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opens nationwide. And with it, countless viewers who have never played the tabletop role-playing game, first published back in 1974, will be introduced to a fantastical world full of magical creatures, dangerous dungeons and daring wizards.Chris Pine stars as a bard and former spy who gets together with some other thieves (among them: Michelle Rodriguez, Justice Smith and Sophia Lillis) to exact some delicious revenge on a former partner (Hugh Grant).

Dungeons & Dragons has gained increasing popularity as evidenced by the release of not just one, but now two movies centered around the game.

“Dungeons & Dragons: Honor Among Thieves,” a big-screen adventure based upon the role-playing tabletop board game popularized in the ’70s and ’80s. The Netflix hit “Stranger Things” introduced a whole new generation to “Dungeons & Dragons.”“Honor Among Thieves” is not the first “Dungeons & Dragons” feature film adaptation.

Paramount and Entertainment One’s “Dungeons and Dragons: Honor Among Thieves” got off to a promising start yesterday. The $150 million adaptation of the popular table-top role-playing game, which also opens overseas in 50 territories, earned $4.1 million via Thursday previews that began as early as 3:00 pm.

Jordan Moreau Paramount and eOne are launching their new fantasy film “Dungeons and Dragons: Honor Among Thieves” this weekend, and the adaptation of the popular role-playing game picked up $5.6 million in previews at the domestic box office. It opens in 3,855 theaters on Friday. After rolling for initiative, it will prepare for combat against “John Wick: Chapter 4,” last weekend’s box office champion — and it’ll be a close battle. Directed by Jonathan Goldstein and John Francis Daley, “Dungeons and Dragons” is hoping to conjure up $30 million to $40 million in its opening weekend, and Keanu Reeves’ “John Wick 4” is muscling its way to around $36 million in its sophomore outing.

Paramount and eOne’s Dungeons & Dragons: Honor Among Thieves has made $5.6M in previews. That’s not all from Thursday, but includes advance Amazon sneaks among other pre-screenings. Before Thursday, we’re told Dungeons & Dragons made $1.5M. While the feature take of the popular role-playing game has been hot in word of mouth (92% on Rotten Tomatoes) and with critics (89% certified fresh on Rotten Tomatoes), tracking has sat on the movie with a $30M-$40M domestic opening projection for the $150M production.

Rebecca Rubin Film and Media Reporter As it rolls the dice at the weekend box office, “Dungeons & Dragons: Honor Among Thieves” is aiming to emerge victorious over last weekend’s champion “John Wick: Chapter 4.” A natural 20 isn’t guaranteed, but Paramount and eOne’s adaptation of the popular role-playing game is hoping to collect $30 million to $40 million from 3,850 North American locations. It’ll be a close race for first place between that and the fourth “John Wick,” which topped the box office with $73.5 million and looks to add about $36 million in its sophomore outing. Internationally, “Dungeons & Dragons” is opening in 58 markets, where it’s aiming for $25 million or more.

Army of the Dead will return with a sequel – but that  he paused on the idea due to his busy schedule.In 2021, Snyder signed on for a follow-up film with Netflix as part of their two-year-first-look deal – but it won’t begin filming until his latest project Rebel Moon is completed.Snyder is currently working on an epic sci-fi film Rebel Moon, which he said needs most of his attention because it’s not “a small-time commitment”. The movie is set to arrive on Netflix this December and will tell the story of a “peaceful colony on the edge of the galaxy” making a stand against “the armies of a tyrannical regent named Balisarius.”During an interview with The Nerd Queens, the director explained why there is a delay in the Army of the Dead 2.

Ben Croll For writers of hardboiled fiction, the private eye could act as a conduit, an unmoored guide moving freely across social ranks and situations. For director Nima Javidi – whose new series “The Actor” is the first Iranian production to premiere in competition at Series Mania – the thespian might play a similar role. “Shakespeare said that all the world’s a stage,” Javidi tells Variety. “And that all the men and women are merely players, assuming different roles depending on their situations and what they want to achieve. I thought it was fascinating [to put performers in those private detective roles and have them], overcome obstacles, solve problems, and save themselves and others from difficulties by using their acting abilities.”

