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This pains me a little to say, but I do not see the D&D movie tanking. We are two weeks out and there is no review embargo. Sure, the regular shills are piling on their praise, but private citizens who went to early screenings are as well.

Normies do not care about the OGL. Most women would drink Chris Pine's bath water. This is the best time to release a movie, almost two months after a SB and before the weather gets nice for most of the country.

I'm not saying it will be the blockbuster of the year, but it will not be a flop.

Quote from: FingerRod on March 17, 2023, 07:42:28 PM
This pains me a little to say, but I do not see the D&D movie tanking. We are two weeks out and there is no review embargo. Sure, the regular shills are piling on their praise, but private citizens who went to early screenings are as well.

Normies do not care about the OGL. Most women would drink Chris Pine's bath water. This is the best time to release a movie, almost two months after a SB and before the weather gets nice for most of the country.

I'm not saying it will be the blockbuster of the year, but it will not be a flop.

If the figures I can find are correct the budget was US 151 Million, plus marketing, lets say 50% that's US 75.5 Million = US 226.5 Million total so it needs to make about US 453 Million to break even.

Super Mario Bros. Hits theaters just 5 days after, which has more brand recognition and broad appeal?

They are predicting a total gross between US 400-450 Million so that's a break even at best.

https://www.imdb.com/list/ls563001127/ (https://www.imdb.com/list/ls563001127/)

Paramont and WotC are shilling the movie like theres no tomorrow.

Quote from: GeekyBugle on March 17, 2023, 08:38:35 PM

Quote from: FingerRod on March 17, 2023, 07:42:28 PM
This pains me a little to say, but I do not see the D&D movie tanking. We are two weeks out and there is no review embargo. Sure, the regular shills are piling on their praise, but private citizens who went to early screenings are as well.

Normies do not care about the OGL. Most women would drink Chris Pine's bath water. This is the best time to release a movie, almost two months after a SB and before the weather gets nice for most of the country.

I'm not saying it will be the blockbuster of the year, but it will not be a flop.

If the figures I can find are correct the budget was US 151 Million, plus marketing, lets say 50% that's US 75.5 Million = US 226.5 Million total so it needs to make about US 453 Million to break even.

Super Mario Bros. Hits theaters just 5 days after, which has more brand recognition and broad appeal?

They are predicting a total gross between US 400-450 Million so that's a break even at best.

https://www.imdb.com/list/ls563001127/ (https://www.imdb.com/list/ls563001127/)

I am not sure Mario and D&D is the same audience. Air also releases 5 days later. Probably also not the same audience. But point taken that it will be more crowded than I first thought.

Let's assume they spend half of the budget again on marketing and half of box office sales goes to them. What about merchandise generated by the movie? It is all over retailers already. Owlbears, d20s that turn into dragons, etc.

I also think this movie will do well in Europe and Asia.

Lastly, break even at the box office (even without the other factors) is not a flop. To have a Lightyear-like tank, it would have to end up around 160 million.

Quote from: FingerRod on March 19, 2023, 09:47:16 AM

Quote from: GeekyBugle on March 17, 2023, 08:38:35 PM

Quote from: FingerRod on March 17, 2023, 07:42:28 PM
This pains me a little to say, but I do not see the D&D movie tanking. We are two weeks out and there is no review embargo. Sure, the regular shills are piling on their praise, but private citizens who went to early screenings are as well.

Normies do not care about the OGL. Most women would drink Chris Pine's bath water. This is the best time to release a movie, almost two months after a SB and before the weather gets nice for most of the country.

I'm not saying it will be the blockbuster of the year, but it will not be a flop.

If the figures I can find are correct the budget was US 151 Million, plus marketing, lets say 50% that's US 75.5 Million = US 226.5 Million total so it needs to make about US 453 Million to break even.

Super Mario Bros. Hits theaters just 5 days after, which has more brand recognition and broad appeal?

They are predicting a total gross between US 400-450 Million so that's a break even at best.

https://www.imdb.com/list/ls563001127/ (https://www.imdb.com/list/ls563001127/)

I am not sure Mario and D&D is the same audience. Air also releases 5 days later. Probably also not the same audience. But point taken that it will be more crowded than I first thought.

Let's assume they spend half of the budget again on marketing and half of box office sales goes to them. What about merchandise generated by the movie? It is all over retailers already. Owlbears, d20s that turn into dragons, etc.

I also think this movie will do well in Europe and Asia.

Lastly, break even at the box office (even without the other factors) is not a flop. To have a Lightyear-like tank, it would have to end up around 160 million.

I'm not saying it will flop, but it probably won't do as well as it could have had Hasbro not alienated most of it's consumer base, and then again with the MtG LotR fiasco.

Merchandise, that's usually bought by boys/men, mostly by those men who already like the IP. Now, since the rights to manufacture the merch are sold well in advance to the movie release (providing Hasbro sold them) they already got money from those, if the manufacturer has to eat the merch Hasbro doesn't give a shit (unless it's them manufacturing it).

Granted, it's not the same audience as those other movies, but Mario will suck a lot of air from it, because you can go see D&D or take the family to see Mario and HAT is PG-13.

Quote from: FingerRod on March 19, 2023, 09:47:16 AM
Lastly, break even at the box office (even without the other factors) is not a flop. To have a Lightyear-like tank, it would have to end up around 160 million.

First of all, the purpose of making movies is to make money.  If a film earns the same amount that it cost to make, market, and distribute it, you have failed to make money.  In fact, the real question is whether the film will make more than any of the other possible uses of the money.  If the company could have made more money in bonds (or in any other endeavor) than is returned by the movie, the movie lost money.  So breaking even is failure.

Secondly, Hasbro is hoping this movie will serve as the tent-pole of a larger brand-driven franchise.  Anything other than a clear success dooms that "lifestyle" brand to a very uncertain future.  What could have been a sure thing will now be a big risk, at best.  So, yeah, you don't need a Lightyear-like tank for this movie to be a flop...

Quote from: FingerRod on March 17, 2023, 07:42:28 PM
This pains me a little to say, but I do not see the D&D movie tanking. We are two weeks out and there is no review embargo. Sure, the regular shills are piling on their praise, but private citizens who went to early screenings are as well.

Normies do not care about the OGL. Most women would drink Chris Pine's bath water. This is the best time to release a movie, almost two months after a SB and before the weather gets nice for most of the country.

I'm not saying it will be the blockbuster of the year, but it will not be a flop.

I agree with you FingerRod. As much as I want it to tank it'll probably do okay. No Oscar nomina......well can't say that with the emasculated men diverse cast. Never know what the useless Oscars will consider Oscar worthy.

Quote from: Eirikrautha on March 19, 2023, 04:38:06 PM
First of all, the purpose of making movies is to make money.  If a film earns the same amount that it cost to make, market, and distribute it, you have failed to make money.  In fact, the real question is whether the film will make more than any of the other possible uses of the money.  If the company could have made more money in bonds (or in any other endeavor) than is returned by the movie, the movie lost money.  So breaking even is failure.

Secondly, Hasbro is hoping this movie will serve as the tent-pole of a larger brand-driven franchise.  Anything other than a clear success dooms that "lifestyle" brand to a very uncertain future.  What could have been a sure thing will now be a big risk, at best.  So, yeah, you don't need a Lightyear-like tank for this movie to be a flop...

That's a great point Eirikrautha. Presumably, film studios still like to see lots of ticket sales. I'm hoping the dumb&dumb movie is a box office failure.

Quote from: Eirikrautha on March 19, 2023, 04:38:06 PM

Quote from: FingerRod on March 19, 2023, 09:47:16 AM
Lastly, break even at the box office (even without the other factors) is not a flop. To have a Lightyear-like tank, it would have to end up around 160 million.

First of all, the purpose of making movies is to make money.  If a film earns the same amount that it cost to make, market, and distribute it, you have failed to make money.  In fact, the real question is whether the film will make more than any of the other possible uses of the money.  If the company could have made more money in bonds (or in any other endeavor) than is returned by the movie, the movie lost money.  So breaking even is failure.

Secondly, Hasbro is hoping this movie will serve as the tent-pole of a larger brand-driven franchise.  Anything other than a clear success dooms that "lifestyle" brand to a very uncertain future.  What could have been a sure thing will now be a big risk, at best.  So, yeah, you don't need a Lightyear-like tank for this movie to be a flop...

No shit the purpose is to make money. And no shit they have high hopes for it driving the brand.

I am saying it will not tank. I have already mentioned the reasons. You are saying it is a big risk. Why?

I think it will do a lot more than break even. It certainly won't flop. I bet their dumb fucking heist book outsells Dragonlance because of the movie. I bet they sell a shit ton of toys and collectibles. If you think differently, put ya cards on the table  :P

Quote from: Eirikrautha on March 19, 2023, 04:38:06 PM
First of all, the purpose of making movies is to make money.  If a film earns the same amount that it cost to make, market, and distribute it, you have failed to make money.  In fact, the real question is whether the film will make more than any of the other possible uses of the money.  If the company could have made more money in bonds (or in any other endeavor) than is returned by the movie, the movie lost money.  So breaking even is failure.

Strictly on the Hollywood side of the equation, remember that Hollywood finances do not resemble normal Terran finances as most people understand them. A loss on paper can still be a success in practice because of Hollywood accounting magic. There's a reason they keep making movies that seem to be obvious flops. They don't become world-owning frooptillionaires by not understanding that the point of what they are doing is to earn money. They just don't always do it in ways that most people really understand.

The movie is good. The heist plot is a bit pedestrian but you wind up liking the main characters. There is plenty of pathos to go along with the joking. The point of the heist follows from the motivations of the character. Some plans come up successful and some fail. And they make sense given that it is a D&D world.

This film is just simply fun. Just like the majority of our campaigns, the film will not withstand deep analysis and focuses on what is fun. The longer you have been playing this hobby the more you will enjoy the various easter eggs. But none of the easter eggs are important to understand what is going on. Nor they are gratuitous, just part of the general background of the characters existing in a D&D world.

The only bad thing I will say is in the credit where it was listed as Hasbro's D&D. While no fan of Wizards I thought that was a bit of a dick move on Hasbro's part. Incidentally, the main end credit is an enjoyable bit of animation. And there is one end credit scene.

Overall I give it 4 out of 5 stars.

Quote from: estar on March 21, 2023, 08:22:47 AM
The movie is good. The heist plot is a bit pedestrian but you wind up liking the main characters. There is plenty of pathos to go along with the joking. The point of the heist follows from the motivations of the character. Some plans come up successful and some fail. And they make sense given that it is a D&D world.

