Ridley Scott gave his take on why his latest medieval action flick The Last Duel failed to perform at the box office this past fall on a new episode Marc Maron’s WTF podcast. If you are currently reading this on your smart device he thinks you are the problem, attributing its failure to “audiences who were bought up on cellphones”.
As you’d expect, the internet’s cinephiles were dismissive of Scott with many explaining their criticism of the film and others mocking him for his outlandish claims. Alongside this controversy, many moviegoers brought up other films of a similar tone that had performed well this year, including The Green Knight.
In terms of critical reception, The Green Knight performed slightly better with an 89 percent Rotten Tomatoes score while The Last Duel only garnered 85. Audience reviews would tell a different story with Scott’s film, sitting at 81 perfect percent while David Lowery’s The Green Knight has 50.
The Last Duel only earned $27 million of its $100 million budget when it arrived in theaters. The Green Knight made its budget back in its theatrical run, however, it was substantially lower than the cost of Scott’s latest film.
Despite this, fans chimed in to the discussion on social media defending The Green Knight and throwing shade at Scott’s claims.
The Last Duel had a rocky road to release with a lack of advertising and exclusive theatre release launching during the pandemic. It isn’t yet clear how the film will age and Ridley Scott‘s latest comments don’t seem to be helping his quest.