Paramount Pictures’ “Dungeons & Dragons: Honor Among Thieves” rolled the dice by challenging Lionsgate’s “John Wick: Chapter 4” at the box office this weekend — and the gamble paid off.
The fantasy film based on the popular role-playing game of the same name dethroned the latest installment in the “Wick” saga at the domestic box office this weekend, conjuring up $38.5 million, according to studio estimates.
The fourth “Wick” flick came in second, hunting down $28.2 million in its sophomore outing for a North American cumulative of $122.9 million — after breaking the franchise record upon its debut.
Hollywood’s most recent attempt to adapt “Dungeons & Dragons” for the screen performed at the high end of early box-office projections, which positioned the movie at $30 million to $40 million domestically. Internationally, “Honor Among Thieves” debuted at $33 million for a worldwide haul of $71.5 million.
Co-directed by John Francis Daley and Jonathan Goldstein, “Dungeons & Dragons: Honor Among Thieves” stars Hugh Grant, Sophia Lillis, Justice Smith, Michelle Rodriguez, Regé-Jean Page and Chris Pine as a ragtag bunch of travelers on an epic adventure inspired by the vast “D&D” universe.
It’s worth noting that previous “Dungeons & Dragons” adaptations have fizzled theatrically: Critics panned New Line Cinema’s 2000 production, which tanked at the box office and spurred a pair of direct-to-video sequels. In the 1980s, a cartoon “D&D” series lasted three seasons.
“Honor Among Thieves” fared well with critics, notching an impressive 91% fresh rating on review aggregation site Rotten Tomatoes. Audiences polled by CinemaScore gave the action comedy an A-minus.
“The film is an unapologetically big, fun, swashbuckling slice of hardcore fantasy and leans into that without any self-deprecation, which is the core lesson for our merry band of misfits,” writes film critic Katie Walsh for the Tribune News Service.
“And yet there is some ineffable quality lacking — perhaps an emulsifying ingredient — that prevents all these elements (the stars, the lore, the creatures) from coming together into something truly magical.”
Rounding out the top 5 at the domestic box office are Paramount Pictures’ “Scream VI,” which scared up $5.3 million in its fourth weekend for a North American cumulative of $98.2 million; Angel Studios’ “His Only Son,” which launched at $5.3 million; and MGM’s “Creed III,” which grossed $5 million in its fifth weekend for a North American cumulative of $148.6 million, according to estimates from measurement firm Comscore.
Opening in wide release next weekend are IFC Films’ “Paint” and Ciesla Foundation’s “Imagining the Indian.”