This film is just simply fun. Just like the majority of our campaigns, the film will not withstand deep analysis and focuses on what is fun. The longer you have been playing this hobby the more you will enjoy the various easter eggs. But none of the easter eggs are important to understand what is going on. Nor they are gratuitous, just part of the general background of the characters existing in a D&D world.

The only bad thing I will say is in the credit where it was listed as Hasbro's D&D. While no fan of Wizards I thought that was a bit of a dick move on Hasbro's part. Incidentally, the main end credit is an enjoyable bit of animation. And there is one end credit scene.

Overall I give it 4 out of 5 stars.

Do they "emasculate" the male characters, as the director/producer stated that they would?

Quote from: Eirikrautha on March 21, 2023, 05:14:53 PM
Do they "emasculate" the male characters, as the director/producer stated that they would?

No. Don't know what the director/producer was smoking that day. But many of the character echoes the same range of characters you find in heist films. For example, Chris Pine's Elgin is a non-violent thief who continues schemes. While Holga is the party's main fighter, Xenk the Paladin is by far the most badass both in combat and outside of combat. Xenk's deal is that is more an ally of the party than a member.

 I fail to understand why a tiny woman was cast to be the barbarian though.   I am sure they could have found a role that made more sense for her and put some hulking beast (even a female one) in the role for the barbarian. 

Quote from: oggsmash on March 23, 2023, 05:45:04 AM
I fail to understand why a tiny woman was cast to be the barbarian though.   I am sure they could have found a role that made more sense for her and put some hulking beast (even a female one) in the role for the barbarian.

Maybe she's a Halfling Barbarian?   :D

Quote from: estar on March 21, 2023, 08:22:47 AM
The only bad thing I will say is in the credit where it was listed as Hasbro's D&D. While no fan of Wizards I thought that was a bit of a dick move on Hasbro's part. Incidentally, the main end credit is an enjoyable bit of animation. And there is one end credit scene.

Overall I give it 4 out of 5 stars.

Might be some sort of end run around Solomon's blockade on D&D movies. But seems unlikely that would actually work.

Is it actually set in Neverwinter? Any mention of the MMO? Sgt Knox, Celeste, Makos, and co?

Quote from: oggsmash on March 23, 2023, 05:45:04 AM
I fail to understand why a tiny woman was cast to be the barbarian though.   I am sure they could have found a role that made more sense for her and put some hulking beast (even a female one) in the role for the barbarian.

Is she really a barbarian though? From what I heard the official material may not actually say?

Characters are statted out on D&D Beyond and looks like shes listed as a Fighter? Cant see it so no idea if thats true.

Quote from: Omega on March 23, 2023, 07:38:01 AM

Quote from: oggsmash on March 23, 2023, 05:45:04 AM
I fail to understand why a tiny woman was cast to be the barbarian though.   I am sure they could have found a role that made more sense for her and put some hulking beast (even a female one) in the role for the barbarian.

Is she really a barbarian though? From what I heard the official material may not actually say?

Characters are statted out on D&D Beyond and looks like shes listed as a Fighter? Cant see it so no idea if thats true.

  Fighter or barbarian she is clearly performing feats of strength tossing large men around.   Much bigger more believable people all around (male or female) to do that, resting bitch face does not make you really strong.

I'll just leave this right here:

'Dungeons & Dragons' Box Office Estimates Worse Than Shazam: Fury of the Gods'
https://cosmicbook.news/dungeons-dragons-box-office-estimates-worse-shazam-fury-gods

Quote from: estar on March 21, 2023, 08:22:47 AM
The movie is good.  Overall I give it 4 out of 5 stars.

Are there any openly gay characters in the movie?

Quote from: hedgehobbit on March 26, 2023, 07:00:19 PM

Quote from: estar on March 21, 2023, 08:22:47 AM
The movie is good.  Overall I give it 4 out of 5 stars.

Are there any openly gay characters in the movie?

How can they be gay if they've been emasculated.

Quote from: Eirikrautha on March 25, 2023, 05:19:59 PM'Dungeons & Dragons' Box Office Estimates Worse Than Shazam: Fury of the Gods'
https://cosmicbook.news/dungeons-dragons-box-office-estimates-worse-shazam-fury-gods

I've seen these projections. While they may not officially be in "flop" territory, they aren't good.

This got me thinking. The style and look of the Dungeons & Dragons movie doesn't really fit into what styles of fantasy which are currently popular; whether that's the dark aesthetic of Elden Ring, the classic wizard look of Harry Potter, or the more stylized high fantasy of anime or Genshin Impact.

The first version of D&D very closely matched the look and background of the type of Tolkienesque fantasy that was popular in the late 70s. But D&D has sort of grown into it's own thing and done so while rarely importing other fantasy conventions from outside the RPG sphere. IMO, this is holding the game, and by extension the movie, back.

A review by non-woke guys. I still won't watch it, though:

Quote from: Rhymer88 on March 30, 2023, 08:56:23 AM
A review by non-woke guys. I still won't watch it, though:

Shad liked it, because he said that the movie handled fatherhood well. I haven't heard how he defines that, though.

I think the promotional posters and such look a bit "tacky" but I do have to say that a number of critics seem to have turned around when they actually saw the movie. My impression is that has a decent sense of humor.

Shad: "I hate Wizards of the Coast; they are a dog crap company."

He doesn't think the movie is actually woke, except in a couple of scenes, which he doesn't describe in detail. He says that the successes of the males in the movie are not overshadowed by the females, as in other recent films. Chris Pine's character seems a bit cowardly, but they said by the end, it is apparent that he isn't a coward; he is just cursed with bad luck. In game table turns (as someone in the comments to the video said), Chris Pine is the character whose player can't roll above a 10 to save his life.

I'm not promoting the movie; I'd already decided to see "Guardians of the Forgotten Realms" if I get the chance. But, it doesn't sound like it is as bad (as in, promoting *The Message*) as some marketing indicated.

BoxOffice Pro predicts 35 million for the 3 day weekend, that's within the previous estimates, if it has a standard fall next weekend it'll be around 14.35 million or 49.35 total for the two weeks (a little more since there's showings during the week). That's also when Mario drops.

What I'm trying to say it's that it's fate will depend on how far it falls on the second weekend an if it has legs and repeat viewing.

"It's not woke except for a couple of scenes..."

This is the Entropy theory I use all the time.

"What do you get if you put a teaspoon of fine wine into a barrel of shit? You get a barrel of shit."

"What do you get if you put a teaspoon of shit into a barrel of fine wine? You get a barrel of shit."

I just saw it. It isn't woke. It was fun.

It isn't going to tank.

Geeky is right, I do think Mario will cut into it, but it should do well internationally.

The real thing Hasbro wants to do is sell eOne, and I don't think it will do well enough to boost the price tag beyond the fleecing Hasbro took when they purchased it.

No thanks WOTC.

Quote"It's not woke except for a couple of scenes..."

This is the Entropy theory I use all the time.

"What do you get if you put a teaspoon of fine wine into a barrel of shit? You get a barrel of shit."

"What do you get if you put a teaspoon of shit into a barrel of fine wine? You get a barrel of shit."

You vastly overestimates power of shit tenbones.
Teaspoon? Alcohol gonna kill bacterias, rest will tank with natural vine sediment. No one will ever know the truth without laboratory expertise. Probably won't influence taste at all even for sommelier.

(Not even to mention all those old recipes that actually used some shit - like cherry "beer" from Belgium named kriek that before European Union demanded dreaded hygiene was fermented in large open barrels specifically so birds were shitting into it.

I am more irked at the usual outrage marketing they used.
It is dirty and it shows the director, producer, and other staff have no confidence in their product when they pull this stunt.

Quote from: Zelen on April 01, 2023, 08:54:33 AM
No thanks WOTC.

Ditto.

They have made what they think of their customers and the RPG hobby abundantly clear, so why support them?

Quote from: FingerRod on March 31, 2023, 07:51:11 PM
I just saw it. It isn't woke. It was fun.

It isn't going to tank.

The weekend numbers ended up around $38 million (domestic, $71.5 million worldwide). A bit better than the lowest estimates but it looks like it will struggle to break even and not lose money. Not sure what people generally assume "tanking" means so I can't say whether or not that is what is happening.

In 1982, to portray Conan, they hired a five time Mr. Olympia winner. In 1995, to justify how 5' 10" Xena could defeat full grown men, they had to reveal that she is the daughter of Ares, the God of War.

In 2023, a 5' 5" tall, 40+ year old yoga mom can be hired to play a D&D fighter and everyone says that this isn't wokeness. It shows just how far the Overton window has shifted.

Quote from: hedgehobbit on April 02, 2023, 02:50:26 PM

Quote from: FingerRod on March 31, 2023, 07:51:11 PM
I just saw it. It isn't woke. It was fun.

It isn't going to tank.

The weekend numbers ended up around $38 million (domestic, $71.5 million worldwide). A bit better than the lowest estimates but it looks like it will struggle to break even and not lose money. Not sure what people generally assume "tanking" means so I can't say whether or not that is what is happening.

That is a lot more than a 'bit better'. The article that claimed it would struggle to clear 20 was way off. Hasbro has a shit ton of merchandise tied to this as well.

Look, I hate WotC as much as the next person. But it is a good movie. They will not lose money.

Quote from: hedgehobbit on April 02, 2023, 02:56:14 PM
In 1982, to portray Conan, they hired a five time Mr. Olympia winner. In 1995, to justify how 5' 10" Xena could defeat full grown men, they had to reveal that she is the daughter of Ares, the God of War.

In 2023, a 5' 5" tall, 40+ year old yoga mom can be hired to play a D&D fighter and everyone says that this isn't wokeness. It shows just how far the Overton window has shifted.

This is how I know you'd rather grind an axe instead of maintain your credibility. Michelle Rodriguez is not the greatest actor of our time but she has be an action movie star for decades. She isn't a yoga mom. That is lunacy.

Quote from: FingerRod on April 02, 2023, 06:23:59 PM

Quote from: hedgehobbit on April 02, 2023, 02:56:14 PM
In 1982, to portray Conan, they hired a five time Mr. Olympia winner. In 1995, to justify how 5' 10" Xena could defeat full grown men, they had to reveal that she is the daughter of Ares, the God of War.

