Theatrical
An advertisement for the film at Birmingham New Street Station, October 2017Blade Runner 2049 premiered on October 3, 2017, at the Dolby Theatre in Los Angeles, although following the 2017 Las Vegas Strip shooting, the red carpet events were canceled prior to the screening.[91] It was the opening feature at the Festival du nouveau cinéma in Montreal the following day.[92] It also was premiered in Switzerland at the Zurich Film Festival on October 4, 2017.[93][94] Sony Pictures Releasing, which had obtained rights to release the film in overseas territories,[95] was the first to release Blade Runner 2049 in theaters, first in France and Belgium on October 4, 2017,[94] then in other countries on the two following days.[94] The film was released by Warner Bros. in North America on October 6, 2017.[94] Alcon Entertainment partnered with Oculus VR to create and distribute content for the film exclusively for its virtual reality format and launched it alongside the theatrical release of October 6, 2017.[96] That content would later be referred to as Blade Runner: Revelations.[97] Due to the popularity and preference of IMAX in 2D (as opposed to 3D) among filmgoers in North America, the film was shown in IMAX theaters in only 2D domestically, but was screened in 3D formats internationally.[98] Just like Skyfall, the movie was specially formatted for IMAX at the expanded aspect ratio of 1.9:1.[99] The film is rated R by the Motion Picture Association of America for "violence, some sexuality, nudity, and language".[100]
Some scenes in the film that featured nudity were censored in Turkey. This decision received criticism from the country's film critics.[101]
Marketing
Warner Bros. and Columbia Pictures jointly released an announcement teaser on December 19, 2016.[102][103] A selection of excerpts (lasting 15 seconds) were released as a trailer tease on May 5, 2017, in the lead-up to the full trailer, which was released on May 8, 2017.[104] A second trailer was released on July 17, 2017.[105]
Short films
Three short films were made to explore events that occur in the 30 years between Blade Runner, which is set in 2019, and Blade Runner 2049:
- 2036: Nexus Dawn is directed by Luke Scott, and follows Niander Wallace as he presents a new Nexus-9 replicant to lawmakers in an attempt to have a prohibition on replicants lifted. The short film also stars Benedict Wong as one of the lawmakers.[106][107]
- 2048: Nowhere to Run, also directed by Scott, follows Sapper Morton as he protects a mother and daughter from thugs, outing himself as a replicant in the process.[108]
- Blade Runner Black Out 2022, is an anime directed by Shinichirō Watanabe[109] wherein a rogue replicant named Iggy carries out an operation to detonate a nuclear warhead over Los Angeles, triggering an electromagnetic pulse that erases the Tyrell Corporation's database of registered replicants. Edward James Olmos reprises his role as Gaff in this film. Flying Lotus composed the soundtrack; Watanabe had used his music as a temp score in making a rough cut of the short.[110]
Home media
The film was released on DVD, Blu-ray, Blu-ray 3D, and 4K Blu-ray on January 16, 2018.[111] It made approximately $29 million in US physical home media sales.[112]
