Ridley Scott: Millennials are to blame for ‘The Last Duel’ bombing at the box office

78th Venice International Film Festival - 'The Last Dual' Photocall held in Venice, Italy

Ridley Scott is a spicy older gentleman, and he’s been talking sh-t throughout the fall. He has two films out this awards-season: The Last Duel and House of Gucci. The Last Duel came out a month ago and it’s already disappearing from theaters. I debated whether to see it in a theater, but it was bombing so fast, I’m pretty sure I’ll be able to rent it by New Year’s (and that’s always preferable to me). Maybe that’s how Millennials and garbage youths felt too, especially now that so many movies can be streamed or rented a few months after their release. As you can imagine, Ridley Scott is pretty salty about all of that:

Ridley Scott knows who to blame for his epic The Last Duel bombing this fall — and it’s not Disney, which he contends did a great job promoting the historical drama. The Oscar-nominated director dropped by Marc Maron’s WTF podcast for an episode published Monday in which he discussed his iconic career. Maron said he was impressed that Scott had two enormous pictures out this year, The Last Duel and the upcoming House of Gucci.

When it arrived exclusively in theaters in late October, 20th Century’s The Last Duel, starring Matt Damon, Adam Driver, Jodie Comer and Ben Affleck, cratered ($27 million worldwide off a $100 million budget). Scott told Maron he was somewhat concerned the Disney-acquired Fox studio would undersell the graphic film, but that was not the case. “Disney did a fantastic promotion job,” Scott said on the podcast. “The bosses loved the movie. … I was concerned it was not for them.”

Scott’s explanation for the horrible box office performance? Apathetic millennials.

“I think what it boils down to — what we’ve got today [are] the audiences who were brought up on these f–king cellphones. The millennian [sic] do not ever want to be taught anything unless you’re told it on a cellphone. This is a broad stroke, but I think we’re dealing with it right now with Facebook. This is a misdirection that has happened where it’s given the wrong kind of confidence to this latest generation, I think.”

Scott said he stood firmly by The Last Duel, and the decision-making process at the studio was solid throughout.

“That’s the call you make,” he said of his undertaking 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.”

[From THR]

I paid attention to the critical response for The Last Duel and the critics noted that Ben Affleck and Jodie Comer were very good, but that it’s just a difficult film. The fact that it’s a true (or true-ish) story probably should have been a big part of the promotion, because I’ve seen a lot of criticism about “why did you even make this costume-drama Me Too story?” It is historical and based on a real case. As for Ridley blaming the Millennials… like, the elder Millennials are entering their 40s! Older people like Ridley just say “Millennials” when they mean “anyone younger than 35.” The rest of his argument makes no sense… so, yeah. I have no idea.

'The Last Duel' photocall, 78th Venice International Film Festival, Italy - 10 Sep 2021

Photos courtesy of Avalon Red.

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132 Responses to “Ridley Scott: Millennials are to blame for ‘The Last Duel’ bombing at the box office”

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  1. Laughysaphy says:

    I’m a millennial, I was not brought up on cell phones or w/e the hell his gripe is. I saw the ads for this movie and frankly it looked boring af. Also Matt Damon being in it put me off completely.

    • SusieQ says:

      As a soon-to-be 36 year old Millennial, it is exhausting that people still think we’re 20 and continue to blame us for…everything.

    • Moxylady says:

      I’m an “elder millennial” as Anna Tendler says (all hail!) I’m 39. I didn’t want to see that shit show because every woman’s life is a me too story. Or has one. Or they know someone who has one. It’s just so damn grim. Ohhh her husband believed her! No points. Don’t care what century it is.
      Abs stop blaming millennials for ahit. We didn’t do trickle down economics with exponential unregulated capitalism bringing the climate crisis to a head decades before anticipated.
      Lastly. It’s still a PANDEMIC FOR THE LOVE OF GOD AND MAYBE PEOPLE DONT WANT TO CROWD INTO THEATERS AND BREATHE IN THEIR NEIGHBORS LUNG JUICES.

      • MelOn says:

        I’m not a millennial but I didn’t see it nor am I ever interested in seeing it because , frankly…. it looks awful. Matt Damon is made up to look like the Banjo Kid from Deliverance, I”m over Adam Driver , it just looked really boring.

      • Dierski says:

        +1 Moxylady – my thoughts exactly.

    • cassandra says:

      Exactly. The casting turned me off. Sorry not sorry I don’t buy Matt Damon or Ben Affleck in a medieval period piece.