In 2023, a 5' 5" tall, 40+ year old yoga mom can be hired to play a D&D fighter and everyone says that this isn't wokeness. It shows just how far the Overton window has shifted.

This is how I know you'd rather grind an axe instead of maintain your credibility. Michelle Rodriguez is not the greatest actor of our time but she has be an action movie star for decades. She isn't a yoga mom. That is lunacy.

Correction, she has been casted in action movies (and other movies) for decades, she's NOT an Action Movie Star.

Examples of Action Movie Star:
Stallone, Schwarzenegger, Norris, Van Dame, Jackie Chan, Diesel, Eastwood, Snipes, Lundgreen, Angelina Jolie (Agent Salt, I would have loved a franchise), Jovovich, Gibson, Will Smith, Sigourney Weaver, Michelle Yeoh, Linda Hamilton, SL Jackson, Denzel, Pam Grier...

An Action Movie Star puts butts in seats by his/her name alone, no one has gone to see R&F BECAUSE of Michelle Rodriguez.

Quote from: FingerRod on April 02, 2023, 06:19:58 PMLook, I hate WotC as much as the next person. But it is a good movie. They will not lose money.

Creed 3 opened at $58 million, significantly higher than Honor Among Thieves, and also received good reviews. It is currently at $258 worldwide. The D&D movie needs to make around $375 million worldwide to break even. Right now there is little evidence that the D&D movie will vastly outperform Creed 3 going forward especially since it has to contend with Super Mario.

Honor Among Thieves may be a "good movie" but it is also a movie that cost $150 million to make (twice as much as Creed 3). It also cost more than John Wick 4 which opened at almost twice the box office.

Quote from: hedgehobbit on April 02, 2023, 07:33:00 PM

Quote from: FingerRod on April 02, 2023, 06:19:58 PMLook, I hate WotC as much as the next person. But it is a good movie. They will not lose money.

Creed 3 opened at $58 million, significantly higher than Honor Among Thieves, and also received good reviews. It is currently at $258 worldwide. The D&D movie needs to make around $375 million worldwide to break even. Right now there is little evidence that the D&D movie will vastly outperform Creed 3 going forward especially since it has to contend with Super Mario.

Honor Among Thieves may be a "good movie" but it is also a movie that cost $150 million to make (twice as much as Creed 3). It also cost more than John Wick 4 which opened at almost twice the box office.

150 to make plus half as much in promotion, so 150+75=225 total budget, meaning it needs to make twice as much to break even, remember the theaters take a cut, so more like 450 million to break even, which it might do, IF it has legs and people keep going to see it so it drops less than usual in the second week, third week and so on.

Edited to add:

Creed has lost the Rocky fans, I doubt we'll see another movie, but I might be wrong.

Quote from: GeekyBugle on April 02, 2023, 07:39:40 PM150 to make plus half as much in promotion, so 150+75=225 total budget, meaning it needs to make twice as much to break even, remember the theaters take a cut, so more like 450 million to break even, which it might do, IF it has legs and people keep going to see it so it drops less than usual in the second week, third week and so on.

Last year only one movie opened at less than $40 million domestically and ended up making over $400 million worldwide: Puss n Boots. And that movie is considered an animation masterpiece. There were several movies that opened significantly higher than $40 million but struggling to get to $400 million worldwide: Uncharted, Black Adam, Sonic 2, and Secrets of Dumbledore.

So D&D could make money, but it isn't likely at this point.

Quote from: hedgehobbit on April 02, 2023, 08:16:49 PM

Quote from: GeekyBugle on April 02, 2023, 07:39:40 PM150 to make plus half as much in promotion, so 150+75=225 total budget, meaning it needs to make twice as much to break even, remember the theaters take a cut, so more like 450 million to break even, which it might do, IF it has legs and people keep going to see it so it drops less than usual in the second week, third week and so on.

Last year only one movie opened at less than $40 million domestically and ended up making over $400 million worldwide: Puss n Boots. And that movie is considered an animation masterpiece. There were several movies that opened significantly higher than $40 million but struggling to get to $400 million worldwide: Uncharted, Black Adam, Sonic 2, and Secrets of Dumbledore.

So D&D could make money, but it isn't likely at this point.

I'm not saying it is likely or that it isn't, I'm saying the smart money is in waiting to see how much it falls in the second weekend, then you can make an educated guess.

QuoteIn 1982, to portray Conan, they hired a five time Mr. Olympia winner. In 1995, to justify how 5' 10" Xena could defeat full grown men, they had to reveal that she is the daughter of Ares, the God of War.

In 2023, a 5' 5" tall, 40+ year old yoga mom can be hired to play a D&D fighter and everyone says that this isn't wokeness. It shows just how far the Overton window has shifted.

Greek mythology without any wokeness from their society had some female warriors in mythology. Including those without any divine blood - like Atalante or most Amazons. No need to fret over it.
Myth is not, and never was simulationist. If anything Xena writers overdone it with their convoluted pastiches of lore and forces.

  Michelle is NOT an action star in no way.  Her RBF and fact she can do a few push ups might make her seem super capable to couch potatoes or effeminate movie producers but she is not an action star.  However....I played the Tiny Teena expansion years ago in the borderlands 2 expansion and it was freaking hilarious and great for several of the meta interactions.  So if that movie has a scene (even if it a deleted one) where they cut to a table of people playing the movie out at a table and the player controlling MR character is a huge overweight dude sucking down mt dew and stuffing cheetos in his face....I will say that makes it work for me....especially if he constantly lobbies to allow his uber female warrior to hit on every bar maid in the game.

Quote from: oggsmash on April 03, 2023, 05:49:17 AM....especially if he constantly lobbies to allow his uber female warrior to hit on every bar maid in the game.

I don't know whether to feel relieved that this has happened to someone besides myself, or disappointed that it happens often enough to become a stereotype.

Quote from: FingerRod on March 17, 2023, 07:42:28 PM
This pains me a little to say, but I do not see the D&D movie tanking. We are two weeks out and there is no review embargo. Sure, the regular shills are piling on their praise, but private citizens who went to early screenings are as well.

Normies do not care about the OGL. Most women would drink Chris Pine's bath water. This is the best time to release a movie, almost two months after a SB and before the weather gets nice for most of the country.

I'm not saying it will be the blockbuster of the year, but it will not be a flop.

Shazam 2 had a budget of 125mil. It opened of 30mil domestically, and it is considered a flop.

It had a big 68% drop off after its opening weekend.

Shazam 2 has only made 120mil in 17 weeks of release.


But, there is an outside chance the "DnD" movie could have legs, so this:

Quote from: GeekyBugle on April 02, 2023, 08:20:32 PM
I'm not saying it is likely or that it isn't, I'm saying the smart money is in waiting to see how much it falls in the second weekend, then you can make an educated guess.

DnD has a 150 mil budget, and opened for 38mil domestically.

IMHO - It is sitting on the edge of breaking even / being a flop.

If it has the typical 60% drop off it will have a tough road to profitability.

And, the Super Mario Bros movie drops next week...


Now I'm not saying that people will not enjoy this film for what it is. But it is a mid level marvel film with fantasy trappings.

So why then does "everyone" in the RPG sphere seem to like the DnD movie?

Because, simply by virtue of not being outright bad like the 2000 film, it is getting a pass on many elements that people wouldn't let slide if it was about Marvel or DC characters.

Evidently people are so happy that it is not as bad as the last film that they have rendered themselves incapable of recognizing castrated mid-level mediocrity; even when it is shoved right in their face...

But normies that have been plagued with more bad than good DC/Marvel films for the past few years have much less of a tolerance for yet another mediocre superhero film.

Quote from: Jaeger on April 03, 2023, 04:16:11 PM
Now I'm not saying that people will not enjoy this film for what it is. But it is a mid level marvel film with fantasy trappings.

So why then does "everyone" in the RPG sphere seem to like the DnD movie?

Because, simply by virtue of not being outright bad like the 2000 film, it is getting a pass on many elements that people wouldn't let slide if it was about Marvel or DC characters.

Evidently people are so happy that it is not as bad as the last film that they have rendered themselves incapable of recognizing castrated mid-level mediocrity; even when it is shoved right in their face...

But normies that have been plagued with more bad than good DC/Marvel films for the past few years have much less of a tolerance for yet another mediocre superhero film.

I have not enjoyed a Marvel or superhero movie in close to a decade. All of them have been on a decline since Ironman.

This was a good movie. And a really smart one taking subtle shots at things we have seen at the table over the years. And it does it without ruining it for people who would not understand the references. From the over-the-top roleplayer, to the look at me guy, to players trying to pound things like speak with the dead into the ground. It takes shots at bards, over-planning, and on and on.

This topic is quickly running its course. I didn't think it would tank/flop, and it hasn't and won't. I also put my dick on the table two weeks before launch. When we have come to the point that we're calling actors like Michelle Rodriguez yoga moms and arguing with people who haven't seen the movie, it gets hard to justify keeping the conversation going.

Quote from: FingerRod on April 03, 2023, 04:53:01 PMI didn't think it would tank/flop, and it hasn't and won't.

You keep saying that this movie didn't flop but have provided no evidence of it's success. Shazam 2 flopped and Honor Among Thieves made a lower percentage of it's budget back during its opening weekend than Shazam 2 did.

Quote from: FingerRod on April 03, 2023, 04:53:01 PM

Quote from: Jaeger on April 03, 2023, 04:16:11 PM
Now I'm not saying that people will not enjoy this film for what it is. But it is a mid level marvel film with fantasy trappings.

So why then does "everyone" in the RPG sphere seem to like the DnD movie?

Because, simply by virtue of not being outright bad like the 2000 film, it is getting a pass on many elements that people wouldn't let slide if it was about Marvel or DC characters.

Evidently people are so happy that it is not as bad as the last film that they have rendered themselves incapable of recognizing castrated mid-level mediocrity; even when it is shoved right in their face...

But normies that have been plagued with more bad than good DC/Marvel films for the past few years have much less of a tolerance for yet another mediocre superhero film.

I have not enjoyed a Marvel or superhero movie in close to a decade. All of them have been on a decline since Ironman.

This was a good movie. And a really smart one taking subtle shots at things we have seen at the table over the years. And it does it without ruining it for people who would not understand the references. From the over-the-top roleplayer, to the look at me guy, to players trying to pound things like speak with the dead into the ground. It takes shots at bards, over-planning, and on and on.

