The movie was bankrolled by Saudi Arabia to set up infrastructure for the entire filmmaking industry there. That’s why it was so expensive.
Also, a large chunk of the $150 million budget was literally putting infrastructure in place to manage a production of this size. “On-set insiders say Saudi production hub Neom Media was effectively laying the infrastructure for an entire industry on the budget of ‘Desert Warrior,’” the report noted.
Neom media, huh? But the line (NEOM) isn’t finished yet, so i wonder if they set up shop i na bunch of trailers in the desert, probably costing more, or if they set up shop in a different town and will then move the entire business over to NEOM when it’s actually built
EDIT:
Gonna be a long wait. NEOM is canceled in all but name:
Much of the city was planned to be completed by 2030, as it is one of the focal points of Saudi Vision 2030.[7] Experts expressed skepticism about the ambitions of the megaproject.[8] Initially estimated to cost $1.6 trillion,[2] the project’s estimated costs were by 2025 in excess of $8.8 trillion (more than 25 times the annual Saudi budget).[9] By July 2022, only two buildings had been constructed, and most of the project area remained bare desert.[10] In 2024, Neom was reported to have been substantially scaled back from its original plan.[9][11] An internal audit of the megaproject found extensive problems, including “evidence of deliberate manipulation”, by the managers of the project.[9] By 2025, new contracts for Neom dried up and there was no mention of Neom in Saudi Arabia’s pre-budget statement for 2026.[12] In March 2026, large contracts for tunneling work[13] and the Trojena ski resort were cancelled.[14]
Let’s get some more movies to see if the entire exercise was a waste.
Very clearly not intended to be a money-making film. This was a business decision, not someone trying to make art.
I didn’t even know this movie existed.
Why is it that all the “reviews” use the word “lavish”? Seems like some talking points have been handed down from marketers to add some sugar to the apologia that has to be served.
Let’s not sugar coat things by pointing out the obvious: this is a focus group movie. No matter the intention of directors, actors or writers, this kind of movie stinks to high heaven of being a middle of the road, non offensive, internationally marketable, visual roller coaster ride designed painstakingly to hit all the marks - and missing most of them.
I don’t watch movies or series anymore, generally because of this issue. No grit, no teeth, no style, no soul. I can’t even enjoy movies with friends because things have gotten so bad. This is also why Japan said fuck off to the wider world in regards to story telling and characterization in their anime - because they see the outcome.
When I see another overblown budget, with abysmally small ticket sales that can barely cover a fraction of the cost, my eyes roll in the back of my head - not because it is cringe alone - but because it is so normal. The same for AAA video games. Heck, the same for major label music. They all follow the model to manipulate your baser senses - i.e poking the lizard brain until it pukes out dopamine and seratonin - at the cost of actual quality.
What’s the word? “Enshitification”? It touches all, and the shitty trail leads back to some cocaine adled, self indulgent, narcicistic executives, who care nor hide nor hair for storytelling or characterization. It’s all tweaked to meet with a statistical average and median of likability, which becomes the arts & entertainment equivalent to pink slime - and people feed their kids this tripe.
This rant is just another in a choir screaming at the machine. IDGAF if “you just want to be entertained”. Actual creators have to make this shit and have been deprived their potential to do great things. To give this movie it’s “fair shake” is tantamount enablement.
Writer rooms have been sieged, actors put in their place, directors dance to a tune - all to meet criteria of an executive class seeking to cast the net wide. Imagine what they could have done if they weren’t handheld off a cliff.
Hollywood mentality is braindead, soulless and exploitative. Stop making apologia for this dretch. Call it for what it is. Another symptom of a sick system that churns out crap, that churns out the media equivalent to pink slime and that breaks in creatives to paint by numbers so they can fulfill the criteria of some artless buffoons.
I’ve been some dork online and this was rhe 17,376,731st solo coping session about the state of media. I’m gonna go have a little cry now.
May I quote you?
Well stated, though I think the “coke addled” is long past it’s prime - I think these people are just fucked in the head without drugs.
And while you’re criticism is generally spot on, this film seems to have been intended to be a failure to carry the financial. Burden of building the infrastructure for film production.
You’re not wrong, just that in this case it’s only half the story. In so many other cases (most media today, as you point out), you’re spot on.
You should check out Wake Up Dead Man. It’s about a gay atheist detective working with a Catholic priest to solve a murder that looks like a miracle. It’s a good old murder mystery, next to no special effects, all about the politics of religion.
Oof
I went and watch the trailer for this. I am pretty sure I have watch this movie a thousand times, different actors different story but same general plot. My first thought when I saw this post was “I need to check out this peace of trash” bit now I am like “there is nothing to be gained by watching this movie”
Oh, buddy…
“Only”? Isn’t this okay to have 4 times your budget (accounting that marketing takes double the budget)?
The movie cost $150,000,000 to make.
It made $695,564 at the box office.
That comma is not a decimal but a thousands separator. The movie made less than half a percent of its budget.
/woosh
