Netflix series with 91% Rotten Tomatoes score proves Hugh Grant wrong about honor among thieves

Hugh Grant recently shared thoughts on why Dungeons and Dragons: Honor among thieves Bomb at the box office – but A popular Netflix series with 91% on Rotten Tomatoes doubts his argument. Honor among thieves In theaters in March 2023, and its performance was not what Paramount had hoped for. The film earned only $208 million, which is not ideal with those Dungeons & Dragons The budget of the movie 151 million dollars. Although Honor among thieves Later seen Netflix success, the film is still overwhelmingly a flop.

And that made it less likely that Honor among thieves 2 Will happen, even with fans calling for a follow-up to the 2023 movie. Grant, who plays Forge Fitzwilliam in the Dungeons & Dragons Film, hazard a guess as to why it is so weak. spoke to Vanity Fair, Grant wondered if market research was done before green-lighting the project. “Basically, people just thought, I don’t want to see a film about this game. Why didn’t anyone ask the public?” While it’s easy to see where he’s coming from, Stranger things Prove him wrong.

The success of Stranger Things proves Hugh Grant wrong about honor among thieves

Dungeons and Dragons concepts can appeal to mainstream viewers

Stranger things May not be an official Dungeons & Dragons series, but the The Netflix hit draws heavy inspiration from the tabletop RPG. Villains like Vecna ​​and the Demogorgons were pulled from D&D Study, and the main characters of the Netflix show are all in the game. Based on Grant’s logic, no one would be interested in watching Stranger things Because they are not interested in seeing such Dungeons & Dragons Elements on-screen. However, the streaming success of the Netflix show proves this Honor among thieves Star wrong.

if anything, Stranger things has helped increase interest in Dungeons & Dragons And made knowledge of the game more mainstream. And if people can enjoy Stranger things With all its spins on d&d, They can just as easily evaluate Honor among thieves. While the 2023 film is more heavy on the Dungeons & Dragons Teaching and demonstrating, it still ensures that its central narrative is easy for newcomers to understand. And that should help the film appeal to general audiences, viz Stranger things takes a similar approach.

Dungeons and Dragons can appeal to mainstream audiences (but there’s a catch)

His take on the RPG couldn’t be more overwhelming

Stranger things is proof that D&D Concepts can appeal to mainstream audiences—but one condition makes that more likely. Something adapting Dungeons & Dragons Will need to simplify the tabletop RPG to bring new arrivals. D&D Can be overwhelming for those who don’t play the game, as there are many different campaigns, rules and bits of learning to take in. Stranger things Introduces the concepts it takes from D&D In a reasonable manner, not even bothering to draw the connection at times.

This is not an option for such a movie honor among thieves, That must be more clear to Dungeons & Dragons. However, it can still create a balance between dropping D&D References and tells a story that uses the elements of the game but does not depend on knowledge of them. To be fair, the 2023 film does achieve this to an extent. It’s easy enough to follow and enjoy without ever playing the game – although there is a lot of it D&D Easter eggs for dedicated fans. That combination likely contributed to its Netflix success, and leaning further into it may have helped the film in theaters.

Stranger Things isn’t the only proof that a Dungeons and Dragons adaptation can work

The legend of Vox Machina succeeds leaning more heavily in D&D

Stranger things is not the only series that proves that there is a demand to adapt Dungeons & Dragons. Amazon The Legend of Vox Machina is based on Critical roles first D&D Campaign. Unlike Stranger Things, The Legend of Vox Machina Lean more heavily into the game and its lore. And while it’s not necessarily well known by the average viewer, it has a committed fan base that has led to its success. Indeed, The Legend of Vox Machina Has received perfect Rotten Tomatoes scores for all three seasons. And it seems to be chugging forward to seasons 4 and 5.

This again proves that people are interested in Dungeons & Dragons projects, even if Honor among thieves‘ Box office does not reflect that. Both casual viewers and die-hards D&D Fans seem willing to watch anything that infuses the RPG into its narrative. This leaves us to speculate about what is actually wrong with Honor among thieves, Which should have seen similar success to Stranger things And The Legend of Vox Machina. Of course, it is possible that TV shows will be better than movies when it comes to this topic.

What really is wrong with honor among thieves

The 2023 film has a lot going against it

Despite Grant’s sentiment, A lack of demand for Dungeons & Dragons Projects don’t seem to be the problem with Honor among thieves. However, Grant may be on to something with one part of his comments. It’s possible that a movie format isn’t as effective when bringing D&D to the screen. Stranger things And The Legend of Vox Machina May indicate that TV works better. however, Honor among thieves Streaming success could also be a sign that those interested in the projects would rather see them at home than in theaters.

There are many other reasons Honor among thieves Could have flopped At 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 key moments, which might have deterred people from paying to see it. Opening at the same time as The Super Mario Bros. Movie And in the middle of a strike against Hasbro and WOTC, they couldn’t help either.

Needless to say, it is impossible to determine the real cause of Honor among thieves Box office bomb, because the 2023 film has so much else working against it. Judging by its streaming success and some other series winning with D&DThe demand still seems to be there. Hopefully, Paramount will learn from the failure of this movie, and then use that knowledge to make Honor among thieves 2 Even 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.

Source: Vanity Fair