Dungeons & Dragons: Honor Among Thieves did not fail because audiences disliked it. The directors now say the film arrived at the wrong moment, with The Super Mario Bros. Movie about to dominate the conversation and D&D fans angry at Wizards of the Coast.
John Francis Daley and Jonathan Goldstein discussed the film’s reception on The Discourse Podcast, in comments reported by IGN. Daley said the film came out four days before The Super Mario Bros. Movie, which went on to become one of 2023’s biggest releases.
Dungeons & Dragons Honor Among Thieves met a licensing backlash
The film opened in March 2023, around a month after Wizards of the Coast announced proposed changes to the Open Gaming License. The plans threatened the system that allowed creators to publish material based on the fifth-edition tabletop rules, prompting a large backlash and calls to boycott D&D products.
Wizards of the Coast later walked back the changes, but the argument was still fresh when the film reached cinemas. Daley also said the marketing did not do enough to explain to people outside the existing D&D audience why the fantasy adventure was for them.
“Yeah, so it was a perfect storm of all of those elements, and we’ll see,” Daley said, according to IGN’s report.
The film earned $205 million worldwide
The commercial result was respectable in isolation but difficult against the film’s reported production cost. Box Office Mojo records $205.46 million worldwide, including $93.55 million in North America. The Numbers lists a $150 million production budget, before marketing and distribution costs.
That helps explain why Paramount did not move ahead with a sequel, despite the first film’s strong reviews and an audience that found it considerably more fun than its financial outcome suggested. A separate Deadline report says Goldstein and Daley have already written a sequel, but still need a studio partner to make it.
The pair remain interested. Goldstein said Hasbro and the producers believe in the project, while Daley pointed to the advantage of returning to characters who no longer need an introductory first act. For now, the sequel remains unconfirmed.
The new comments add a different angle to tbreak’s earlier report on the finished Dungeons & Dragons sequel script: the problem may not have been the film itself, but the crowded week and the franchise’s own licensing dispute.
How much did Dungeons & Dragons: Honor Among Thieves make?
Box Office Mojo records $205.46 million worldwide, including $93.55 million domestically and $111.91 million internationally.
Why did the directors say the film struggled?
John Francis Daley cited its release four days before The Super Mario Bros. Movie, backlash over proposed Wizards of the Coast licensing changes and marketing that did not reach enough non-D&D fans.
Is an Honor Among Thieves sequel happening?
Daley and Jonathan Goldstein have written a sequel, but Paramount did not proceed and the project still needs a studio partner.
