Netflix Series With 91% Rotten Tomatoes Score Proves Hugh Grant Is Wrong About Honor Among Thieves

Hugh Grant recently shared thoughts about why Dungeons & Dragons: Honor Among Thieves bombed at the box office — but a popular Netflix series with 91% on Rotten Tomatoes places doubt on his argument. Honor Among Thieves hit theaters in March 2023, and its performance wasn't what Paramount had hoped for. The film grossed a mere $208 million, which wasn't ideal with the Dungeons & Dragons movie's $151 million budget. Although Honor Among Thieves later saw Netflix success, the film was still overwhelmingly a flop.

And this has 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, hazarded a guess as to why it did so poorly. Speaking to Vanity Fair, Grant wondered whether market research had been done before green-lighting the project. "Basically, people just thought, I don’t want to see a film about this game. Why had no one asked the public?” While it's easy to see where he's coming from, Stranger Things proves him wrong.

Stranger Things' Success Proves Hugh Grant Is Wrong About Honor Among Thieves

Dungeons & Dragons Concepts Can Appeal To Mainstream Viewers

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Stranger Things may not be an official Dungeons & Dragons series, but the Netflix hit draws heavy inspiration from the tabletop RPG. Villains like Vecna and the Demogorgons are pulled from D&D lore, and the main characters of the Netflix show are all into the game. Based on Grant's logic, no one would be interested in watching Stranger Things because they aren't interested in seeing such Dungeons & Dragons elements on-screen. However, the Netflix show's streaming success proves the Honor Among Thieves star wrong.

If people can enjoy Stranger Things with all its spins on D&D, they can just as easily appreciate Honor Among Thieves.

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 appreciate Honor Among Thieves. While the 2023 film is more heavy on the Dungeons & Dragons lore and references, it still ensures its central narrative is easy for newcomers to understand. And this should help the film appeal to general audiences, as Stranger Things takes a similar approach.

Dungeons & Dragons Can Appeal To Mainstream Audiences (But There's A Catch)

Its Take On The RPG Can't Be Overwhelming

Stranger Things is proof that D&D concepts can appeal to mainstream audiences — but one condition makes this all the more likely. Anything adapting Dungeons & Dragons will need to simplify the tabletop RPG to bring in newcomers. D&D can appear overwhelming for those who don't play the game, as there are many different campaigns, rules, and bits of lore to take in. Stranger Things introduces the concepts it takes from D&D in a straightforward manner, not even bothering to draw the connection at times.

Related This Dungeons & Dragons Movie Would Make A Great Alternative To Honor Among Thieves 2 A Dungeons & Dragons movie based on this spinoff tabletop system would make a great alternative to Honor Among Thieves 2 and add to the franchise.

This isn't an option for a movie like Honor Among Thieves, which must connect more clearly to Dungeons & Dragons. However, it can still strike a balance between dropping D&D references and telling a story that uses the game's elements but doesn't depend on knowledge of them. To be fair, the 2023 film does accomplish this to an extent. It's easy enough to follow and enjoy without ever playing the game — though it leaves plenty of D&D Easter eggs for dedicated fans. This combination probably contributed to its Netflix success, and leaning further into it may have helped the film in theaters.

Stranger Things Isn't The Only Proof A Dungeons & Dragons Adaptation Can Work

The Legend Of Vox Machina Succeeds Leaning More Heavily Into D&D

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

This again proves that people are interested in Dungeons & Dragons projects, even if Honor Among Thieves' box office doesn't reflect that.

This again proves that people are interested in Dungeons & Dragons projects, even if Honor Among Thieves' box office doesn't reflect that. Both casual viewers and diehard D&D fans seem willing to watch something that infuses the RPG into its story. This leaves us to speculate on what actually went wrong with Honor Among Thieves, which should have seen similar success to Stranger Things and The Legend of Vox Machina. Of course, it's possible TV shows just fare better than movies when it comes to this topic.

What Really Went Wrong With Honor Among Thieves

The 2023 Film Had A Lot Going Against It

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Despite Grant's sentiment, a lack of demand for Dungeons & Dragons projects doesn't seem to be the problem with Honor Among Thieves. However, Grant might be onto something with one part of his comments. It's possible 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 television works better. However, Honor Among Thieves' streaming success could also be a sign that those interested in these projects would rather watch them at home than in theaters.

Related 1 D&D Faction In Honor Among Thieves Reveals The Perfect TV Spinoff One of the factions featured in Dungeons & Dragons: Honor Among Thieves provides a great framework for a TV series set in the same world.

There are many other reasons Honor Among Thieves might 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 major moments, which could have deterred people from paying to see it. Opening at the same time as The Super Mario Bros. Movie and in the midst of a strike against Hasbro and WOTC also couldn't have helped.

Needless to say, it's impossible to determine the real cause of Honor Among Thieves' box office bomb, as the 2023 film had so much else working against it. Judging by its streaming success and several other series winning with D&D, the demand still seems to be there. Hopefully, Paramount will learn from the movie's failure, 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