Dungeons and Dragons: Honor Among Thieves is the rare movie where both critics and fans seemed to be wholly on the same page. The movie is at over 90% on Rotten Tomatoes from both the audience and the critics perspective. However, that doesn’t mean it’s gonna get an Oscar nomination. And in a post, star Michelle Rodriguez joked about that very concept.
The actress, who plays Holga in the flick, shared a video of Chris Pine talking about the OwlBear in the movie, and no, I’m not interested in getting into the OwlBear debate. What I am interested in is Rodriguez’s commentary on the post, which, while funny, is also not wrong. Take a look.
I love how the actress nonchalantly comments, “See y’all at Kids Choice,” and while I think she might be better off noting “See y’all at People’s Choice,” the point stands. There’s a huge gap between what’s popular in the cultural lexicon and what the awards shows tout as the “most important movies” and while there is sometimes a little bit of crossover between what is seen as Oscar-worthy and what is seen as a win for the fans, the two things aren’t typically mutual.
While it would make sense if Dungeons & Dragons were a fan-favorite as varying Choice Awards come up this year, I also have to note the movie has been the most frustrating box office release I can think of in recent memory, and that's including The Flash's numbers. There’s no question in my mind that Honor Among Thieves got the shaft during its theatrical release this year. The movie had everything: an A+ cast, a fun villain, a recognizable IP, an actual honest-to-god good script and did I mention the A+ cast D&D cast? Oh, I did? Well I’m gonna do it again: Chris Pine, Michelle Rodriguez, Justice Smith, Hugh Grant, and the Regé-Jean Page.
But in some ways it was seen as niche or nerdy, and I think I think it hurt its numbers, despite it not being niche or nerdy at all, in any way, shape or owl bear form.
Honestly, outside of maybe Top Gun: Maverick (whose sequel is up in the air) this was the first movie opening post-Covid where I was really excited about a sequel. I know Miles Teller and Cruise have joked about a third Top Gun, and I'd love to see Glen Powell and others back, too, but this isn't their editorial. This is about D&D and, likewise, I’d love to see Dungeons & Dragons get a sequel. The only difference? Unlike Maverick which was a box office behemoth, however, D&D fell a little short.
The movie only made a little over $200 million worldwide, and that’s on an estimated budget of $150 million, so it’s unlikely fans will get more. But there's still a part of me rooting for this movie and hoping that it will see some traction somewhere. I know I'm not the only one who thinks Honor Among Thieves was honestly great, and once the People’s Choice and Kids Choice and other populist awards roll around, I’m interested to see if the fantasy flick will earn a little bit of love. If Michelle Rodriguez's predictions come true, we'll get some later this year.
After all, those with a Paramount+ subscription can currently catch it streaming. What’s not to like?
