071 average, $32,753,122, 1 week.
The Mountain Between Us, 20th Century Fox, $10,551,336, 3,088 locations, $3,417 average, $10,551,336, 1 week.
It, Warner Bros., $9,972,002, 3,605 locations, $2,766 average, $305,250,480, 5 weeks.
My Little Pony: The Movie, Lionsgate, $8,885,899, 2,528 locations, $3,515 average, $8,885,899, 1 week.
Kingsman: The Golden Circle, 20th Century Fox, $8,675,412, 3,488 locations, $2,487 average, $80,539,837, 3 weeks.
American Made, Universal, $8,446,715, 3,031 locations, $2,787 average, $30,818,675, 2 weeks.
The Lego Ninjago Movie, Warner Bros., $7,002,474, 3,611 locations, $1,939 average, $44,076,137, 3 weeks.
Victoria And Abdul, Focus Features, $4,171,870, 732 locations, $5,699 average, $5,987,264, 3 weeks.
Flatliners, Columbia, $3,975,021, 2,552 locations, $1,558 average, $12,504,623, 2 weeks.
Battle of the Sexes, Fox Searchlight, $2,562,066, 1,822 locations, $1,406 average, $7,839,641, 3 weeks.
MET Opera: Norma (2017), Fathom Events, $1,500,000, 900 locations, $1,667 average, $1,500,000, 1 week.
American Assassin, Lionsgate, $1,388,305, 1,656 locations, $838 average, $34,449,582, 4 weeks.
'Til Death Do Us Part, Novus Content, $762,125, 481 locations, $1,584 average, $2,668,754, 2 weeks.
The Stray, Quality Flix, $596,547, 640 locations, $932 average, $596,547, 1 week.
Home Again, Open Road, $568,000, 1,003 locations, $566 average, $26,353,346, 5 weeks.
A Question of Faith, Pure Flix, $453,717, 608 locations, $746 average, $1,788,973, 2 weeks.
Mother!, Paramount, $387,753, 481 locations, $806 average, $17,297,289, 4 weeks.
Judwaa 2, Fox International Productions, $312,250, 192 locations, $1,626 average, $1,184,239, 2 weeks.
Despicable Me 3, Universal, $289,605, 304 locations, $953 average, $262,637,975, 15 weeks.
Stronger, Lionsgate/Roadside Attractions, $277,809, 335 locations, $829 average, $3,770,182, 3 weeks.
MovieStyle on 10/13/2017