Atom Tickets. The event also marks Prime’s first early-access screening partnership since before the pandemic.

Owen Gleiberman Chief Film Critic Introducing “Dungeons & Dragons: Honor Among Thieves,” the lavish hyperkinetic popcorn fairy tale that kicked off SXSW this evening, the film’s co-directors, John Francis Daley and Jonathan Goldstein, told the audience that they had designed the movie to appeal to hardcore D&D players — and also to those who know absolutely nothing about the game. This came as a relief to me, since what I know about Dungeons & Dragons you could put on the head of a…well, I know so little that I can’t even come up with a proper D&D reference with which to spin that cliché. The filmmakers were being honest. “Honor Among Thieves” is built on the edifice of D&D lore, packed with totems and characters and Easter eggs that fans of the legendary role-playing game will drink in with a connoisseur’s delight. But for those, like me, who have spent their lives avoiding anything to do with Dungeons & Dragons, the film is eminently comprehensible and, in its you’ve-seen-it-before-but-not-quite-this-way fashion, a lot of fun.

As co-director Johnathan Goldstein put it, “nobody had done it justice,” but tonight when it came to the big screen take of Dungeons & Dragons by the filmmaker, his co-director John Francis DaleyParamount, eOne did as the movie received a rock-concert reception on the opening night of SXSW.

Rene Rodriguez There’s nothing little about the whopper at the heart of “A Little White Lie,” a comic drama about fame and impostor syndrome. The movie’s central conceit — pretending to be a renowned author, a janitor accepts an invitation to visit a liberal arts college — is rife with potential. But writer-director Michael Maren (whose 2014 debut “A Short History of Decay” also featured an author protagonist) sticks to the obvious, ignoring potential themes of blind celebrity worship and oblivious academia that would have added some satirical edge to this genial but dull movie. Based on Chris Belden’s 2013 novel “Shriver,” “A Little White Lie” focuses on a handyman (Michael Shannon) leading a reclusive life in a rundown apartment building who receives an invitation from a university to be the guest of honor at their annual literary festival.

Warner Bros. Games Hogwarts Legacy, the open-world, action role-playing game has sold more than 12 million units and hit $850 million in sales globally and 280 million hours played in its first two weeks of launch, the company said, confirming a major hit as parent Warner Bros. Discovery prepares to release quarterly earnings shortly.

Jennifer Maas TV Business Writer “Hogwarts Legacy” has wingardium leviosa-ed Warner Bros. Games’ sales, earning $850 million in global sales and moving more than 12 million units in just its first two weeks post-launch on PlayStation 5, Xbox Series X|S and PC. That marks the biggest global launch ever for the Warner Bros. Discovery-owned video game company, with the “Harry Potter” action role-playing game also setting the Twitch record for single-player games with 1.28 million peak concurrent viewers at launch. As Variety previously reported, “Hogwarts Legacy” opened with stunning player engagement, topping 267 million hours played from launch on Feb. 10 through Feb. 21. On Thursday, Warner Bros. Games revealed the game had broken company records with 280 million hours played to date.

Jennifer Maas TV Business Writer After struggling to re-create the magic of the “Harry Potter” film franchise with the lackluster spinoff trilogy “Fantastic Beasts,” Warner Bros. has finally struck galleons anew with its latest piece of Wizarding World IP: video game “Hogwarts Legacy.” The action role-playing game, produced by Warner Bros. Games and Avalanche Software, has clicked with Potterheads since its Feb. 10 release. Sales figures are yet to come, but it’s clear from the buzz factor and other measures — including sales charts in Japan, the U.K. and Europe — that fans are engaged. For one, the arrival of the game spurred the highest traffic in the “Harry Potter” community on fan platform Fandom in more than seven years.

Paramount/eOne’s Dungeons & Dragons: Honor Among Thieves has become the latest Hollywood film to be granted access to China. The studio’s Weibo account posted the news early Monday local time, noting the adaptation of the iconic Hasbro role-playing game will debut March 31, day-and-date with North America. 