This topic is quickly running its course. I didn't think it would tank/flop, and it hasn't and won't. I also put my dick on the table two weeks before launch. When we have come to the point that we're calling actors like Michelle Rodriguez yoga moms and arguing with people who haven't seen the movie, it gets hard to justify keeping the conversation going.

Personally, I'd say Iron Man 1, Captain America 1-2 (3 is close, but too bogged in outside lore) and the first Avengers film were basically the highpoints of the MCU... everything else has been trying to maintain the hype/momentum. End Game should have absolutely been the conclusion of the grand experiment because they will never top it with general audiences.

George Lucas knew that you maintain fondness for your properties by letting them sit for a decade or so. The endless need for UNLIMITED PROFIT [/Palpatine voice] has essentially cannibalized their IPs and left them hollow shells relying on FX/deepfake gimmicks (Star Wars) and D-list characters (Marvel) because they won't let the damned things just rest.

Just saw it. It was entertaining enough. I'd echo the point about fatherhood (and parenthood in general) being comparatively well handled for a modern movie. Rodriguez plays a far more convincing fighter than Regé-Jean Page. And she was also much less annoying than Sophia Lillis. Casting Lillis as the bigoted tiefling was a stroke of genius.

I'm still not giving my hard earned pesos to Hasbro but The Drinker says it's good and fun.



Might "buy" it when it drops as DVD.

I'm taking a more carrot and stick approach as opposed to all out scorched earth. If they're willing to put out reasonable content from time to time, then I'll buy that, but only that. They seem to be getting the message, slowly but surely.

Quote from: hedgehobbit on April 03, 2023, 05:12:28 PM

Quote from: FingerRod on April 03, 2023, 04:53:01 PMI didn't think it would tank/flop, and it hasn't and won't.

You keep saying that this movie didn't flop but have provided no evidence of it's success. Shazam 2 flopped and Honor Among Thieves made a lower percentage of it's budget back during its opening weekend than Shazam 2 did.

And I will keep saying it because I am right. Michelle Rodriguez is not a yoga mom. This movie is not woke. And it is subjectively entertaining.

The Shazam talk is a distraction. Supers and D&D are different genres. Plus word of mouth, rotten tomatoes, all of it are completely different. The toy merchandising is also an unknown. They have toys, rebranded Monopoly, etc.

Two weeks before launch the word of mouth and early reviews were positive. It was enough to know that it wouldn't flop. Seeing movie with people who aren't hardcore D&D fans is giving me the perspective that it will go beyond simply not being a flop.

I don't see any Oscars. But there will be a sequel. And if you can separate the art from the artist, you might enjoy yourself for a couple hours.

I will buy it when it comes out. Hell, I might go see it again if some of my other friends are interested.

This doesn't mean I don't still hate WotC and Jeremy Crawford. It also doesn't mean that Hasbro's purchase of eOne wasn't laughable.

In a vacuum, this is a good time. 90/93 score supports that. And no, I'm not advocating that any individual goes out to see it. But I am objective enough to know when people will.

Quote from: FingerRod on April 03, 2023, 08:54:59 PMTwo weeks before launch the word of mouth and early reviews were positive. It was enough to know that it wouldn't flop. Seeing movie with people who aren't hardcore D&D fans is giving me the perspective that it will go beyond simply not being a flop.

When people say a movie flopped, they usually mean that it lost money. I've pointed out that this movie needs to make about $400 million to not lose money and that it is rare for a movie, even with good reviews, even with high Rotten Tomatoes scores, to make that much money while opening at less than $40 million.

Just so there isn't any more confusion, how much money do you think this movie will make globally before the end of it's run? And if that number is less than $400 million, then how can you justify the statement that it isn't a flop?

Quote from: hedgehobbit on April 03, 2023, 09:12:13 PM

Quote from: FingerRod on April 03, 2023, 08:54:59 PMTwo weeks before launch the word of mouth and early reviews were positive. It was enough to know that it wouldn't flop. Seeing movie with people who aren't hardcore D&D fans is giving me the perspective that it will go beyond simply not being a flop.

When people say a movie flopped, they usually mean that it lost money. I've pointed out that this movie needs to make about $400 million to not lose money and that it is rare for a movie, even with good reviews, even with high Rotten Tomatoes scores, to make that much money while opening at less than $40 million.

Just so there isn't any more confusion, how much money do you think this movie will make globally before the end of it's run? And if that number is less than $400 million, then how can you justify the statement that it isn't a flop?

450 million to break even, which would mean it didn't made nor lost money, IMHO a fail, but not what people usually call a flop.

Will it reach or surpass that threshold? Who the fuck knows? The smart move is to wait till the second weekend to see how much it dropped from the first, if it is 50% or below it might do well, above 50% it will probably tank.

Quote from: GeekyBugle on April 03, 2023, 10:58:48 PMThe smart move is to wait till the second weekend to see how much it dropped from the first, if it is 50% or below it might do well, above 50% it will probably tank.

Well, the second weekend is over. I was going to make a prediction but if I had, I would be eating crow right now. I thought that the movie would drop 70% or more based on the downgrade of it's first weekend and the fact that Super Mario was taking many of it's screens.

But it dropped 61% which is right in the middle between good and terrible. I still think it will struggle to get to $300 million worldwide which would make it a flop, but I'm not so confident anymore, especially since there aren't any more major releases until May with Guardians of the Galaxy 3.

Turns out lots of gamers want to watch men being emasculated.

Quote from: hedgehobbit on April 10, 2023, 09:47:33 AM

Quote from: GeekyBugle on April 03, 2023, 10:58:48 PMThe smart move is to wait till the second weekend to see how much it dropped from the first, if it is 50% or below it might do well, above 50% it will probably tank.

Well, the second weekend is over. I was going to make a prediction but if I had, I would be eating crow right now. I thought that the movie would drop 70% or more based on the downgrade of it's first weekend and the fact that Super Mario was taking many of it's screens.

But it dropped 61% which is right in the middle between good and terrible. I still think it will struggle to get to $300 million worldwide which would make it a flop, but I'm not so confident anymore, especially since there aren't any more major releases until May with Guardians of the Galaxy 3.

Turns out lots of gamers want to watch men being emasculated.

Didn't it also drop to third place below John Wick?

Edited to add: Yes, yes it did.

https://www.the-numbers.com/movies/custom-comparisons-extended/Dungeons-and-Dragons-Honor-Among-Thieves-(2023)/Shazam-Fury-of-the-Gods-(2022)/John-Wick-Chapter-4-(2023)/Super-Mario-Bros-Movie-The-(2022)#tab=day_by_day_comparison (https://www.the-numbers.com/movies/custom-comparisons-extended/Dungeons-and-Dragons-Honor-Among-Thieves-(2023)/Shazam-Fury-of-the-Gods-(2022)/John-Wick-Chapter-4-(2023)/Super-Mario-Bros-Movie-The-(2022)#tab=day_by_day_comparison)

I'm sad to hear that both D&D: Honor Among Thieves and Shazam! Fury of the Gods are underperforming, as I have heard positive word of mouth on both movies.

I'm not likely to see either in theaters, as my local movie theater closed, and the new theater that was supposed to replace it is still an empty shell.

I'll probably go see Guardians of the Galaxy 3 in theaters, though, as the excellent GOTG Christmas Special has buoyed my faith in that franchise.

Quote from: Lurkndog on April 10, 2023, 01:57:32 PM
I'm sad to hear that both D&D: Honor Among Thieves and Shazam! Fury of the Gods are underperforming, as I have heard positive word of mouth on both movies.

Shazam's failure doesn't bother me because it is part of a much bigger failure started by Warner Brothers themselves.

But people at Hasbro deserve to be fired. Not because the movie was bad, but because nothing we saw onscreen looked like it was worth the $150 million that they spent. And whoever greenlit that budget deserves to be fired because there is no way the D&D brand can support that level of expenditure. Had this movie cost $80-$90 million, it wouldn't be a huge hit, but it would be well on it's way to breaking even or making a small profit. Instead it looks like it will lose $50 million dollars. Imagine what WotC could do with $50 million to spend on OneD&D (or whatever they are calling it now).

Quote from: hedgehobbit on April 10, 2023, 06:16:21 PM

Quote from: Lurkndog on April 10, 2023, 01:57:32 PM
I'm sad to hear that both D&D: Honor Among Thieves and Shazam! Fury of the Gods are underperforming, as I have heard positive word of mouth on both movies.

Shazam's failure doesn't bother me because it is part of a much bigger failure started by Warner Brothers themselves.

But people at Hasbro deserve to be fired. Not because the movie was bad, but because nothing we saw onscreen looked like it was worth the $150 million that they spent. And whoever greenlit that budget deserves to be fired because there is no way the D&D brand can support that level of expenditure. Had this movie cost $80-$90 million, it wouldn't be a huge hit, but it would be well on it's way to breaking even or making a small profit. Instead it looks like it will lose $50 million dollars. Imagine what WotC could do with $50 million to spend on OneD&D (or whatever they are calling it now).

Add more diversity into their development teams? :)

Honestly, having seen it, the sFX in the D&D movie are weirdly dodgy at times. Some of the special effects are really good, and some just do not look right at all. Very puzzling.

For the general audience D&D: Honor Among Thieves has one main thing going for it: it is actually quite funny. For RPG enthusiasts it also has some plot points that seem like they could have been taken straight out of an actual game/campaign. Some of the solutions the characters come up with are very reminiscent of RPG PC thinking. Other than that, I thought that it in some ways looked a bit "bad taste" (which would have been much worse if it took itself too seriously). It does have that annoying modern Hollywood tendency to "deconstruct" gender norms (so the greatest fighter is a woman) and randomly mix skin colors.

Quote from: Trond on April 13, 2023, 12:42:25 AM
For the general audience D&D: Honor Among Thieves has one main thing going for it: it is actually quite funny. For RPG enthusiasts it also has some plot points that seem like they could have been taken straight out of an actual game/campaign. Some of the solutions the characters come up with are very reminiscent of RPG PC thinking. Other than that, I thought that it in some ways looked a bit "bad taste" (which would have been much worse if it took itself too seriously). It does have that annoying modern Hollywood tendency to "deconstruct" gender norms (so the greatest fighter is a woman) and randomly mix skin colors.

Why is it PG13? Too much swearing?

