9 Years Later, One of the Greatest Sci-Fi Sequels in History Returns to Streaming Charts

It’s been almost 10 years since one of the best sci-fi sequels ever hit theaters, but it’s still dominating streaming. 2016 brought plenty of great movies, but few have had as much staying power as Blade Runner 2049, the Ryan Gosling-led legacy sequel to Ridley Scott’s genre-defining 1982 epic starring Harrison Ford. Blade Runner 2049 had been absent from streaming for a while, until YouTube recently made the film available to watch for all Premium subscribers. It’s also now charting in the VOD top 10 in several countries around the world, including both El Salvador and Bulgaria.

It’s difficult for a legacy sequel to recapture the magic of the original, but that’s exactly what Blade Runner 2049 did. The film earned strong scores of 88% from both critics and audiences on Rotten Tomatoes, but it wasn’t able to parlay these strong reviews into success at the box office. The studio reportedly spent around $150 million making Blade Runner 2049, but the film grossed only $277 million at the global box office. Earning $120 million more than its budget may seem like a win, but when factoring in marketing costs and ticket revenue sharing, Blade Runner 2049 needed to make over $300 million just to break even.

Ridley Scott did not return to direct Blade Runner 2049, but he did remain involved as an executive producer. Scott recruited Michael Green and Hampton Fincher to write the script for Blade Runner 2049 and Denis Villeneuve to direct the film. Blade Runner 2049 kicked off a run of critically acclaimed sci-fi movies for Villeneuve, which he followed with Dune in 2021 and Dune: Part Two in 2024. He’ll return to Arrakis later this year with Dune: Part Three.

When Does ‘Dune: Part Three’ Come Out?

Denis Villeneuve’s next sci-fi epic, Dune: Part Three, will be released in theaters on December 18. It will open alongside Avengers: Doomsday, and both are expected to be massive box office hits. In addition to the expected returning cast in Dune: Part Three, Jason Momoa will also reprise his Dune: Part One role as Duncan Idaho in the sequel. Anya Taylor-Joy will also step into a larger role in Dune 3, and Robert Pattinson has joined the cast and is rumored to be playing the villain Scytale.

Be sure to check out Blade Runner 2049 with a YouTube Premium subscription and stay tuned to Collider for more streaming updates.