Dungeons Dragons- Honor Among Thieves
Upon release, Honor Among Thieves earned a staggering 91% on Rotten Tomatoes (and 93% from audiences). Critics praised its balance of humor and heart. However, its box office was a complicated roll: it underperformed against massive blockbusters (The Super Mario Bros. Movie), but found a massive second life on streaming (Paramount+).
While a sequel (Honor Among Thieves 2) was initially put on hold due to budget concerns, the film’s cult status has only grown. In 2024 and 2025, fan campaigns have kept the dream alive. As of 2026, whispers of a potential direct-to-streaming continuation or a spin-off series (focusing on the Thay wizards) continue to circulate.
No article is honest without acknowledging the film’s flaws. Honor Among Thieves was not a box office smash. It made $208 million worldwide against a $150 million budget—respectable but not a hit in the post-COVID, franchise-fatigued market. Why? Dungeons Dragons- Honor Among Thieves
But these are minor quibbles. In a just world, this film would have spawned a franchise.
For decades, Hollywood has chased the dragon. The impossible dream of translating the freewheeling, collaborative, and deeply nerdy magic of Dungeons & Dragons (D&D) into a blockbuster movie has been a graveyard of good intentions and terrible execution. The 2000 film starring Jeremy Irons remains a punchline—a cautionary tale of rubber prosthetics, baffling plots, and a tone that couldn’t decide if it was Xena: Warrior Princess or Gladiator. Upon release, Honor Among Thieves earned a staggering
Then, in the spring of 2023, something miraculous happened. Directors John Francis Daley and Jonathan Goldstein rolled a natural 20. Dungeons & Dragons: Honor Among Thieves arrived in theaters not with a cynical shrug, but with a rogue’s grin and a heart of gold. It wasn’t just a good video game movie; it was a genuinely great fantasy heist film that understood the assignment on a molecular level.
This article is a deep dive into why Honor Among Thieves succeeded where others failed, exploring its characters, its unique tone, its clever use of D&D mechanics, and its surprising emotional core. But these are minor quibbles
The film follows Edgin Darvis (Chris Pine), a former Harpers agent turned thief, and his barbarian partner Holga Kilgore (Michelle Rodriguez). After a heist gone wrong to resurrect Edgin’s wife (killed by a Red Wizard), the pair are imprisoned for two years. They escape to find their former partner, the sorcerer Simon (Justice Smith), and their friend Forge Fitzwilliam (Hugh Grant) has betrayed them. Forge is now the Lord of Neverwinter, and has taken Edgin’s daughter, Kira (Chloe Coleman), as his own.
What follows is a classic heist structure: assemble a team, plan the impossible, and watch the plan spectacularly implode. The McGuffin? A Tablet of Reawakening—a magical relic that can raise the dead. Edgin doesn’t want treasure or power; he wants his family back. This is the film’s first stroke of genius. At its core, Honor Among Thieves is a story about parenthood, guilt, and redemption disguised as a romp.
