Blade Runner 2049 currently beats The Empire Strikes Back 58–42

42% 58%

Based on 12 head-to-head votes across 1 bracket

Who do you think should win?

The Verdict Decades Apart

This matchup has 12 votes. The picture may shift as more people weigh in.

37 years separate these two films. The Empire Strikes Back (1980) represents a different era of filmmaking than Blade Runner 2049 (2017), which makes every vote a small statement about what holds up over time. Across 12 votes, Blade Runner 2049 leads this matchup 58% to 42%.

Irvin Kershner and Denis Villeneuve brought very different things to the screen. This matchup tests which directorial voice resonates more when the two films are placed side by side.

2.8s — that's how fast voters choose. No deliberation, no agonizing. Blade Runner 2049 at 58% on pure instinct.

The Numbers

	The Empire Strikes Back	Blade Runner 2049
Head-to-Head	42%	58%
Overall Win Rate	65%	56%
Championships	49	232
Budget	$18M	$150M
Return	29.9x	1.7x

The Twist

The Empire Strikes Back sits at 65% overall on BingeBracket, Blade Runner 2049 at 56%. Everywhere else on the platform, The Empire Strikes Back is the stronger film — except here.

Where This Matchup Sits

On the platform, The Empire Strikes Back is in the top quarter of Adventure out of 82.

Against shared opponents, The Terminator splits them: The Empire Strikes Back wins that matchup comfortably, while Blade Runner 2049 can't get past it.

The Empire Strikes Back is the higher-rated film on TMDB at 8.4 vs 7.6. Bracket voters keep choosing Blade Runner 2049 anyway — a sign that critical consensus and head-to-head instinct don't always point the same direction.

Adjusted for what they cost, The Empire Strikes Back (1980) returned 29.9x its budget while Blade Runner 2049 (2017) managed 1.7x. Despite the ROI gap, Blade Runner 2049 wins the head-to-head on BingeBracket.

The decision time splits by film: 1.0s to vote for The Empire Strikes Back, 4.0s to vote for Blade Runner 2049. People don't reach for both films the same way.