Hugh Grant recently shared thoughts about whyDungeons & Dragons:Honor Among Thievesbombed at the box office — buta popular Netflix series with 91% on Rotten Tomatoes places doubt on his argument.Honor Among Thieveshit theaters in March 2023, and its performance wasn’t what Paramount had hoped for. The film grossed a mere $208 million, which wasn’t ideal with theDungeons & Dragonsmovie’s $151 million budget. AlthoughHonor Among Thieveslater saw Netflix success, the film was still overwhelmingly a flop.
And this has made itless likely thatHonor Among Thieves2will happen, even with fans calling for a follow-up to the 2023 movie. Grant, who plays Forge Fitzwilliam in theDungeons & Dragonsfilm, hazarded a guess as to why it did so poorly. Speaking toVanity Fair,Grant wondered whether market research had been done before green-lighting the project. “Basically, people just thought, I don’t want to see a film about this game. Why had no one asked the public?”While it’s easy to see where he’s coming from,Stranger Thingsproves him wrong.
Stranger Things' Success Proves Hugh Grant Is Wrong About Honor Among Thieves
Dungeons & Dragons Concepts Can Appeal To Mainstream Viewers
Stranger Thingsmay not be an officialDungeons & Dragonsseries, but theNetflix hit draws heavy inspiration from the tabletop RPG. Villains like Vecna and the Demogorgons are pulled fromD&Dlore, and the main characters of the Netflix show are all into the game. Based on Grant’s logic, no one would be interested in watchingStranger Thingsbecause they aren’t interested in seeing suchDungeons & Dragonselements on-screen.However, the Netflix show’s streaming success proves theHonor Among Thievesstar wrong.
If people can enjoyStranger Thingswith all its spins onD&D,they can just as easily appreciateHonor Among Thieves.
If anything,Stranger Thingshas helped increase interest inDungeons & Dragonsand made knowledge of the game more mainstream. And if people can enjoyStranger Thingswith all its spins onD&D,they can just as easily appreciateHonor Among Thieves.While the 2023 film is more heavy on theDungeons & Dragonslore and references, it still ensures its central narrative is easy for newcomers to understand. And this should help the film appeal to general audiences, asStranger Thingstakes a similar approach.
Dungeons & Dragons Can Appeal To Mainstream Audiences (But There’s A Catch)
Its Take On The RPG Can’t Be Overwhelming
Stranger Thingsis proof thatD&Dconcepts can appeal to mainstream audiences — but one condition makes this all the more likely.Anything adaptingDungeons & Dragonswill need to simplify the tabletop RPGto bring in newcomers.D&Dcan appear overwhelming for those who don’t play the game, as there are many different campaigns, rules, and bits of lore to take in.Stranger Thingsintroduces the concepts it takes fromD&Din a straightforward manner, not even bothering to draw the connection at times.
This Dungeons & Dragons Movie Would Make A Great Alternative To Honor Among Thieves 2
A Dungeons & Dragons movie based on this spinoff tabletop system would make a great alternative to Honor Among Thieves 2 and add to the franchise.
This isn’t an option for a movie likeHonor Among Thieves,which must connect more clearly toDungeons & Dragons.However, it can still strike a balance between droppingD&Dreferences and telling a story that uses the game’s elements but doesn’t depend on knowledge of them. To be fair, the 2023 film does accomplish this to an extent. It’s easy enough to follow and enjoy without ever playing the game — though it leavesplenty ofD&DEaster eggsfor dedicated fans. This combination probably contributed to its Netflix success, and leaning further into it may have helped the film in theaters.
Stranger Things Isn’t The Only Proof A Dungeons & Dragons Adaptation Can Work
The Legend Of Vox Machina Succeeds Leaning More Heavily Into D&D
Stranger Thingsisn’t the only series that proves there’s a demand to adaptDungeons & Dragons.Amazon’sThe Legend of Vox Machinais based onCritical Role’s firstD&Dcampaign. UnlikeStranger Things, The Legend of Vox Machinaleans more heavily into the game and its lore. And while it’s not necessarily known by the average viewer, it has a committed fan base that’s led to its success. Indeed,The Legend of Vox Machinahasreceived perfect Rotten Tomatoes scoresfor all three of its seasons. And it seems to be chugging ahead towards seasons 4 and 5.
This again proves that people are interested inDungeons & Dragonsprojects, even ifHonor Among Thieves' box office doesn’t reflect that.
This again proves that people are interested inDungeons & Dragonsprojects, even ifHonor Among Thieves' box office doesn’t reflect that. Both casual viewers and diehardD&Dfans seem willing to watch something that infuses the RPG into its story.This leaves us to speculate on what actually went wrong withHonor Among Thieves,which should have seen similar success toStranger ThingsandThe Legend of Vox Machina.Of course, it’s possible TV shows just fare better than movies when it comes to this topic.
What Really Went Wrong With Honor Among Thieves
Despite Grant’s sentiment,a lack of demand forDungeons & Dragonsprojects doesn’t seem to be the problemwithHonor Among Thieves.However, Grant might be onto something with one part of his comments. It’s possible a movie format isn’t as effective when bringing D&D to the screen.Stranger ThingsandThe Legend of Vox Machinamay indicate that television works better. However,Honor Among Thieves’streaming success could also be a sign that those interested in these projects would rather watch them at home than in theaters.
1 D&D Faction In Honor Among Thieves Reveals The Perfect TV Spinoff
One of the factions featured in Dungeons & Dragons: Honor Among Thieves provides a great framework for a TV series set in the same world.
There are many otherreasonsHonor Among Thievesmight have floppedat the box office, many of which have nothing to do with demand. Despite its production budget, the film’s marketing was lacking, leaving many viewers to discover it for the first time on Netflix. The trailers for the movie also gave away some major moments, which could have deterred people from paying to see it. Opening at the same time asThe Super Mario Bros. Movieand in the midst of a strike against Hasbro and WOTC also couldn’t have helped.
Needless to say, it’s impossible to determine the real cause ofHonor Among Thieves’box office bomb, as the 2023 film had so much else working against it. Judging by its streaming success and several other series winning withD&D, the demand still seems to be there. Hopefully, Paramount will learn from the movie’s failure, then use that knowledge to makeHonor Among Thieves 2even better. But at this rate, it’s hard to say if a sequel will even happen — especially if the studio also believes there’s no audience for the film.
Dungeons & Dragons: Honor Among Thieves
Cast
Dungeons & Dragons: Honor Among Thieves follows a cunning thief and a group of unlikely adventurers on a quest to recover a lost relic. The film details their epic heist, which takes a perilous turn as they encounter formidable adversaries, adding complexity to their mission.
