One of the more high-profile failures at the box-office this year has been Ridley Scott’s historical drama “The Last Duel”.
Despite an all-star cast and very good reviews, the film tanked at the box-office – essentially ending its theatrical run with a gross of just $27 million worldwide on a $100 million budget.
Speaking with comedian Marc Maron on his WTF Podcast recently, the “Alien” and “Blade Runner” director says he doesn’t blame the film’s failure on its marketing as some others have. Instead, he puts it down to the short attention span of millennials:
“Disney did a fantastic promotion job. The bosses loved the movie – because I was concerned it was not for them – but they really liked the movie, so their advertising, publicity, et cetera, was excellent.
I think what it boils down to – what we’ve got today [are] the audiences who were brought up on these f–king cell phones. The millennian do not ever want to be taught anything unless you are told it on the cell phone.
This is a broad stroke, but I think we’re dealing with it right now with Facebook. There is a misdirection that has happened where it’s given the wrong kind of confidence to this latest generation, I think.”
Scott says despite what happened he has no regrets because he did what he set out to do and thinks the resulting film itself is great and will stand the test of time:
“We all thought it was a terrific script, and we made it. You can’t win all the time. As far as I’m concerned, I’ve never had one regret on any movie I’ve ever made. Nothing. I learned very early on to be your own critic. The only thing you should really have an opinion on is what you just did. Walk away. Make sure you’re happy. And don’t look back. That’s me.”
“The Last Duel” will be available globally on Disney+ starting Wednesday, December 1st and will hit disc formats on December 14th.
