Why The Last Duel Really Bombed At The Box Office

Why The Last Duel Really Bombed At The Box Office

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The Last Duel failed to achieve box office success, and while Ridley Scott blames Millennials for that, there are several other real reasons.

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Why The Last Duel Really Bombed At The Box Office

Director Ridley Scott is blaming Millennials for The Last Duel’s box office failure, but what’s the real reason the movie underperformed? Written by Matt Damon and Ben Affleck (with assists by Nicole Holofcener), the film debuted in October to mixed reviews and low turnout in theaters, making it a flop at the box office. In an interview with THR, Scott blamed Millennials on their phones as the culprit for The Last Duel’s box office showing, but he left out quite a few promotional and timing factors that were the real issues for the film’s poor performance. Post-pandemic box office is difficult for any film, but The Last Duel had an uphill battle from the start.

Based on the real-life story about the last-known duel in the medieval era, The Last Duel’s true story is a complex and weighty one, which was likely a turn off for audiences looking for an escape from more dour entertainment. Despite the name actors involved in the film, including Damon, Driver, and Affleck, the overall appeal to mass audiences was low, especially given the options they had at the time of release. With the pandemic still in effect, it takes a certain kind of movie to get audiences to flock back to the theater. The Last Duel is chock full of Scott’s signature style, but for those not attuned to what he has to offer, it simply looks like a film that’s easy to miss in theaters and catch sometime later at home. For audiences, especially younger ones, the hold out is for big, fancy, expensive spectacles, like Halloween Kills, Dune, or No Time To Die, all of which have broader appeal.

Related: The Last Duel’s Box Office Failure Proves Streaming Isn’t The Real Villain

Marketing and timing played a key role in how The Last Duel was received as well. The trailers, spots, and even longer clips were released to help generate interest for the film, but hardly any of them played up the talent involved in the film, focusing instead on just the story. For audiences just testing the waters back in theaters, regardless of age demographics, a sure thing is a better sell than a risky film that could potentially be a long, slow burn with little in the way of a guaranteed good time at the movies. The Last Duel, regardless of how it actually played to audiences, simply didn’t get the word out on what it had to offer, from star power, to its unique structure, to it’s creative talent involved; all of it was downplayed, leaving audiences to choose something recognizable, rather than taking a chance on something unknown, which is likely the biggest factor that hindered The Last Duel from being a box office success.

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The Last Duel’s Target Audience Is A Hard Sell Post-Pandemic

Why The Last Duel Really Bombed At The Box Office

The Last Duel also suffered from a marketing campaign that attempted to appeal to everyone and no one. It painted the portrait of a conspiracy-driven medieval drama with a simple one-on-one battle at its core, which can be a tough sell for audiences looking for an escape, especially when there are established franchises to choose from. Older (and younger) audiences simply had more appealing options at the time of release and The Last Duel failed to recognize what it was up against and how best to combat that through marketing and timing. Beyond that, audiences were looking for something less morose and heavy, seeking more of an escape from the darker stories, as the news cycle, pandemic woes, and economic shifts have left many with enough difficult material to chew on.

The Last Duel Had Too Much Box Office Competition

Why The Last Duel Really Bombed At The Box Office

With superheroes and spectacle ruling the box office at the moment, The Last Duel appealed more to older audiences, who were being lured at the same time by the latest James Bond entry, No Time To Die, a more enticing choice for that age group as it’s an established franchise that most have grown up with. Younger audiences aren’t as dyed-in-the-wool fans of Scott’s work, as it often teeters between blockbuster films and quieter, historical dramas and character pieces, making the other big competitor, Halloween Kills, an easier option to gravitate towards. The other massive roadblock to The Last Duel was Denis Villeneuve’s Dune, which opened a week after The Last Duel. Dune was heavily marketed and had a much broader appeal to audiences of all ages, making it a much more alluring choice for younger and older audiences.

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The Last Duel’s Marketing Wasn’t Compelling Enough (& Hid The Best Part)

The film also failed to get the best marketing treatment, leaving out a major aspect of the film, which is the Rashomon-like three-act-structure. Taking place from three different perspectives easily could’ve been a major selling point for The Last Duel, but it’s never mentioned or alluded to in any of the trailers. Leaving such an interesting aspect out of marketing was a big misstep and is a major contributing factor to the dwindling returns. Also, the trailers didn’t leave viewers with any notable imagery or dialogue that made it a can’t-miss in theaters, nor did it play up the pedigree of the film enough to generate interest. The last time Damon and Affleck wrote a movie together (Good Will Hunting) they won an Oscar for their efforts, which is never mentioned here, nor is their star power shown off in a way that beckons the audience not to miss it. The same can be said of Scott, as his name isn’t even mentioned in the trailers, which is a pretty significant thing to be left out when the director of Gladiator, Black Hawk Down, The Martian, and Alien are at the helm.

Ridley Scott is an amazing and iconic filmmaker and The Last Duel may well be a great watch, but for R-rated audiences just making their way back to the theater, the film needed more incentive for them to show up, risk their health, and break the habit of staying at home and waiting for streaming. Now, more than ever, Hollywood needs to pull out all the stops to market their latest endeavors, as it could mean the difference of what theaters will and won’t play for years to come. Ultimately, theater owners want movies that are going to get chairs filled and, for better or for worse, venturing to theaters is the hardest sell it’s ever been. Timing and marketing are essential at this point, so half-measuring those efforts and assuming that the final product will sell itself is now an antiquated way of thinking in the new post-pandemic realm of theatrical exhibition.

Link Source : https://screenrant.com/last-duel-ridley-scott-movie-box-office-failure/

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