    • ARHUS says:

      As a millenial also not brought up on cell phones, I didn’t see any ads for this movie! So marketing must not have been that good. His comments are doing better marketing than Disney lol. It looks interesting enough but it may be one I watch eventually at home…

    • Deering24 says:

      I will never understand why media/industry insists that millennials got humongous cash flow that they are too “spoiled” to spend. 🙄🙄🙄😡😡 Did they miss the part about crushing student debt and no good jobs?

  2. Emma says:

    Wow he will literally blame anyone and anything else before he blames the one person who had all the control over the film — himself.

    He has not one regret over any film? I mean . . . Prometheus? Not one regret?

    • Dierski says:

      Hahah, exactly… deflection is the name of his game.

    • Stacy Dresden says:

      I loved Prometheus! Favorite abortion scene on film.

      • Deering24 says:

        Yeesh. There are moonrocks with more intelligence than most of the characters in that and Alien: Covenant. 🙄🙄🤣🙄

      • Dano says:

        I dunno, I thought Prometheus was good. But agreed, the humans are super dumb in both movies. Like ‘Oh, what’s this black ooze all over this tomb, (oh and by the way it’s in a tomb on a Alien planet) let’s touch it.’

      • KLO says:

        @ all of you, I loved Prometheus and still actually remember the movie (I forget most movies I see in a theatre after 2 weeks). And yes, humans are dumb. They are really really dumb in real life so the movie was quite realistic to me, that`s all .

  3. likethedirection says:

    Honestly I’m just a fan of how cranky and give-no-f*cks he is in interviews, whether I agree with him or not. (In this case I don’t — The Last Duel was marketed poorly and the box office is still feeling the effects of Covid.)

    • FF says:

      I’m not a fan of old white guys acting out like they need their nappies changed. This is nothing new, and if anything I advocate for them growing up from being manbabies.

      When PoC and women can be applauded for this kind of nonsense I’ll be sure revisit and recalibrate my opinion if needed.

  4. Tulipworthy says:

    Maybe it bombed because it was a bad film. Way to blame others for your mistakes.

  5. Mina says:

    I didn’t want to see it because it is a dude-centric film about rape… end of. And I love Jodie Comer from her time on Killing Eve. Just not what I want to spend my time or money on viewing.

    • Marietta2381 says:

      Actually, It focused on Jodie Comer’s character’s story in my opinion. She was the lead. And she was fantastic.

      • harperc says:

        Really? Because then the marketing really sucked.

        I saw one ad/trailer for it, and that was when I saw The Green Knight (which itself was….interesting.) The trailer featured 3 guys over emoting, with Ben Affleck looking ridiculous in a period costume.

        …. I just looked for that trailer, and I found the “official” trailer, which heavily featured Jodie Comer’s character and which does seem to make the movie about her instead of 3 guys overly emoting. That is NOT the trailer I saw in the theater.

      • North of Boston says:

        Yup, it was NOT marketed* as JC’s character’s story. It was marketed as two guys’ pissing contest, with AD and MD playing dress up in armor. I had zero interest in seeing it.

        Perhaps many felt the same way

        Also, has Scott noticed the ongoing global pandemic?

        * I mostly heard about it on forums discussing film festivals and Oscar chances and saw very little actual promotion.

      • Deering24 says:

        Hee. So if they had leaned into the MeToo angle instead of the Knight-Dudes-Dueling, this might have drawn a bigger audience? Irony, gotta love it…

      • Catt Berlin-George says:

        Sorry, double commented.

  6. Carobell says:

    How popular did he anticipate a historical film about a pregnant woman being r*ped then threatened with being burned at the stake if her husband didn’t succeed at killing her r*pist in armed combat? Not exactly a crowd pleaser regardless of generation.

    • Emma says:

      Exactly

    • Hell Nah! says:

      @Carobell: +++

    • MF1 says:

      Yeah, I’ve heard it’s a good movie but even so… it doesn’t sound like a lot of fun to watch.

    • Heather H says:

      exactly! This film premise held no appeal for me, even with Jodie in it.

    • BayTampaBay says:

      Mr. Ridley Scott person should really shut his trap and not worry too much as I am sure he will make a metric-fu*k-tonne of money on House of Gucci and pick up a couple of Oscars to boot.

      • Marietta2381 says:

        I don’t know about that… House of Gucci is being panned by so many critics. If they’re counting on Lady Gaga to draw a crowd, she might, but I don’t think anyone is getting any awards from what I’ve read. The accents are horrendous, supposedly.

    • Lily P says:

      + 1

      I am done with men directing films on women’s abuse, they do not understand the nuance of pain and trauma that so many women go through and it’s time they stopped profiting off of it.

      • Chaine says:

        Yes!

