Ridley Scott has climbed up on his high horse to point a lance squarely at Millenials, blaming them for the box office bombing of The Last Duel. Scott recently popped onto Marc Maron’s WTF podcast in which he spoke about the dismal returns for The Last Duel, a medieval drama starring Matt Damon, Adam Driver, Jodie Comer, and Ben Affleck. The film has banked $27 million in returns against its $100 million budget at the time.
When talking to Maron, Scott says that he thinks Disney did a great job promoting the film. “Disney did a fantastic promotion job,” Scott said on the podcast. “The bosses loved the movie because I was concerned it was not for them.”
Who then is to blame for the film barely making a peep at the box office? According to Scott, it’s those confounded Millenials.
“I think what it boils down to — what we’ve got today [are] the audiences who were brought up on these fucking cell phones. The millennian, [who] do not ever want to be taught anything unless you told it on the cell phone,” Scott said.
“This is a broad stroke, but I think we’re dealing with it right now with Facebook,” Scott added to Maron. “This is a misdirection that has happened where it’s given the wrong kind of confidence to this latest generation, I think.”
Scott also wanted to set the record straight by saying that he believed in Disney’s strategy to release the film exclusively in theaters. He also commented on his commitment to making the film, saying that he’s proud of the feature they produced, regardless of how it faired in theaters.
“That’s the call you make,” he said of his boarding the project. “That’s the call Fox made. We all thought it was a terrific script. And we made it. You can’t win all the time. 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.”
As an elder Millenial myself, I can’t help but feel like Scott is yelling at clouds with this one. What do you make of his statements? Was The Last Duel a priority for you? Would you have watched it if the film received and day-and-date release on Disney+ or Disney Star? Let us know where you stand in the comments section below.