Quote from: GeekyBugle on April 13, 2023, 01:04:33 AM

Quote from: Trond on April 13, 2023, 12:42:25 AM
For the general audience D&D: Honor Among Thieves has one main thing going for it: it is actually quite funny. For RPG enthusiasts it also has some plot points that seem like they could have been taken straight out of an actual game/campaign. Some of the solutions the characters come up with are very reminiscent of RPG PC thinking. Other than that, I thought that it in some ways looked a bit "bad taste" (which would have been much worse if it took itself too seriously). It does have that annoying modern Hollywood tendency to "deconstruct" gender norms (so the greatest fighter is a woman) and randomly mix skin colors.

Why is it PG13? Too much swearing?

No idea. I didn't notice anything like that.

Quote from: GeekyBugle on April 13, 2023, 01:04:33 AMWhy is it PG13? Too much swearing?

They did what they did with Uncharted, just have the characters say "shit" enough times and you get PG-13. It has become so common that most people watching probably didn't even notice. I only notice because I've got kids.

It is funny to watch how cussing in movies exploded. In Ghostbusters, from 1984, there is not cussing. I watched it with my kids (they didn't understand the key parts). But a year later, Back to the Future is just loaded with F-bombs. It's almost constant. I wonder what changed over that time period.

Quote from: hedgehobbit on April 13, 2023, 12:07:15 PM

Quote from: GeekyBugle on April 13, 2023, 01:04:33 AMWhy is it PG13? Too much swearing?

They did what they did with Uncharted, just have the characters say "shit" enough times and you get PG-13. It has become so common that most people watching probably didn't even notice. I only notice because I've got kids.

It is funny to watch how cussing in movies exploded. In Ghostbusters, from 1984, there is not cussing. I watched it with my kids (they didn't understand the key parts). But a year later, Back to the Future is just loaded with F-bombs. It's almost constant. I wonder what changed over that time period.

I've got no problem with swearing per se, just have it be justified, when your dialogue is F-Bombs left right and center the word looses impact. Also the hero shouldn't really swear IMHO.

But beyond my unsolicited opinions it's dumb, by needlessly injecting filthy language you cut yourself out of a big market.

Quote from: hedgehobbit on April 13, 2023, 12:07:15 PM
It is funny to watch how cussing in movies exploded. In Ghostbusters, from 1984, there is not cussing. I watched it with my kids (they didn't understand the key parts). But a year later, Back to the Future is just loaded with F-bombs. It's almost constant. I wonder what changed over that time period.

Is it? I don't remember Back to the Future having the F-word at all, but maybe I just didn't notice.

Quote from: Ratman_tf on April 14, 2023, 02:39:48 AMIs it? I don't remember Back to the Future having the F-word at all, but maybe I just didn't notice.

Turns out my memory was faulty and they just said "shit" alot*. I guess it isn't a modern thing after all. Still, compared to Ghostbusters which had absolutely no cussing in it at all, Back to the Future was quite a shock. I had to turn it off after a few minutes because my kids were around 10 years old at the time.

Also, I checked and 1984 was the year that PG-13 was introduced so that might explain the drastic difference between the two movies.

*There's a video on YouTube called "Back to the Future Curse Count" that lists every one.

Turns out that LotR: The Return of the King  re-release killed D&D: Honor Among Thieves.

I've been watching several reviews, and a lot of them were generally positive. Professor DM of Dungeoncraft definitely did not like it.

Ed Greenwood has a video where he lists five things that the movie got wrong (but he said he enjoyed the movie anyway). One thing interesting he said is that WoTC are not allowed to say what is and isn't canon in the FR without his written approval.

Quote from: GeekyBugle on April 15, 2023, 04:50:40 PM
Turns out that LotR: The Return of the King  re-release killed D&D: Honor Among Thieves.

It looks like D&D will be the #7 movie this weekend and will barely reach $150 million by the end of it's run. So it will end up losing close to $100 million after all is said and done.

With D&D tanking and Super Mario breaking records, it really does show just how insignificant rating sites like Rotten Tomatoes are.

Another review of the movie, this one by the lady at Dungeons & Discourse, posted April 1. She said it wasn't very good.

https://youtu.be/MwmWltEGJY4


*whistles innocently*

Domestic Box Office    $74,248,871
International Box Office    $82,933,261
Worldwide Box Office    $157,182,132

Source: https://www.the-numbers.com/movie/Dungeons-and-Dragons-Honor-Among-Thieves-(2023)#tab=summary (http://source:%20https://www.the-numbers.com/movie/Dungeons-and-Dragons-Honor-Among-Thieves-(2023)#tab=summary)

Budget: $151 million
Standard to break even 2.5X the budget: $378 million
Currently losing: 378-157 = $221 million
https://screenrant.com/how-much-ant-man-wasp-quantumania-cost-to-make/ (https://screenrant.com/how-much-ant-man-wasp-quantumania-cost-to-make/)

Quote from: hedgehobbit on April 02, 2023, 02:56:14 PM
In 1982, to portray Conan, they hired a five time Mr. Olympia winner. In 1995, to justify how 5' 10" Xena could defeat full grown men, they had to reveal that she is the daughter of Ares, the God of War.

In 2023, a 5' 5" tall, 40+ year old yoga mom can be hired to play a D&D fighter and everyone says that this isn't wokeness. It shows just how far the Overton window has shifted.

Oh puh-lease. Women like in the D&D movie have been around quite a while. Just not as stupid as in the last 10 years when not some sort of sci-fi or supers show.

And D&D is one of the few settings it actually makes sense. I mean a 3ft tall person can beat up a 12ft tall ogre?

Quote from: Omega on April 19, 2023, 10:47:51 PM

Quote from: hedgehobbit on April 02, 2023, 02:56:14 PM
In 1982, to portray Conan, they hired a five time Mr. Olympia winner. In 1995, to justify how 5' 10" Xena could defeat full grown men, they had to reveal that she is the daughter of Ares, the God of War.

In 2023, a 5' 5" tall, 40+ year old yoga mom can be hired to play a D&D fighter and everyone says that this isn't wokeness. It shows just how far the Overton window has shifted.

Oh puh-lease. Women like in the D&D movie have been around quite a while. Just not as stupid as in the last 10 years when not some sort of sci-fi or supers show.

Yeah. In 1985, they had Brigitte Nielsen portraying Red Sonja as a strong fighter - not just in martial arts, but even in lifting. In the same year, Grace Jones was portrayed a tremendously strong rival of James Bond. It's not something new in 2023.

Fantasy movies have always had lots of unrealistic shit in them, including unrealistic fighters.

Quote from: jhkim on April 20, 2023, 01:02:42 AM

Quote from: Omega on April 19, 2023, 10:47:51 PM

Quote from: hedgehobbit on April 02, 2023, 02:56:14 PM
In 1982, to portray Conan, they hired a five time Mr. Olympia winner. In 1995, to justify how 5' 10" Xena could defeat full grown men, they had to reveal that she is the daughter of Ares, the God of War.

In 2023, a 5' 5" tall, 40+ year old yoga mom can be hired to play a D&D fighter and everyone says that this isn't wokeness. It shows just how far the Overton window has shifted.

Oh puh-lease. Women like in the D&D movie have been around quite a while. Just not as stupid as in the last 10 years when not some sort of sci-fi or supers show.

Yeah. In 1985, they had Brigitte Nielsen portraying Red Sonja as a strong fighter - not just in martial arts, but even in lifting. In the same year, Grace Jones was portrayed a tremendously strong rival of James Bond. It's not something new in 2023.

Fantasy movies have always had lots of unrealistic shit in them, including unrealistic fighters.

  Red Sonja is 6 feet tall.  Grace's character was not in any way the same type of fighter as RBF rodriguez, she got man handled by Boombatta and had to be saved by Conan.   It was poor casting to put a tiny woman as the brute tossing men around.  Period.  Plenty of better choices, even if female to fill that role.

Quote from: oggsmash on April 20, 2023, 05:43:59 AM

Quote from: jhkim on April 20, 2023, 01:02:42 AM

Quote from: Omega on April 19, 2023, 10:47:51 PM

Quote from: hedgehobbit on April 02, 2023, 02:56:14 PM
In 1982, to portray Conan, they hired a five time Mr. Olympia winner. In 1995, to justify how 5' 10" Xena could defeat full grown men, they had to reveal that she is the daughter of Ares, the God of War.

In 2023, a 5' 5" tall, 40+ year old yoga mom can be hired to play a D&D fighter and everyone says that this isn't wokeness. It shows just how far the Overton window has shifted.

Oh puh-lease. Women like in the D&D movie have been around quite a while. Just not as stupid as in the last 10 years when not some sort of sci-fi or supers show.

Yeah. In 1985, they had Brigitte Nielsen portraying Red Sonja as a strong fighter - not just in martial arts, but even in lifting. In the same year, Grace Jones was portrayed a tremendously strong rival of James Bond. It's not something new in 2023.

Fantasy movies have always had lots of unrealistic shit in them, including unrealistic fighters.

  Red Sonja is 6 feet tall.  Grace's character was not in any way the same type of fighter as RBF rodriguez, she got man handled by Boombatta and had to be saved by Conan.   It was poor casting to put a tiny woman as the brute tossing men around.  Period.  Plenty of better choices, even if female to fill that role.

Like Gina Carano, but she's verbotten.

Yeah, it's n ot that Rodriguez is a wahmen, it's that she's tiny and thin. You'd need a tall muscular woman in the role.

Quote from: jhkim on April 20, 2023, 01:02:42 AM

Quote from: Omega on April 19, 2023, 10:47:51 PM

Quote from: hedgehobbit on April 02, 2023, 02:56:14 PM
In 1982, to portray Conan, they hired a five time Mr. Olympia winner. In 1995, to justify how 5' 10" Xena could defeat full grown men, they had to reveal that she is the daughter of Ares, the God of War.

In 2023, a 5' 5" tall, 40+ year old yoga mom can be hired to play a D&D fighter and everyone says that this isn't wokeness. It shows just how far the Overton window has shifted.

Oh puh-lease. Women like in the D&D movie have been around quite a while. Just not as stupid as in the last 10 years when not some sort of sci-fi or supers show.

Yeah. In 1985, they had Brigitte Nielsen portraying Red Sonja as a strong fighter - not just in martial arts, but even in lifting. In the same year, Grace Jones was portrayed a tremendously strong rival of James Bond. It's not something new in 2023....

To me, the problem is that it's become practically mandatory. In the 80s, the damsel in distress was still a common trope. Nowadays it's so uncommon that it's a breath of fresh air.

QuoteAs of April 21, 2023, Dungeons & Dragons: Honor Among Thieves has grossed $78.2 million in the United States and Canada, and $83.9 million in other territories, for a worldwide total of $162.1 million.