      • Simmons says:

        That’s unfair. Matt and ben specifically brought in Nicole Holofcener to cowrite the script, because they wanted the female part of the story told from a female’s perspective.

      • WithTheAmerican says:

        Yes. And btw, he has a history that’s none too glowing. No I don’t want to see rape glorified and men fighting over the rape of their owned person.

      • WithTheAmerican says:

        @Simmons then they should have brought in a woman director. I mean, that’s not too hard to sort out in the current climate. It’s exploitative for men to center themselves over womens trauma, let alone profit from it while also hiring a man not known for being good to women to direct it!

      • Simmons says:

        @WithTheAmerican, you sound ridiculous. What’s next? Shall we cast female actors to portray the male characters? You seem to care more about the form instead of the substance. The centrality of the film surely is about the story, which is derived from the script. And by the way, the movie is based on an original book, which was written by a male author. Shall we witchhunt him for daring to write a female victim?!

    • lucy2 says:

      WTF, that’s what it was about??? No wonder people weren’t lining up in droves, risking covid, to see it.

    • Jennifer M says:

      Seriously! Rape dramas are the worst. I really hate Affleck, too, and that is starting to rub off on Damon.

      I CAN NOT WAIT for House of Gucci, on the other hand! So I somehow doubt “millenians” will ruin that box office.

    • The Recluse says:

      I think I’d rather read about this particular historical event. And Ridley has forgotten about COVID. There are still a lot of people who are leery of going to theaters.

      • tealily says:

        Not only leery going to theaters, but definitely not going to theaters for some overwrought rape drama. Give me light entertainment or give me nothing! My brain box can’t handle it right now.

    • Deering24 says:

      He was probably betting it would be good enough to be Oscar-bait, which would allieviate the grim. Nope. 🤪😈

  7. Dee Lynch says:

    A movie with tone-deaf Matt Damon, a movie which was hardly marketed and which uses women’s trauma as a plot point, is not my cup of tea, Ridley. And he thinks millenials spend all day on Facebook?

    • ANON says:

      @DeeLynch, +1

    • Travelin says:

      The Facebook comment is ridiculous. Most millennials abandoned Facebook as soon as their boomer parents joined. Then the holdovers bailed when those boomers started sharing their idiotic political views. Before the parents were confined to stupid email forwards. Facebook gave them a massive audience. The fact that Ridley thinks that cell phones and Facebook are among the reasons his movie failed? Shows how insightful he isn’t.

      Also the marketing sucked. I never saw a single trailer for it. Or any other advertisement. I did know that Matt Damon was doing some period piece but that was the extent of my knowledge. And it was solely from some gossip sites. And although I generally like his films I am not a big fan of Afleck. Unless he directed it. But those two have some serious image problems lately and if this movie was about a pregnant woman who was raped? Yeah No way.

      But then I am xennial who is careful with my health and won’t go to a movie theater in the middle of a pandemic. So I didn’t see a movie trailer. Nor do I have live TV or ever look at Facebook. So maybe I wasn’t the target audience after all?

      • Erin says:

        Exactly! My boomer parents are the ones on FB all day along with their friends because they are retired and have the time and the outrage. I on the other hand, a xennial, gave up FB years ago, IG when the pandemic started, and have better things to do with my free time.

  8. Aang says:

    I don’t really go to the movie theater anymore. I’ve no interest in super hero movies or any movie that relies on cgi, I just don’t like it. I can wait to stream most others at home. I will make an exception for a good horror movie. My family loves the Anabell / Conjuring franchise and will go see those as a fun family outing.

  9. Kari says:

    Hey Ridley, you know what movies my generation didn’t allow to bomb??

    Superhero movies 🤣🤣🤣🤣🤣

  10. Becks1 says:

    I’m an older millennial (remember you all, I’m about to turn 40, I feel like I haven’t mentioned that in a while) and I didn’t grow up with cell phones, that’s the generation after us, lol. (or the younger millennials.)

    I didn’t see it in theaters because I have kids, so if it’s not a kid-friendly movie, or friendly-esque, I have to find a babysitter, so I just don’t make it to movies that much even if i want to see them (and I did want to see this, and Spencer, and House of Gucci ,etc – I’m just not sure I’ll make it to theater for them. But I will see Encanto lol and we saw Shang chi etc, bc we go with the boys.) so if you take that as a huge factor, then consider older people who maybe would watch this aren’t comfortable going into a theater yet, etc – then it makes sense that it bombed. this might have been one that would have been better to wait to release, or to release simultaneously on Disney Plus or wherever with Premiere Access.

    Basically – can boomers and older stop blaming millennials for everything, lol.

