Opening in cinemas mid-October, Ridley Scott’s “The Last Duel” is wasting no time coming to home platforms following its mid-October theatrical release.
Despite earning good notices from critics, the film was the textbook definition of a bomb – taking in just $10.6 million in North America and a further $15.6 million internationally after a month’s release.
That’s only a quarter of its sizeable $100 million budget and, combined with other underperforming genres, has been seen as proof that audiences (especially older ones) aren’t keen to return to cinemas just yet.
The exception is familiar blockbuster franchises like Marvel & Bond which themselves aren’t back to full strength yet. Speaking to The New York Times, Scott has addressed the film’s commercial failure and says:
“It was exceedingly disappointing. The fatal thing is when you think you’ve got it, you haven’t – I thought I’d got it on ‘Blade Runner’ and I hadn’t! I was crucified by a big critic at the time called Pauline Kael. It’s why I never read critiques, ever. You have to be your own decider – if you worry about what the audience is thinking and what they may want, that’s fatal. A good film will find itself, and now ‘Blade Runner’ is in the Library of Congress.”
Scott’s not slowing down though, the man’s “House of Gucci” premiered this past week in the UK ahead of a Thanksgiving U.S. release, he’s about to re-team with Joaquin Phoenix on the Napoleon biopic “Kitbag,” and he’s ready to go on a “Gladiator” sequel.
“The Last Duel” arrives on digital on November 30th and disc on December 14th in the U.S., and comes to the Disney+ ‘Star’ section internationally on December 1st.
