Hugh Grant’s Dungeons & Dragons Comments Reveal Harsh Reality for Honor Among Thieves 2

Dungeons & Dragons: Battle of the Dead was a great introduction to the legendary game for many, but it was a box office disappointment. Hugh Grant might know why. While not the first film in the Dungeons & Dragons series, Dungeons & Dragons: Battle of the Dead offered a fresh, original perspective and a fun fantasy film that everyone can enjoy. Unfortunately, it was a box office flop, but that doesn’t make it likely that a sequel to Battle of the Dead will be made. Hugh Grant recently made some comments explaining the issues with the film and the sequel. Battle of the Dead was filmed all over the world, making for a movie with beautiful scenery and elaborate set designs. It was a very different film from the previous Dungeons & Dragons films that came out between 2000 and 2012, and unlike its predecessor, it was generally well-received. A sequel would be very welcome. It would give us the opportunity to bring some of Dungeons & Dragons’ most beloved characters to the big screen. A quote from Hugh Grant in a recent interview suggests what could be changed to make this more feasible. Hugh Grant is (Partially) Right About Dungeons & Dragons: Honor Among Thieves’ Box Office Revenue Grant suggested that audiences unfamiliar with Dungeons & Dragons were likely put off by the film’s association with the classic tabletop game. Grant recently spoke to Vanity Fair about his attitude towards filmmaking and offered some insightful comments about the 2023 Dungeons & Dragons movie. He asked, “Why has no one done market research before? I think that was wrong. Basically, people just assumed that they didn’t want to see a movie about this game. Why has no one asked the public?” The Dungeons & Dragons: Honor Among Thieves movie is set in the legendary Forgotten Realms of D&D and, despite being changed in various ways, brings some core elements of D&D lore to audiences. While the film delighted Dungeons & Dragons fans around the world, it may not have been well received by those unfamiliar with the game. Dungeons & Dragons enjoys a cult following, but overall it remains a niche interest. Furthermore, those unfamiliar with the scale and magic of the series may only perceive it as a pursuit of the “nerdy” segments of society, and as a game, rather than as a series of stories. A Geeky Thief Sequel Presents a Tough Problem Hugh Grant’s comments highlight that the film’s many successes were negated by its poor box office performance, making a sequel difficult to realize. Paramount Pictures would be reluctant to do a sequel to A Geeky Thief unless they had the numbers to make it commercially successful. The high budget of A Geeky Thief made the film great, and it had a great cast, but the box office numbers just didn’t justify it. The film’s budget was needed for special effects and creatures, but a similar logic applies to a sequel. A sequel to Honor Among Thieves would want to use the same level of CGI and live-action effects to ensure it doesn’t fall short of its predecessor. Thus, a sequel would need a similar budget. So making a sequel with a reduced budget doesn’t seem particularly realistic. Grant’s suggestion that Honor Among Thieves’ lack of commercial appeal significantly affected its box office results is instructive. This suggests that Paramount needs to broaden the sequel’s commercial appeal, either by downplaying its relevance to the franchise, positioning it as some kind of reboot, or expanding its marketing campaign. Is there hope for Dungeons & Dragons: Honor Among Thieves 2? A sequel could happen if Paramount changes its strategy There’s a chance that a Dungeons & Dragons sequel to Honor Among Thieves could be made, but the film’s production team would have to change some of the strategy of Honor Among Thieves in order to be successful. Honor Among Thieves was a good enough fantasy heist movie to pass for people who don’t know or care about Dungeons & Dragons. The positive reviews proved that. One important takeaway from this is that sequels can be successful if they move away from the IP in their branding. Paramount can market the sequel as a D&D movie to the right demographic and leave the lore casually in the background. The recent cancellation of the D&D TV show is another sign of the difficulties facing the franchise. A big marketing campaign focused on educational D&D productions for the general public is another strategy that could work. Either way, Paramount is struggling to get a sequel to Honor Amon Thieves made. The recent cancellation of the Dungeons & Dragons TV show is another sign of the difficulties facing the series. But if industry wisdom like that encouraged by Hugh Grant prevails, there is certainly a way for audiences to enjoy the sequel to Dungeons & Dragons: Honor Amon Thieves as they deserve. Source: Vanity Fair