    • Juls says:

      I turn 40 tomorrow! But I was TODAY years old when I learned this movie even existed. Sorry Ridley, I can’t afford to go to the movies because I’m trying to pay bills on the same salary my parents made 40 years ago and everything, including movie tickets, costs 10 times as much as it did when I was born.

      • Becks1 says:

        Happy early birthday! I’m not until February, I just talk about it all the time, lol.

      • Erin says:

        I turn 40 in a month and I was also unaware of this film but know all about House of Gucci. I’m not on SM, I don’t watch tv, I stream and avoid the news, and I never saw anything about this film ever. I also haven’t been to a theatre in years and don’t plan on going back anytime soon even with a booster shot.

    • Amy Too says:

      I’m 34, so I’m younger than you guys, but even I did not grow up with a cell phone. I got my first phone when I was 17/18 and I used it for voice calls and text because it didn’t have wifi and you couldn’t watch movies or videos on it or download a bunch of apps like Facebook or any social media. It was a flip phone!

  11. Krystal O'Connor says:

    37 year old millennial here, and frankly, people are going through enough bullshit right now and they’re not trying to go to the movie theaters and watch your shitty rape movie when they can watch Bob’s Burgers at home for basically free

    • Bryn says:

      Exactly. Honestly, I want to laugh. The world is so dumb right now and I’d rather laugh. Plus, Matt damon and Ben Affleck, not exactly what I want to pay a fortune to go to the theater to see

    • lucy2 says:

      Exactly! Who would want to watch that right now, or ever?

  12. Eve says:

    Millennials? So it’s not Marvel’s fault this time…or he’ll come up and say it is after all.

    The point is: it’s everybody else’s fault but his own movie being a load of crap. Right, got it.

  13. Case says:

    What the heck? I’m a millennial. I LOVE going to the movie theater. I’m a huge cinephile. But I’m not going during a pandemic, even for this film, which I’m interested in seeing. The content of The Last Duel is clearly geared toward an older audience who, you know, might be more risk-adverse when it comes to COVID.

    Hollywood, maybe if you knew your audience better and continued releasing films to streaming/rental early due to the *ongoing* pandemic, these dramas wouldn’t keep bombing at the box office.

    • Annabel says:

      Exactly. I think I’m like three years too old to be considered a millennial, but same principle. I’m not going to hang out in a movie theatre for two or three hours, because that’s a super dumb thing to do in an ongoing pandemic with cases spiking in my city and my five-year-old not yet fully vaccinated.

  14. Renee says:

    I’m not a millenial, but I was out the minute it “starred” Matt Damon. I’m done with Matt Damon.

  15. MF1 says:

    Um, Ridley, you know there’s still a pandemic happening? I’m a millennial with a film degree who loves going to the movies, but right now I’m just not interested in sitting in a room with 200 strangers for several hours.

  16. Lucy says:

    As a millennial, I just wasn’t super excited to see a story of a women’s assault told by a bunch of men. I am all set.

    • Simmons says:

      Ben and Matt specifically asked a female writer to cowrite the script because they knew people like you like to assess a film based on gender politics. Alas, I guess, you want such film to be written by a woman, directed and produced by women, and starred entirely by women.

      • North of Boston says:

        Okay, 1 “Inclusion Sticker” for them, then.

        Is it okay to opt out of seeing this because I’m sick of seeing stories that depict sexual assault of women? Or is that still to “gender politic-y” for you?

      • Simmons says:

        @North of Boston, that’s your prerogative. My picking of the original comment is that their wrong premise of male depicting female victimhood. That’s an unqualified assessment for the story or the effort the artists put their heart in.

    • AmB says:

      As a late boomer … what @Lucy said.

  17. FF says:

    People keep mentioning the fact that it’s based on a real history as if that’s some kind of get out for a complete lack of interest. They also keep framing it as a ‘me too’ story when it’s just two dudes figthing over what was viewed back then as defilement of one dude’s property. (It’s also been mentioned that the husband commits marital rape, as well as the home invasion rape.) So again instead of learning something about his audience he’s decided to insult them. The irony being that when this film first started bombing the older audience that didn’t come out was being blamed. They too were not in the mood for violence and rape.

    People already anxious during a pandemic don’t want any of this in a cinema: not graphic violence – be it maiming, murder or rape. He should have knocked this out before GOT’s red wedding, he’s 7 years too late. The only ones lamenting this have been men.

    Also Affleck and Damon are not a draw anymore. And audiences would also rather see Comer kicking ass. Simple.

    This film is a 90’s throwback pretending to be current and no one was falling for it.

    • lunchcoma says:

      Oh, you’re right about the 90s throwback vibe. It very much does remind me of the movies that were popular then.