Paramount dropped its game-day spot for “Dungeons & Dragons: Honor Among Thieves” a little early Friday.The 30-second clip has a few new bits of footage, but otherwise works as a nice summation of the film’s plot — Chris Pine gathers an eclectic group of warriors, magicians and thieves to defeat a supernatural villain — while giving brief spotlight moments to each member of the film’s stacked cast. That cast includes Michelle Rodriguez, Regé-Jean Page, Justice Smith, Sophia Lillis and Hugh Grant, all of whom also got character posters this morning in conjunction with the commercial debut.

Despite repeated controversies over Harry Potter creator J.K. Rowling’s views about the transgender community, it seems the wizarding world may have debuted its first transgender character.

Sal Piro, who played a pivotal role in creating the audience participation routines that turned The Rocky Horror Picture Show into a multi-decade, world-wide phenomenon, died at his home in New York City Jan 21.

Dungeons & Dragons is becoming a bigger and bigger game, with not just one, but now two movies coming out about the fantasy role playing game.

Todd Spangler NY Digital Editor An anime series based on popular open-world role-playing game “Genshin Impact” is officially in the works. HoYoverse, the Shanghai-based game developer behind “Genshin Impact,” announced a partnership with Japanese animation studio Ufotable to develop an anime based on the RPG. It also released a three-minute “concept trailer” in announcing the project (watch below). “Let’s step into this vast magical world of adventure together!” the games company tweeted Friday. “The long-term collaboration project between Genshin Impact and ufotable has begun.” The companies did not reveal an anticipated release date for the anime series, nor does the trailer provide firm clues as to what the show’s plot may center on.

Before the prolonged agony of his multimillion dollar defamation trial with ex Amber Heard, Johnny Depp had some fun doing what he does best: creating a delightfully eccentric character.

curly bangs, that is. On July 27, the star debuted her new look with best friend , during which the duo riffed on the “He's a 10, but…” TikTok meme. This marks the first time she’s publicly worn her hair curly since in May.As for the actual content of the video: Gomez and Raiza go back and forth with varying scenarios of what constitutes a deal breaker in relationships with very attractive men (“10s”), including “He’s a 10 but he only likes to role-play Star Wars,” (not necessarily a deal breaker), “doesn’t like dogs” (deal breaker, obviously), “,” (unclear), and “hates everything that you’ve ever been in” (deal breaker for Gomez)! There is lots of giggling and, of course, incredible curly-bang inspiration.This content can also be viewed on the site it from.This has been a big month on TikTok for the Rare Beauty founder.

The world rests on the shoulders of a group of thieves in Paramount and eOne’s new movie.

J. Kim Murphy On the evening ahead of its official unveiling at San Diego Comic-Con 2022, “Dungeons & Dragons: Honor Among Thieves” is offering a first look to those already wandering the San Diego Convention Center, displaying footage of characters played by Chris Pine, Michelle Rodriguez, Regé-Jean Page and more cast members.Variety has filmed a video from the Comic-Con floor depicting the character designs for the film’s cast, showcasing looks for Pine, Rodriguez, Page, Justice Smith, Sophia Lillis and Hugh Grant.Pine’s character seems to be a bard, shredding on a lute before shredding the air with a sword.

As part of its current push into gaming, Netflix unveiled several new title during the final day of its 2022 Geeked Week. They included games based on popular Netflix series The Queen’s Gambit, La Casa De Papel, Shadow And Bone and Too Hot To Handle. They follow in the footsteps of Stranger Things as the mega hit sci-fi drama became the first Netflix series to spawn a video game franchise.

Since 2010 the licence to make games based on ‘The Lord of the Rings’ has been with Warner Bros, and prior to this was with Electronic Arts. It seems that EA is getting involved again, as a mobile title has been announced by the publisher.

Todd Spangler NY Digital EditorFrodo, your smartphone is ringing.Electronic Arts announced a partnership with Middle-earth Enterprises on the development of a new, free-to-play mobile game called “The Lord of the Rings: Heroes of Middle Earth.” It’s expected to enter “limited regional beta testing” this summer, the company said. There’s no official launch date as yet.The “LOTR” universe has been adapted in dozens of games over the years, including EA’s PC and console titles based on the Lord of the Rings films and books.