I mentioned this the other day – Chris Pine’s wardrobe on the Dungeons & Dragons: Honor Among Thieves press tour, how it was, up to that point, a series of olives and mustards, the fashion equivalent of a charcuterie board. He’s gone off the board over the last few days but the commitment to colour, to wearing anything but black, continues. And I appreciate it.
D&D opens this weekend and the reviews have been excellent. It’s currently sitting at 89% on Rotten Tomatoes, everyone I’ve talked to says it’s fun and funny and stupid in the right ways and not stupid in the right ways, and people who play the game seem invested so… they’re hoping for good results at the box office.
But as I wrote in today’s open, they’re up against John Wick: Chapter 4, and that’s what industry analysts are saying it’s coming down to – dungeons and dragons vs assassins, it’s going to be close. Right now, D&D is tracking between $30-40 million, which is kinda low considering the IP and the budget and that this movie is supposed to be a blockbuster but they’re hoping word of mouth will push that number higher, over $40 million or more and that’s probably what it needs to get to if it wants to knock John Wick out of the top spot. I’m probably one of the people they’re aiming for.
I’m going to see John Wick this weekend, a movie that was always on the schedule. D&D, on the other hand, was never part of the plan. Have never played the game, don’t give a sh-t about the source material, so right up to about a month ago, there was zero interest. These reviews though, and Chris Pine’s outfits, are starting to change my mind. I’m curious. Not super curious but curious enough in that if I can find someone to go with, I would go.
That’s part of the challenge. Because I pitched it to my husband, he doesn’t care. Sarah and I live in different cities. Most of my friends here don’t care. The only one who does care is Kathleen, because Chris Pine – and I feel like I’m the same for her, like I’m her only friend who would also go see D&D with her. The point I’m trying to make, clumsily, is that I’m interested in the audience. Like beyond the D&D nerds who of course will be in the theatres, who are the other people showing up. Specifically, are any of you going to D&D, and who are you going with?