      I agree that depressing movies are a hard sell right now, but I also think that a dark movie with a more 2020s perspective would have a better chance with audiences. I know I’d be a lot more likely to take a chance if a movie of this general type was directed by a woman and had women rather than problematic men as its most prominent actors.

    • BayTampaBay says:

      “And audiences would also rather see Comer kicking ass. Simple”

      Or Lady Gaga and Jared Leto wearing four million dollars worth of re-created Gucci Vintage Couture camping-up and chewing-up the scenery. Simple.

  18. steph says:

    And here I thought the time of throwing millenials under the bus was over with gen z growing up. Can we catch a friggin break??

  19. lunchcoma says:

    It’s historical and based on a real case, but not every story makes a great movie, and not every movie is a good fit for a particular team of writers and directors or for a big budget.

    This story might have worked as a smaller, cheaper film made with the understanding that serious historical films aren’t a sure fire hit with young audiences and that some of the adult women who like the genre will be put off by this specific subject matter. A lower budget would mean no Matt Damon and no Ben Affleck, but they clearly didn’t attract big audiences based on their names alone, and I don’t think either of their presence reassured anyone that the movie would do a great job handling the topic.

  20. MsIam says:

    Well House of Gucci is already being trashed by the critics so get ready to cry more tears Ridley.

  21. girl_ninja says:

    I’ll see a superhero film any day over this cranky self entitled old birds sh*t any day. Big baby.

  22. FluglyBear says:

    I was able to watch this at my local Cinema and enjoyed it very much. There are other movies, Spencer, and the Power of the Dog that are not playing where I live . It’s ridiculous.

  23. FrodoOrOdo says:

    This is infuriating to me. Ridley is one of my favorite directors. Kingdom of Heaven is one of my favorite movies. I watch it when I don’t feel good. I adore most of Ridley’s movies and rewatch them frequently, even Robin Hood which was rather tired and run of the mill. I love historical films, watch even the bad ones. Hell, the bad/unremarkable ones are often my favorite (hello, Centurion).

    But this movie was a short list of bad decisions. Affleck and Damon were poor casting. Combine that with the insinuation that you might tell a modern me too story from a director who isn’t known for subtlety in anything, much less women’s issues and no thank you.

  24. Lisbeth says:

    I’ll never forgive him for ruining what could have been an original take on the sheriff of Nothingham, and instead turning the story into a Robin Hood movie.

  25. Plums says:

    There was no hype for this movie at all. I only even heard about it when the word of mouth from critics I trust were raving about how good it was after it was already out. I was slightly interested in seeing it after that, but not enough to see it in theatres during a pandemic. I took that risk for Dune because it was so very effectively hyped to see it in a theater, but that was an exception.

    Also, Matt Damon was an asshole in recent enough memory that I’m still a little sour on him and would have avoided whatever new project he had coming out in proximity with that drama anyway. Ridley Scott can blame his film’s terrible marketing and Matt Damon’s idiot mouth and a pandemic, thank you very much.

  26. lisa says:

    I love Jodie in Killing Eve. However I do not like any of those actors. I have also consumed enough media about women being r**** to last a lifetime. Meanwhile I can only name 1 movie where men are similarly assaulted. I would never go see this in a theater. I do not think I would watch it on demand either. Even if there was no covid, I would never go see this because I am tired of assaulting women being such a common plot device. try harder writers.

    • Simmons says:

      This is ridiculous. They wrote based on a historical event. I’m sorry, but throughout history, it is common knowledge that women were more likely victims of male aggression. They simply retold the story. And yet, here you are, trying to rewrite a historical event simply because you are uncomfortable. Is this what modern woman is like?

      • Rewriting the historical event would be pretending that a pissing contest between two guys over the “damaged property” of one of them has anything to do with #metoo, like you and the film’s defenders are trying to do.

        Also consider that for many women, our own sexual assaults were more than enough. We’re not wrong to not be enticed to see another one, fictional or otherwise.

        Yep, this is “what modern woman is like”—completely done with your bullshit. Take several seats, my dude.

  27. Coco says:

    He reminds me of Johnny Depp when his movie bombed at the box office and took to calling moviegoers stupid and uneducated.

    In his next interview is he going to blame woman and the #metoo movement for the reason Dune flopped. He already did the classic blame superhero movies and blame the audience, so what next.

  28. whatever says:

    I can’t speak for the rest of my generation, but I didn’t see it because when I saw the trailer, and saw Matt Damon’s goofy facial hair and mullet and Ben Affleck’s bathroom sink bleach job, I literally laughed out loud in the theatre. I seriously thought it was some kind of parody thing, and any second one of the characters would face the camera and remind us to turn our cell phones off. It looked completely ridiculous.