So, the film has grossed ~97 million (assuming that Hasbro got the normal 60% of the ticket sales... but it could be less if Hasbro didn't have as good as contract as the other big players) on a budget of $150 million to make (and a reasonable estimate of an additional $100 million to promote).

It tanked.

Quote from: Eirikrautha on April 22, 2023, 04:48:41 PM

QuoteAs of April 21, 2023, Dungeons & Dragons: Honor Among Thieves has grossed $78.2 million in the United States and Canada, and $83.9 million in other territories, for a worldwide total of $162.1 million.

So, the film has grossed ~97 million (assuming that Hasbro got the normal 60% of the ticket sales... but it could be less if Hasbro didn't have as good as contract as the other big players) on a budget of $150 million to make (and a reasonable estimate of an additional $100 million to promote).

It tanked.

Piked the WORST window to release, stupid people opening their traps about "emasculating the male leads", right after ALL the bad blood GWotKKK has been generating...

I think they should have waited to next week to release, Mario would still be getting the megabucks but HaT wouldn't be suffering so much from it taking away it's audience.

Quote from: oggsmash on April 20, 2023, 05:43:59 AM

Quote from: jhkim on April 20, 2023, 01:02:42 AM

Quote from: Omega on April 19, 2023, 10:47:51 PM

Quote from: hedgehobbit on April 02, 2023, 02:56:14 PM
In 1982, to portray Conan, they hired a five time Mr. Olympia winner. In 1995, to justify how 5' 10" Xena could defeat full grown men, they had to reveal that she is the daughter of Ares, the God of War.

In 2023, a 5' 5" tall, 40+ year old yoga mom can be hired to play a D&D fighter and everyone says that this isn't wokeness. It shows just how far the Overton window has shifted.

Oh puh-lease. Women like in the D&D movie have been around quite a while. Just not as stupid as in the last 10 years when not some sort of sci-fi or supers show.

Yeah. In 1985, they had Brigitte Nielsen portraying Red Sonja as a strong fighter - not just in martial arts, but even in lifting. In the same year, Grace Jones was portrayed a tremendously strong rival of James Bond. It's not something new in 2023.

Fantasy movies have always had lots of unrealistic shit in them, including unrealistic fighters.

  Red Sonja is 6 feet tall.  Grace's character was not in any way the same type of fighter as RBF rodriguez, she got man handled by Boombatta and had to be saved by Conan.   It was poor casting to put a tiny woman as the brute tossing men around.  Period.  Plenty of better choices, even if female to fill that role.

eh, she looks the part and this is D&D we are talking about where 3ft tall people can throw around normal people even.
The more pressing problem is the agendas behind some of the writing and the fact the writers were outrage marketing. Says nothing good about the show when they think so little of it they believe essentually clickbait is needed to sell tickets.

I saw it last night. The music was appropriately Celtic-ish. The story was fine.

I am not into martial arts, so little Michelle Rodriguez throwing around tall, armored soldiers didn't bother me. I was surprised that she was shown being punched in the face more than once, but she is a fighter, and that happens when you fight. I liked that she grabbed whatever was close at hand to fight, when she didn't have a weapon.

Chris Pine's character made some bad decisions in his past, and now has to face the consequences. He doesn't shy away from his own culpability (not too much), but does what he can to correct. He is the "heart" of the group, to use a tvtropes concept. He keeps the band together and encourages each of his team members to keep pressing on. He doesn't use magic; he does play the lute, which he also uses as a weapon. The one real problem I noticed with his character being a bard is that he is the one character who *doesn't* know about a famous paladin.

It's kind of funny that WoTC recently announce they would have no more half races, while one of the main characters in the movie is a half-elf. Does this mean the movie isn't canon?

The villain was appropriately creepy, and the end battle was impressive.

There is no porn in this movie, not even a hint of it. All the relationships are heteronormative, as they say. The main characters are monogamous. Even death cannot stop true love, or something. Pine's character and Rodriguez's character are extremely platonic with each other. The bard still pines for his deceased wife, and has to decide whether what he wants or what his daughter needs is more important. Rodriguez is still in love with her estranged husband.

Greetings!

I once knew a woman that was the Loss Prevention Manager for a huge department store. She was 6'6" and probably 250 or 300-lbs. She was *big* to say the least. She was a nice woman, though there does seem to be a thing with really tall, big women--it is not that they are necessarily ugly--some of them are, some aren't. In any case though, very few of them would be considered "Hollywood Ready".

Unfortunately for such women, many of them are just not that photogenic.

Having said that, however, I knew some girls at my university, they were the cheer squad for the teams. *THEY* were all total *SMOKE SHOWS*--and, while hot girls are everywhere on my college campus, these girls were all as tall or taller than I am. The shortest of them was 5'10", and the rest were all between that and I'd say 6'4" for the tallest. Most of them were probably 6-feet or 6'2". All *SMOKE SHOWS*

That doesn't mean they were physically jacked though. They were certainly in  fantastic physical shape--for women. They wouldn't be throwing men around though, that's for sure, despite the fact that they were tall, and in excellent physical condition, for women.

I imagine it is probably very challenging to actually find and cast a woman that is well, 6'0" or taller, and *jacked*. That kind of woman could at east be imagined doing some physical stuff with men. Then, you have the problem of even if you could find a woman like that--here are a few around--that doesn't mean that she can act successfully, remember her lines right, and so on.

That cuts down the pool even further. So, I guess you get what you get.

Michelle Rodriguez is a decent actor, and a reasonably attractive woman, even if she is 40. She's looking damn good. But yeah...her throwing men warriors around? *Laughing*

I knew women in the Marine Corps that were smoking hot, and in *ELITE* physical condition. Probably the top 10% of all women in America. While they could run, and dance, and bend themselves into pretzels--they still could not throw us male Marines around. Not a chance. ZERO. Marine Infantry would have eaten them alive and made them look absolutely wrecked in *seconds* Just like we have seen video clips of a few Marine women or Army women stupid enough to step into the ring with a man, and the women get fucking blasted and knocked the fuck silly in less than 60 seconds.

That's the harsh reality.

Still, for a silly fantasy movie, as I said, it is probably a real challenge to find a woman that checks all the boxes and maximizes that believability factor. So, yeah, we get what we get.*Laughing*

Semper Fidelis,

SHARK

Being able to bend yourself into a pretzel is a not common enough attribute among women IMHO.

Quote from: GeekyBugle on April 25, 2023, 01:40:31 AM
Being able to bend yourself into a pretzel is a not common enough attribute among women IMHO.

That's a salty take

Quote from: SHARK on April 24, 2023, 10:14:58 PMStill, for a silly fantasy movie, as I said, it is probably a real challenge to find a woman that checks all the boxes and maximizes that believability factor. So, yeah, we get what we get.*Laughing*

I'm of the opinion that it you can't find an actress to portray the character correctly, then just rewrite the characters. If they couldn't find a Jade Cargill who could act, put the actress in magic armor with a magic long sword and call it a day. It would be more lore accurate to D&D that way anyway.

Just let Samantha Swords do you costume design for you:

(https://www.themarysue.com/wp-content/uploads/2013/08/tumblr_mrvqaaOxCS1rrjmgoo1_1280.jpg?resize=364%2C550)

Quote from: cavalier973 on April 25, 2023, 07:43:47 AM

Quote from: GeekyBugle on April 25, 2023, 01:40:31 AM
Being able to bend yourself into a pretzel is a not common enough attribute among women IMHO.

That's a salty take

Nope, it's a wistful take.

Quote from: GeekyBugle on April 25, 2023, 01:40:31 AM
Being able to bend yourself into a pretzel is a not common enough attribute among women IMHO.

Greetings!

Yes, my friend! I agree entirely! It's a sad state of affairs when there are so few women that cannot bend themselves into a pretzel! *Laughing*

It's strange, though. Back in the day, I knew many women that prided themselves on their abilities at bending themselves into pretzels! Nowadays, *Laughing* Trying to do so would cause most of them to have a stroke or something.

Semper Fidelis,

SHARK

Quote from: SHARK on April 26, 2023, 01:26:06 AM

Quote from: GeekyBugle on April 25, 2023, 01:40:31 AM
Being able to bend yourself into a pretzel is a not common enough attribute among women IMHO.

Greetings!

Yes, my friend! I agree entirely! It's a sad state of affairs when there are so few women that cannot bend themselves into a pretzel! *Laughing*

It's strange, though. Back in the day, I knew many women that prided themselves on their abilities at bending themselves into pretzels! Nowadays, *Laughing* Trying to do so would cause most of them to have a stroke or something.

Semper Fidelis,

SHARK

Never mind who wants to see most of modern wahmen bent into a pretzel (or not)?

Well, at this point I think it's safe to say it did tank:

Grosses
Domestic (46.5%) $83,262,439
International (53.5%) $95,800,000
Worldwide $179,062,439

https://www.boxofficemojo.com/release/rl1879410177/ (https://www.boxofficemojo.com/release/rl1879410177/)

Quote from: GeekyBugle on April 27, 2023, 03:14:48 PM
Well, at this point I think it's safe to say it did tank:

Grosses
Domestic (46.5%) $83,262,439
International (53.5%) $95,800,000
Worldwide $179,062,439

https://www.boxofficemojo.com/release/rl1879410177/ (https://www.boxofficemojo.com/release/rl1879410177/)

And it didn't have to.

Absent the OGL debacle and the nonsense spouted by WoTC staff and by the movie directors (or promoters or whatever they were), and, perhaps, the unfortunate nearness of Mario's movie release date and that of the John Wick movie, and the marketing that made it seem like another Marvel-style movie that I suspect people are growing tired of, it would have done well. A greater percentage of people might have gone a second time, bringing their friends.

Not a summer blockbuster, but a fun popcorn movie.

A very safe movie, if I might be so bold. Very little in the movie itself to offend anyone, really.

Quote from: cavalier973 on April 27, 2023, 03:27:38 PM
And it didn't have to.

Absent the OGL debacle and the nonsense spouted by WoTC staff and by the movie directors (or promoters or whatever they were), and, perhaps, the unfortunate nearness of Mario's movie release date and that of the John Wick movie, and the marketing that made it seem like another Marvel-style movie that I suspect people are growing tired of, it would have done well. A greater percentage of people might have gone a second time, bringing their friends.

  All this, and the marketing seemed designed to remind those of us with long memories of the 2000 movie. I realize there are certain tropes attached to D&D, but "rogues in an urban fantasy setting going on a treasure hunt" hits a bit too close to the last attempt...

