Dungeons & Dragons: Honor Among Thieveshas become a major Netflix hit. The 2023 fantasy adventure movie, set in the world of the iconic role-playing game, starred Chris Pine, Michelle Rodriguez, Regé-Jean Page, Justice Smith, Sophia Lillis, and Hugh Grant. Despite adapting a popular property, theDungeons & Dragons: Honor Among Thievesbox officewas a disappointment. It grossed $208.2 million against its huge $150 million budget. Although it was the 30th highest-grossing movie of the year, above hits likeScream VI, it was seemingly proving unable to meet its break-even point, which was likely $375 million or more.
Netflixhas now announced their chart of the streaming platform’s Top 10 most watched English-language movies for the week of September 30 through October 6.Dungeons & Dragons: Honor Among Thieveshas landed on the chart at No. 9 even though it is not available in the U.S., with 3.2 million viewers amassing 7.2 million viewing hours. It has appeared alongside Netflix original hits such asRebel RidgeandUglies. These views have come from a variety of European territories, including Austria, Germany, Spain, Switzerland, and Italy. Additionally, it is No. 1 on the local charts in Croatia and Serbia.
Why You Should Watch Dungeons & Dragons: Honor Among Thieves
The Movie Is Well-Regarded By Fans And Critics Alike
There are quite a few reasons to stream theDungeons & Dragonsmovie (which is available on Prime Video in the U.S.), including its critical reception. The 2023 movieearned a Certified Fresh score of 91% on Rotten Tomatoes, aggregated from more than 300 different critics' reviews. Reviews have praised everything from the sharp screenplay by Jonathan Goldstein, John Francis Daley, and Michael Gilio to the strong ensemble at the core of theHonor Among Thievescast. It has also performed well on a variety of audience review platforms. See a selection of its audience scores below:
Rotten Tomatoes (audience score)
93%
Metacritic (audience score)
7.5/10
3.5/5
7.2/10
Screen Rant User Reviews
9.1/10
The movie also won a Hugo Award for Best Dramatic Presentation (Long Form) in 2024, which is one of the highest honors in the sci-fi and fantasy genres. In addition to its reception, streaming the movie could encourage thepossibleDungeons & Dragons: Honor Among Thieves 2to come to fruition. While a follow-up would most likely need a smaller budget,the movie’s streaming success could bolster its theatrical revenuesto the point that it would help the movie break even and encourage the continuation of the nascent film franchise.
Why Did Honor Among Thieves Struggle At The Box Office?
A Variety Of Factors Worked Against The Dungeons & Dragons Movie
While it would have been considered a hit with a lower budget,Dungeons & Dragons: Honor Among Thievesultimately performed at a level just below2023’sThe Marvels($206.1 million worldwide), which was the Marvel Cinematic Universe’s lowest-grossing installment of all time. There were quite a few factors that influenced the movie’s commercial reception that were beyond its control. This includes the fact that it was released during a time when fans of the game were boycotting Hasbro and Wizards of the Coastwhile protesting a new draft of the Open Game License that threatened users' ownership of their games.
The Marvelsfailed to make back its massive budget, which is estimated to be around $275 million, and lost the studio a reported $200 million or more.
The movie’s release alsocame during a time of heavy theatrical competition, as it was sandwiched between two major hits, opening the weekend after the year’s No. 13 movieJohn Wick: Chapter 4and the weekend before the No. 2 titleThe Super Mario Bros. Movie, which grossed more than $1 billion. WhileHonor Among Thievesmay still not have made its budget back if it had more runway in theaters, it did not thrive while being choked out by those limiting factors.
Our Take On Dungeons & Dragons: Honor Among Thieves' Netflix Success
Europe’s Interest Could Help Spur Global Streams
The relatively low placement ofDungeons & Dragons: Honor Among Thieveson the chart is likely a result of the limited territories in which it is streaming on the Netflix platform. However, the attention it is receiving from Netflix’s European audiencecould encourage a boost in streams for the movie across the board. It remains to be seen if this is the case, but if it stays on the chart for longer than one week, that could help its prospects considerably.
ReadScreen Rant’sDungeons & Dragons: Honor Among Thievesreviewtoget a sense of the general critical reception around the movieat the time of its original release.
WhileHonor Among Thievesdid not make its money back, it was still the highest-grossing and best reviewed installment in the live-action franchise, whichalso includes a trilogy of films released from 2000 through 2012. ReadScreen Rant’s ranking of the extantDungeons & Dragonsmovieshere.
While a sequel to the movie is still a long shot, especially considering the fact thata television show set in the world of the game was also recently scrapped by Paramount+, refresh on theDungeons & Dragons: Honor Among Thievesendinghere to see how the door has been left open for more installments.
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.