    • Lurker25 says:

      Thank you! I thought I was the only one who’s been like “IT’S THE WIGS!!!!”

      I’m sorry, I just couldn’t get past the dumb and dumberer hair on Damon be and Affleck in the trailer. The story structure sounded interesting – he said, he said, she said, I think.

      But I’m a superficial bitch and I know myself – that hair would have distracted me too much to focus on anything else.

  29. HeatherC says:

    True story. My great grandparents successfully sued a card shop in upstate NY. My great grandmother fell on the sidewalk in front of the store and was awarded a sum of money. AND my grandfather was awarded money for “loss of his wife’s services.” I’ll sell the rights to Ridley Scott about how my grandfather must have suffered for those weeks.

  30. Lauren says:

    I’m a millenial. I just really dislike Matt Damon and I definitely would not pay to watch any movie is in. Sorry not sorry.

  31. Eurydice says:

    I’m not a millennial, but am also sick of films and TV shows that have abuse of women as the main plot device. I pretty much stopped watching TV because every time I changed the channel I’d hear another woman screaming – dead, raped, mutilated, etc. – and then the men have to get revenge or seek justice or whatever…so tired…

  32. Rachel De Young says:

    I’m Gen X. I’ve never heard of this movie until I read this article. smh

  33. Another Anna says:

    The Butcher Generation strikes again – we’re killing the go-see-movies-just-because-we-saw-an-ad industry.

    1) my cell phone hasn’t got a damn thing to do with why I don’t go see movies in the theater.
    2) has Ridley Scott considered that maybe the movie just doesn’t look interesting?
    3) I’m so unbelievably tired of people who blame millennials for everything. Own your own failure, Ridley. His saltiness about this really just reads as entitlement and excuses.

  34. Green Desert says:

    I’m “x-ennial,” recently turned 41. Scott is oversimplifying. As some have said, this movie was well-reviewed and from what I read, the focus was on Jodie Comer and the messaging was on point. However, many people are not comfortable going back to the theaters. Or, they’ve gotten so used to streaming movies and it’s just so much easier (and often cheaper). Also, the movie could have been marketed better. I know that Damon and Affleck are the “names,” but they could have, you know, marketed it toward women. That may have worked.

    And don’t forget, Ridley Scott also cast white actors in Exodus and had a quote about how that was the only way to get funding. So there are LOTS of issues with moviemaking and marketing.

    People like Ridley Scott and Kid Rock (big LOL at his new song) bitching about millennials is so tired.

  35. Scorpion says:

    33 year old here and Ridley’s movies to me are just a convoluted mess, see Kingdom of Heaven, Noah etc…..

    Plus there is only so many Euro centric movies I can watch. I’d rather read a good book 🙄😬🙃

  36. phlyfiremama says:

    Maybe people just don’t want to see crappy, utterly uninteresting, boring movies and waste their money?? The age of the golden “Movie Star’s is over, as access to more unfiltered information comes out about what shi++y people these “Stars” really are and people want to spend their money elsewhere on more appealing options. Sour grapes, and now I have the indelible image of RS shaking his old fists at the sky yelling “get off my lawn!”. 🤣🤣🤣

  37. Lala11_7 says:

    He made this movie when there was a sexual criminal fascist running the US…when the #metoo movement was all over the pages and released it during a pandemic that has NEVA been on the down curve…

    He got what he deserved

  38. Tana says:

    Sure, Ridley. It couldn’t be the fact that the pandemic isn’t over?

  39. #facts says:

    Matt Damon was enough to just say no. This should have been a streamer considering it’s. A period piece. No one is gonna pay money to watch this during a pandemic. No one! So there. These directors and Jennifer Aniston need to stop talking about what people spend their money to watch. It’s their choice.

  40. DuchessL says:

    I dont want to see matt damon after hearing his racist opinion about black people not having to be behind the making of a movie. The Great wall with a white savior for China made me barf. Adam driver is not someone i’d pay to see. Ben affleck is …ben affleck. I never heard about the movie. I’m over the previous great names of Hollywood. The “it” click of the 90’s. Very passé. Bring me new blood, bring me diversity.

  41. CJ says:

    This entire thread should be put in a time capsule.

  42. Mabs A'Mabbin says:

    Gen Xer here, and I don’t do theaters. Or Ben. Or Matt. Or Facebook. And I normally have four screens of various sizes going at once because when I learn things today, I multitask. You make decent movies Ridley. And now you look like an old fool. Your next move should be well thought out.

