Paramount and eOne’s latest big-budget movie, Dungeons & Dragons: Honor Among Thieves, based on the famous tabletop role-playing game by Hasbro, has made an impressive start at the box office. The movie premiered to a solid $38.5 million in domestic earnings, surpassing the highly anticipated John Wick: Chapter 4, securing the top spot. ‘Dungeons & Dragons’ debuts with a decent $38.5M at North American Box Office.
‘Dungeons & Dragons’ debuts with a decent $38.5M at North American Box Office
The film’s success at the box office is attributed to its impressive reviews and strong audience scores. However, it still needs to perform well throughout April and May to pave the way for a new movie franchise after costing $150 million to produce, not including marketing expenses.
Dungeons & Dragons has received critical acclaim and an A- CinemaScore from audiences. It also benefits from the upcoming spring break and Easter holiday season. However, it’s worth noting that adapting games for the big screen has historically been challenging. Last year, Sony’s Uncharted opened to $44 million domestically and was ultimately considered a success. Before the movie’s release, Dungeons & Dragons was projected to earn $30 million at the domestic box office. Regardless of the ultimate outcome, the movie will expand the overall D&D universe for Hasbro.
Overseas, the movie premiered in 60 territories and earned $33 million, accounting for 83 percent of the international market, for a global bow of $71.5 million. Among the countries where the movie premiered at number one, the U.K. led with $4.3 million, while China was a disappointment with only $5 million in earnings. Paramount is distributing the movie worldwide, except for the U.K., where eOne is handling it.
Dungeons & Dragons is directed by Jonathan Goldstein and John Francis Daley and features a star-studded cast led by Chris Pine, Michelle Rodriguez, Regé-Jean Page, Justice Smith, Sophia Lillis, Chloe Coleman, Daisy Head, and Hugh Grant. The film reunites Goldstein and Daley, who previously directed Game Night. The duo directed the movie from a script they wrote with Michael Gilio.
The film’s audience was predominantly male, with over 60 percent of ticket buyers being men, while the largest age group was 18-24, representing 31 percent of the audience. In the U.S., the movie overperformed in the West, the mountain region, and the Midwest, while under-indexing in the northeast and southeast. Dungeons & Dragons also over-indexed in western Canada.
According to Comscore box office analyst Paul Dergarabedian, “Adapting a brand as huge as D&D for the big screen presents both advantages and challenges, with the massive built-in global fanbase for the iconic role-play phenomenon offering up a huge potential audience of die-hard aficionados while attempting to draw a crossover audience of the non-initiated to the multiplex. The good news is that fantastic reviews and a solid in-theater experience will likely result in long-term playability.”
Dergarabedian predicts that Dungeons & Dragons will be able to withstand competition from other upcoming movies such as Universal and Illuminaton’s animated video game adaptation, The Super Mario Bros. Movie, which opens next weekend.
In its second weekend, Lionsgate’s John Wick 4 fell 62 percent, earning $28.2 million for a domestic total of $122.9 million. At the foreign box office, it earned an additional $35 million from 75 markets, beating Dungeons & Dragons. Wick’s foreign cume is now $122 million for a total global gross of $245 million. In North America, Paramount’s Scream VI came in third behind Dungeons & Dragons and John Wick, earning $5.3 million for a domestic total of $98.