   

Quote from: Armchair Gamer on April 27, 2023, 04:52:51 PM

Quote from: cavalier973 on April 27, 2023, 03:27:38 PM
And it didn't have to.

Absent the OGL debacle and the nonsense spouted by WoTC staff and by the movie directors (or promoters or whatever they were), and, perhaps, the unfortunate nearness of Mario's movie release date and that of the John Wick movie, and the marketing that made it seem like another Marvel-style movie that I suspect people are growing tired of, it would have done well. A greater percentage of people might have gone a second time, bringing their friends.

  All this, and the marketing seemed designed to remind those of us with long memories of the 2000 movie. I realize there are certain tropes attached to D&D, but "rogues in an urban fantasy setting going on a treasure hunt" hits a bit too close to the last attempt...

I think we can all agree it was a self inflicted wound yes?

Things I learned from this thread:

Tiny middle aged women are totally convincing as barbarian warriors that throw large men around like ragdolls, especially when viewed by gaslight.

People are so starved for quality entertainment, that you can serve them dogfood, and they'll treat it like, well, if not steak, at least a tasty burger.

Some people will happily drink wine with actual shit in it, as long as they can't taste it.

The film probably would have done better in maybe August.

Quote from: Grognard GM on April 28, 2023, 12:42:59 AM
Things I learned from this thread:

Tiny middle aged women are totally convincing as barbarian warriors that throw large men around like ragdolls, especially when viewed by gaslight.

People are so starved for quality entertainment, that you can serve them dogfood, and they'll treat it like, well, if not steak, at least a tasty burger.

Some people will happily drink wine with actual shit in it, as long as they can't taste it.

I also liked "The Hudsucker Proxy" more than I liked "The Big Lebowski".

There's no accounting for taste, I guess.

I didn't see the big-budget D&D movie that came out in 2000. I did, however, see the sequel, "Wrath of the Dragon God". I didn't hate it. I didn't like it as much as this most recent offering.


Tainted wine? This movie is based on 5e. If one wanted a muscle-y 80's action hero movie, then it should have been made in the 4e era.

Quote from: GeekyBugle on April 27, 2023, 05:22:40 PM

I think we can all agree it was a self inflicted wound yes?

Complete agreement here. WotC and Hasbro seem to delight in shooting themselves, over and over.

Maybe it was designed to fail in the theatres and it's just promotional material for the next ten years as it streams on a variety of platforms.

Quote from: Manticore on April 28, 2023, 12:34:19 PM
Maybe it was designed to fail in the theatres and it's just promotional material for the next ten years as it streams on a variety of platforms.

Which would be weird and incredibly stupid since Hasbro is trying to sell the studio that made it. Doesn't mean Hasbro and/or GWotKKK are incapable of being that stupid.

Quote from: Ghostmaker on April 28, 2023, 10:00:55 AMComplete agreement here. WotC and Hasbro seem to delight in shooting themselves, over and over.

How much influence did Hasbro have over the movie? If you look at the writers and directors, they are all established Hollywood types. There's no sign that any of WotC's writers had anything to do with how the movie was scripted.

Quote from: hedgehobbit on April 28, 2023, 02:16:26 PM

Quote from: Ghostmaker on April 28, 2023, 10:00:55 AMComplete agreement here. WotC and Hasbro seem to delight in shooting themselves, over and over.

How much influence did Hasbro have over the movie? If you look at the writers and directors, they are all established Hollywood types. There's no sign that any of WotC's writers had anything to do with how the movie was scripted.

They own the studio and foot the bills, they should have delineated a marketing strategy and a general tone for the movie.

Hasbro deleted the signature of Jeff Easley from the movie poster prints... Can they go ONE fucking week without doing something evil?

Quote from: cavalier973 on April 28, 2023, 07:57:13 AM

I also liked "The Hudsucker Proxy" more than I liked "The Big Lebowski".

You're a man of taste and refinement.

Oh man, Hasbro/WotC shows no mercy, once one is over (OGL, MtG 30 year ... ) comes the next. Great how they stand by Jeff, could have been a mistake by Paramount.

Oh, I wanted to write something about the film. I went to the cinema with friends and none of us really liked the film. We've all been playing D&D for 20 years and the film had less content than half an hour played at our table.
Yes, there are allusions, but everything seemed so forced and potatoes won't get you very far. Presumably the writers of the film have never played D&D and are not familiar with the story. For the same reason, the Amazon Lord of the Rings series can be cancelled. False emphasis with jokes that are not funny and do not fit at all with tragic moments. I don't recommend it, if it's on in passing, you can switch it on, but that's about it. The imdb is full of praise, but most of the 8-9-10/10 ratings are incomprehensible to me and it doesn't seem to be a blockbuster with huge profits. It's a pity about the missed chance to create something epic, we probably should have gone to the Nintendo movie, people were queuing up there.

Quote from: cavalier973 on April 28, 2023, 07:57:13 AM

There's no accounting for taste, I guess.

Have you checked how Marvel "Phase Four" did?

My guilty pleasure were the Resident Evil movies with Milla Jovovich. Then nu-Resident Evil came out - twice - and people said "You know? Ass-kicking Supermodels vs. Zombies [ * ] were actually fun!

[ * ] This definition comes from Milla Jovovich herself. No one was hiding anything ;D

I stand by comments I've made prior on the film: it wasn't bad. It was surprisingly good.

But you can't deny that WotC and Hasbro took a giant Cleveland Steamer shit all over the very people they needed to watch the movie multiple times.

Quote from: Ghostmaker on May 05, 2023, 08:25:14 PM
it wasn't bad. It was surprisingly good.

But you can't deny that WotC and Hasbro took a giant Cleveland Steamer shit all over the very people they needed to watch the movie multiple times.

my thoughts exactly. i just watched it, and i don't get why all the the bashing for this movie, tbh - on its own merits, it's very good.

Quote from: Klava on May 06, 2023, 02:01:12 PM

Quote from: Ghostmaker on May 05, 2023, 08:25:14 PM
it wasn't bad. It was surprisingly good.

But you can't deny that WotC and Hasbro took a giant Cleveland Steamer shit all over the very people they needed to watch the movie multiple times.

my thoughts exactly. i just watched it, and i don't get why all the the bashing for this movie, tbh - on its own merits, it's very good.

Which makes it even more dumb and perplexing they went with the "marketing" they did (We love to emasculate the male leads).

Usually that type of marketing is reserved for shitty movies to shield them from criticism.

A friend of mine rented it on Amazon (yes, it's already available for streaming) and after seeing it my review is that it's "aggressively average." Nothing offensive, but also nothing that actually awes you either.

Quote from: Funkenspalter on May 04, 2023, 02:29:48 PMYes, there are allusions, but everything seemed so forced and potatoes won't get you very far. Presumably the writers of the film have never played D&D and are not familiar with the story.

Hasbro seems to have made the most common mistakes that modern Hollywood is constantly making: Spending so much on the movie that only a massive success will break even, hiring writers unfamiliar with the franchise (or even the genre of the franchise), and casting B-list actors that cost money but don't draw customers to the theater.

However, it appears that the movie tanking will have no effect as Hasbro's stock recently jumped 13% due to "strong growth in the company's digital gaming segment." All of use TTRPG players are just dinosaurs waiting to go extinct.

Chris Pine and Michelle Rodriguez will still predispose me to see a movie. I've seen bad movies that they both were in, but if you make enough movies, they won't all be good.

Quote from: Armchair Gamer on April 27, 2023, 04:52:51 PM

Quote from: cavalier973 on April 27, 2023, 03:27:38 PM
And it didn't have to.

Absent the OGL debacle and the nonsense spouted by WoTC staff and by the movie directors (or promoters or whatever they were), and, perhaps, the unfortunate nearness of Mario's movie release date and that of the John Wick movie, and the marketing that made it seem like another Marvel-style movie that I suspect people are growing tired of, it would have done well. A greater percentage of people might have gone a second time, bringing their friends.

  All this, and the marketing seemed designed to remind those of us with long memories of the 2000 movie. I realize there are certain tropes attached to D&D, but "rogues in an urban fantasy setting going on a treasure hunt" hits a bit too close to the last attempt...

That one I noticed as well. Another team of thieves? Why?
Least they did it better this time.

Quote from: hedgehobbit on April 28, 2023, 02:16:26 PM

Quote from: Ghostmaker on April 28, 2023, 10:00:55 AMComplete agreement here. WotC and Hasbro seem to delight in shooting themselves, over and over.

How much influence did Hasbro have over the movie? If you look at the writers and directors, they are all established Hollywood types. There's no sign that any of WotC's writers had anything to do with how the movie was scripted.

The first movie WotC meddled in it to a degree. Odds are hasbro had a say here too.

Budget: $151 million
Standard to break even 2.5X the budget: $378 million
Worldwide Boxoffice: $203 million
Currently losing: 378-203 = $175 million

Those numbers are to date AND very generous BTW the multiplier is 2.5 to 3 X it's budget to break even.

In Mexico it's almost out of all theaters, I would imagine the same holds true for the rest of the world.

It'll break even ONLY if it makes it's money back at the box office, it's how it has always been meausured for every other movie.

Quote from: GeekyBugle on May 14, 2023, 12:30:28 PM
Budget: $151 million
Standard to break even 2.5X the budget: $378 million
Worldwide Boxoffice: $203 million
Currently losing: 378-203 = $175 million

Those numbers are to date AND very generous BTW the multiplier is 2.5 to 3 X it's budget to break even.

In Mexico it's almost out of all theaters, I would imagine the same holds true for the rest of the world.

It'll break even ONLY if it makes it's money back at the box office, it's how it has always been meausured for every other movie.

More importantly, there is no buzz about this movie.  Nobody is buying toys, t-shirts, merchandise, or anything else based on this.  Within a week of Top Gun: Maverick, I saw t-shirts, Legos, Ace Combat 5 added special DLC for the movie, etc.  This movie has done nothing to "build a brand."

It lost money and generated no cultural buzz.  It's a flop.  It tanked.

Quote from: Eirikrautha on May 14, 2023, 05:12:09 PM

Quote from: GeekyBugle on May 14, 2023, 12:30:28 PM
Budget: $151 million
Standard to break even 2.5X the budget: $378 million
Worldwide Boxoffice: $203 million
Currently losing: 378-203 = $175 million

Those numbers are to date AND very generous BTW the multiplier is 2.5 to 3 X it's budget to break even.