  43. Boxy Lady says:

    I’m a later Gen X-er. I saw The Last Duel the 1st day it came out. It’s a really good movie and everyone was good in it. But it’s also a brutal movie; the subject matter is very difficult although I thought it was executed well. I told everyone that it’s not a date movie or an escapism movie but it is really a good movie.

    • Travelin says:

      I am willing to bet that it actually is a good movie! I generally love his films. But the world is a pretty depressing place right now as it is. I am still working from home and so the idea of paying $$, sitting in a theater with 100 other sniffly people who will leave the notices on their phones, or have a fussy toddler is not the way I want to spend my time.

      I do miss big group events. There is a magic to experiencing something together. I’m just not sure film makes the cut anymore.

      My family saw Hadestown recently. The venue required you to show your vaccination card and required masks. And the night was amazing!

      Next we are going to see John Oliver live.

      You will have to do better for me to spend my money and risk my health. Especially during the winter flu/Covid season. Right now Matt Damon and Ben afleck are not up to the challenge.

    • Becks1 says:

      So those are the kinds of movies I just don’t want to watch anymore. there are so many movies we’ll see on Netflix or wherever and my husband will ask, do you want to watch this and I always say “yes, but I am really not feeling it tonight, lets watch it tomorrow,” rinse repeat. I like fun escapist movies at this point. The world is exhausting, I don’t have emotional energy for something like that.

      My guess is a lot of “millennials” feel the same way.

      • Another Anna says:

        HELL yes. The majority of us do not have the disposable income to go see movies unless it’s something where seeing it in-theater makes a difference (like a superhero movie). The world is on fire and things are pretty awful right now. Why would I force myself to go see a violent movie? That’s not fun for me. Don’t assign me homework, make a movie I want to see and I’ll go see it.

      • OriginalRose says:

        This is exactly how I feel too, I’m revisiting 90s movies that I know the ending of and I’m also consuming a lot of rom-coms…which are surprisingly good. Last week was ‘what happens in vegas’ a little time capsule of the mid 2000s with flip phones and bootcut jeans.

  44. Estelle says:

    If that isn’t white male privilege speaking I don’t know ma privilege. They can’t imagine that someone might want to consume their oeuvre in an alternate fashion. How dare ye exercise freedom to choose.

  45. Bobafelty says:

    I spent all my money on avocado toast so I couldn’t afford to go to the movie.

  46. Sarah Parish says:

    It feels like there are like maybe twenty actors that are ever used in film lately and they’ve all been around for at least 30 years

  47. Chaine says:

    50ish here, haven’t been to a movie theater since pandemic cuz airborne infections + enclosed close packed spaces aren’t my thing. I did see a trailer for this a while ago. I don’t remember even seeing a woman in the trailer. It just looked like some kind of medieval drama that would appeal to middle-aged MAGA guys. I guess they aren’t going because they’re too busy raising insurrections and dying of Covid.

  48. Ann says:

    I’m Gen X, and I don’t go to the theater unless I really am dying to see something or I think the cinematic experience won’t be the same on a small screen. Last film I saw in the theater was “1917” (totally worth it, I loved it). This movie might be good and I’ll gladly stream it at home, but it’s not worth a theater visit.

    Also, I don’t like Matt Damon and I never really have. I’ve always preferred Affleck, flawed though he may be.

  49. Loopern says:

    I am a millennial who was convinced to see this movie with a Gen Z stepchild. I too, didn’t buy Matt and Ben in a historical film and when I realized it was about being believed about rape/assault it made me anxious. We may just have a hard time finding the entertainment value in this subject matter. Could that be it?!
    It’s still a pandemonium too so if ppl are EVEN heading to the theater they need to really want to see the movie.Probably just cellphones though….
    The film was fine, I’m glad Gen Z (never without cellphone) convinced me to see it because I now LOVE Jodie.

  50. Byzant says:

    I am a millennial who saw this in the cinema and really disliked it. To make it a me too story they totally twisted the history – in historic accounts she was violently attacked by two men and even that wasn’t enough there still needed to be a duel- to make some he just misinterpreted her queues thing.

    Also gold lame costumes and Ben Affleck with super surfer bleached blond hair and beard and Matt Damon’s mullet screamed 1980 not medieval.

    However Jodie comer was excellent.

  51. Jay says:

    Old millennial here, too busy eating my avocado toast and ruining print newspapers to comment earlier. Is it weird that I’m secretly kind of flattered to be considered one of the young people that are ruining things for the olds?

    I haven’t seen a movie in theatres for two years now, and I’m sure as sh*t not going to start with Matt Damon in a he-man mullet and the crushing confirmation that women have never been believed about rape since medieval freaking times.

