Which makes sense. DUNGEONS AND DRAGONS: HONOR AMONG THIEVES got good reviews and audience scores. D&D product sales ticked up in 1Q 2023, and some of that undoubtedly was from the movie. Video and DVD sales are ticking along. It was just that enough people didn’t go to it when it was out.
The studio can work with that.
Even a star’s ability to make audiences swoon isn’t always enough to guarantee that a movie will make money. “Babylon,” an epic about the silent movie era, collapsed at the box office when Paramount released it last December, despite starring Brad Pitt, while “Dungeons & Dragons: Honor Among Thieves” will lose money even though Chris Pine led the ensemble. [Paramount CEO Brian] Robbins isn’t abandoning the idea of more “Dungeons & Dragons,” though if there’s a sequel, he says, “We’ve got to figure out a way to make it for less.”
That translates to ‘no big-name stars this time’ – which is a shame, because Chris Pine was fun to watch, and I kind of enjoy seeing Hugh Grant grimace tightly for the paycheck. Also, as GeekTyrant reminds us: they’re making a TV series at some point. If I was guessing, they’ll probably go for a movie based off of the TV characters if the TV show does well enough. …Okay, I guess I am guessing. It seems like the natural play to make, after all.
#commissionearned
It probably would have made a lot more, if WotC hadn’t declared that it despises its customers and sees them as a resource to be ruthlessly exploited.
Indeed, this.
Once you proudly announce that your ‘consumers’ need to be monetized harder, is it any surprise that your ‘customers’ decide you don’t need more of their money?