In Mexico it's almost out of all theaters, I would imagine the same holds true for the rest of the world.

It'll break even ONLY if it makes it's money back at the box office, it's how it has always been meausured for every other movie.

More importantly, there is no buzz about this movie.  Nobody is buying toys, t-shirts, merchandise, or anything else based on this.  Within a week of Top Gun: Maverick, I saw t-shirts, Legos, Ace Combat 5 added special DLC for the movie, etc.  This movie has done nothing to "build a brand."

It lost money and generated no cultural buzz.  It's a flop.  It tanked.

I just saw it, nothing to write home about but it WAS a fun movie, it should have done more money, and probably would have if Hasbro/GWotKKK weren't se stupid.

Greetings!

Yes, well, it seems like a fun movie, and yet, also more-or-less mediocre or average. As GeekyBugle said, "Nothing to write home about."

Considering this D&D film, yet *another* effort to bring D&D to the movie screen, in general, there has been a history of such projects being either laughably stupid, or in general, mediocre.

I have never had much hope or faith for any D&D film. They are too mired in stupid for me to ever believe they are worthwhile. As for any sense of strong ideas, joy, excitement, and inspiration for gaming--I am content with films such as Mongol: The Rise of Genghis Khan, Hero, Crouching Tiger/Hidden Dragon, The Northman, Rob Roy, Braveheart, Gladiator, The 13th Warrior, King Arthur, Troy, The Kingdom of Heaven, Excalibur, Ivanhoe, The Hobbit Trilogy, and the Lord of the Rings Trilogy. The series programs such as "Vikings" and "The Last Kingdom" are also exciting, entertaining, and inspiring.

Watch each of these movies I listed, and the series programs, and see if you aren't blown away and inspired! *Laughing* Awesome movies and programs there for certain.

Semper Fidelis,

SHARK

Quote from: SHARK on May 15, 2023, 08:08:30 AMConsidering this D&D film, yet *another* effort to bring D&D to the movie screen, in general, there has been a history of such projects being either laughably stupid, or in general, mediocre.

There has? Other than this I was only aware of the 2000 Dungeons and Dragons movie with Jeremy Irons. That one really tanked. It didn't even make its budget.

Quote from: mightybrain on May 15, 2023, 12:28:11 PM

Quote from: SHARK on May 15, 2023, 08:08:30 AMConsidering this D&D film, yet *another* effort to bring D&D to the movie screen, in general, there has been a history of such projects being either laughably stupid, or in general, mediocre.

There has? Other than this I was only aware of the 2000 Dungeons and Dragons movie with Jeremy Irons. That one really tanked. It didn't even make its budget.

Greetings!

Yep. At least one other movie. There's been other efforts though, that all failed for one reason or another. I think there were more than once previous where they wanted to produce a D&D movie. As I mentioned though, all of these efforts failed.

I'm long accustomed to failure and mediocrity when it comes to the subject of D&D and movies or TV.

Semper Fidelis,

SHARK

It certainly seems to have reviewed well enough with 91% from critics and 93% from audiences according to Rotten Tomatoes. Compare that to say Thor: Love and Thunder with 63% and 77% respectively. That suggests to me that the brand recognition and marketing are probably more the issue here than the movie itself. The first two Hulk movies didn't break even either but Marvel movies have been dominating for years now.

On the other hand, I've never really been that desperate for a D&D movie. Or should I say a Neverwinter heist movie, since it was far more about the setting and the characters than it was about the game. I just don't find the setting that interesting. I thought the characters were okay as a one off, but its difficult to imagine turning them into an ongoing franchise.

That's a very good point, but the Realms has got a lot of lore and exposure. Probably not a bad idea for them to use it as a setting, much as I dislike it.

I suspect it will gradually make money as a cult classic. It really isn't a bad popcorn flick. I've seen worse.

I kinda feel bad for Chris Pine though, and the rest of the cast.

Quote from: Ghostmaker on May 15, 2023, 07:59:23 PM
I suspect it will gradually make money as a cult classic. It really isn't a bad popcorn flick. I've seen worse.

I kinda feel bad for Chris Pine though, and the rest of the cast.

Well, IMHO all the cast pulled their weight and then some, Michelle Rodriguez is a likable and believable (for D&D metrics) fighter, Chris Pine is fine as a Bard (almost always useless), Sophia Lillis as the tiefling delivered (and I fucking hate Tieflings as PCs), Justice Smith was fine as a Wizard filled with self doubt that pulls it off when needed and Regé-Jean Page was a believable and even likable Palladin.

Heck, even the bad guys were on point.

The humor landed, even if they did drag one or two jokes well beyond their welcome point.

My complaints are similar too others, the Owlbear = Hulk comparison is spot on in that particular scene.

Now, from a GM/Player POV: I've been in games where the dice turn something into a long gag (talking with the dead anyone?), so I kinda understand WHY they did it, it's just that I don't think that translates very well into the screen, especially for normies.

It's the change in media, really. The game system has to provide a huge kitchen sink setting so all the various DMs can have their adventures and do something different with each campaign.

Actual stories benefit from a very focused setting; particularly when they're as short as a film. The need to make "feel like D&D" by including all those disparate setting elements runs directly counter to good storytelling.

Quote from: Chris24601 on May 16, 2023, 02:42:36 PM
It's the change in media, really. The game system has to provide a huge kitchen sink setting so all the various DMs can have their adventures and do something different with each campaign.

Actual stories benefit from a very focused setting; particularly when they're as short as a film. The need to make "feel like D&D" by including all those disparate setting elements runs directly counter to good storytelling.

The need to make it "feel" like PLAYING D&D, and failing at it, it's what gets in their way.

Should've taken a published novel and translate THAT to the screen. But those novels are "problematic". Then you might get the normies.

Quote from: mightybrain on May 15, 2023, 07:27:26 PM
It certainly seems to have reviewed well enough with 91% from critics and 93% from audiences according to Rotten Tomatoes. Compare that to say Thor: Love and Thunder with 63% and 77% respectively. That suggests to me that the brand recognition and marketing are probably more the issue here than the movie itself. The first two Hulk movies didn't break even either but Marvel movies have been dominating for years now.

On the other hand, I've never really been that desperate for a D&D movie. Or should I say a Neverwinter heist movie, since it was far more about the setting and the characters than it was about the game. I just don't find the setting that interesting. I thought the characters were okay as a one off, but its difficult to imagine turning them into an ongoing franchise.

Or Rotten Tomatoes have grown even better at purging negative reviews.

Quote from: GeekyBugle on May 16, 2023, 02:56:46 PM

Quote from: Chris24601 on May 16, 2023, 02:42:36 PM
It's the change in media, really. The game system has to provide a huge kitchen sink setting so all the various DMs can have their adventures and do something different with each campaign.

Actual stories benefit from a very focused setting; particularly when they're as short as a film. The need to make "feel like D&D" by including all those disparate setting elements runs directly counter to good storytelling.

The need to make it "feel" like PLAYING D&D, and failing at it, it's what gets in their way.

Should've taken a published novel and translate THAT to the screen. But those novels are "problematic". Then you might get the normies.

there is always the middle ground. and, tbqh, they did very well at finding it with this movie, imo. it's by no means perfect, but they did hit a decent balancing point - not too much of the nerdy stuff that would shoo away non-dnd people, but just enough digging into the setting and references to make the nerds nod.

so the actual movie making part was done okay, it's this

Quote from: Ghostmaker on May 05, 2023, 08:25:14 PM
WotC and Hasbro took a giant Cleveland Steamer shit all over the very people they needed to watch the movie multiple times.

and general marketing fiasco that did this movie in.

Quote from: GeekyBugle on May 15, 2023, 08:14:49 PM
Now, from a GM/Player POV: I've been in games where the dice turn something into a long gag (talking with the dead anyone?), so I kinda understand WHY they did it, it's just that I don't think that translates very well into the screen, especially for normies.

I don't think the audience need to be RPG player to figure out the gag that "five questions" were literal and pretty much required for the spell to end. It was pretty much spelled out for the normies.

Compare that with the "talk to the dead" scene in Jonathan Strange and Mr Norrell where the magican simply has no fucking clue how to return the undead to be unalived again after asking their questions.

Quote from: Wntrlnd on May 18, 2023, 08:48:22 AM

Quote from: GeekyBugle on May 15, 2023, 08:14:49 PM
Now, from a GM/Player POV: I've been in games where the dice turn something into a long gag (talking with the dead anyone?), so I kinda understand WHY they did it, it's just that I don't think that translates very well into the screen, especially for normies.

I don't think the audience need to be RPG player to figure out the gag that "five questions" were literal and pretty much required for the spell to end. It was pretty much spelled out for the normies.

Compare that with the "talk to the dead" scene in Jonathan Strange and Mr Norrell where the magican simply has no fucking clue how to return the undead to be unalived again after asking their questions.

Did I say the joke didn't land with normies?

Or did I said such a long running gag doesn't translate well from the table to the screen?

You're focusing on the punchline while I'm talking about the time it took to get there.

For all those that skipped the theaters, the Dungeons & Dragons movie is now streaming on Paramount+. Considering that you also get Top Gun Maverick, it might be worth the $5 to check it out.

Captain Kirk's "well, shit" there towards the end is a perfect delivery.

Eh, the movie may not tank....but I've already written it off. For me, it was a one and done. I watched it once and won't again. My kid liked it so they were streaming it on paramount. And I was so engrossed in the movie that I was on my tablet, with earphones in, listening to youtube vids LOL.

I'm no movie critic. But for me what it boils down to "was I entertained?" and the answer was no. I'll admit my bias when going into the movie knowing the whole kerfuffle of the writers purposefully emasculating the male actors, and the movie shows it. The sorcerer was cringe, Cpt. Kirk was useless, and the women power was brilliant.

I won't dis on anyone who liked it....but I didn't. For me, it was another D&D movie failure.

Now if I was a screen writer I have a script in my head....but I'm not....so eh? My indifference means nothing.

Quote from: mightybrain on April 03, 2023, 06:47:24 PM
I'm taking a more carrot and stick approach as opposed to all out scorched earth. If they're willing to put out reasonable content from time to time, then I'll buy that, but only that. They seem to be getting the message, slowly but surely.

No. wotc is not getting any message. You keep forgetting that with wotc failure is the only option. Any steps forward, any success MUST be completely ruined somehow some way.

On 20 plus years they have learned absolutely nothing.