    • Green Desert says:

      @Jay I’m really late commenting on this but I just have to say this is a perfect comment. 😂👊🏽

  52. Houghlihann says:

    I’m an elder Millennial. I loved the book. I went to see the movie in theaters (in a theater where everyone else was under the age of 40), worried because … I mean … Matt Damon and Ben Affleckz Ugh. But I LOVED it. The marketing was terrible, making it look like it was about the men fighting when it was really a validation of women and JC’s character and a biting portrait of narcissism that was hilarious at points. And that’s because of the format, which tells the story three times: from each man’s perspective (written by MD and BA, respectively) and then the truth told from Marguerite’s perspective, written by a woman. It did the book proud, and I really hope more people will watch it. And if they don’t, that they’ll go read the book.

    • FF says:

      With a little luck Comer will walk off with an Oscar for it. None for the dudes, just the woman.

      Let’s see how the egos fare on that outcome.

  53. Deering24 says:

    No. Just…absolutely not. This was sunk by dubious casting (sorry, can’t buy Matt Damon as a knight-of-olde 🙄🙄)—and the fact that not enough people feel safe going back to theaters yet. As well, this was very grim going for not nearly enough reward.

  54. phlyfiremama says:

    Can we even TALK about how literally every potentially interesting bit of The Last Duel was BURIED in the utter circus of BenLo being together?? Or the fact that there is enough depressing horrible shi+ in REAL LIFE that we really don’t need to go to see a movie that just has MORE horrible shi+ in it, and that since that period piece era apparently not a GDang thing has changed for women?? Eww, no. Suck it up, Ridley, you are looking pretty doggone pathetic~and this is coming from a woman born in 1965, at the very tail end of baby boomer and the earliest possible mention of Gen X, who used to love his movies. As my dear departed and wise Mother use to say: screw you, the horse you rode in on, AND the canoe that brought you across the water. FFS, watching a grown man try to blame everything BUT himself gets freaking TIRING. I’m DONE.

  55. Greenfingers says:

    I had to do a triple take. Ben hasn’t looked this ‘fresh’ in years. I don’t read the Bennifer stories, so I haven’t looked at him for a while

  56. DenTom says:

    Scott straight up said he made a movie that was out of touch with its market. I think he came to the wrong conclusion about why the movie performed poorly.

  57. Dano says:

    I do like Ridley Scott though. He’s a once in a generation story teller, Ben Affleck and Matt Damon just kinda seem like knobs, I dunno.

  58. A. Key says:

    I think it’s just a difficult film and also his Rashomon-like approach to it, while interesting, made it boring honestly. Which is a shame since it’s a really important topic. Performances were great from everyone. And yes, it is based on history.

  59. topherben says:

    Seems like Millennials have become the knee jerk excuse for any Boomer failings…..

    In what world would Ridley Scott think a movie like that would have any appeal to a Millennial? If that was his target then the failing is all him…….

  60. Jenn says:

    I realize he must be trying an alternative tack — *insulting* the 18-to-35 demographic into seeing his movie — but making himself sound 150 years old will only work against him. It’s really depressing; he made three of my favorite movies all in a row (Alien, Blade Runner, Legend). I’m beginning to think they were made by total accident — style over substance. I love Tarkovsky and promise I understand “slowcore” cinema (although, as part of my Millennial Midlife Crisis, I do prefer movies to now speed things up a little). But Sir Scott’s obsession with Tristan and Isolde and BOATS is a total bore. The last movie he made came out 30 years ago, as far as I’m concerned.

    I wish he would at least put a dinner jacket on, but I guess dignifying others would be a bridge too far for the artiste.

  61. Ashley says:

    I saw very little promotion for this film in Paris, but why I did not see it, and may only save it for a if I’m really bored? Because when I had dinner with my bookclub two of them mentioned the movie (I had NEVER even heard of it) and said it was too difficult to watch. They said it was a triggering film and that it’s not something you want to see if you’re put off by violence against women.

    I know this may be shocking for old Ridley to hear but as a woman who has had MeToo experiences, rape and violence against women, even just the suggestion, are not ‘things I look for’ in my entertainment. The bombing may have to do with the fact that half of the population are women and we don’t care for it.

    Also frat boy douches Affleck and Damon are in this? Ahahahaha hard pass believing those two in the Middle Ages. Their best role was the two assh*le Angels in Dogma. And probably closer to their true personalities. Neither “disappears” in their roles. And I would choose them last as “who would you most like to see in a historical drama?”. They couldn’t find literally anyone else?

    Now House of Gucci? as a Netflix Millenial I can’t wait for that to go to HBOMax. Catch me chilling in my home Ridley.