A newGeorge R. R. Martinadaptation, which stars Dave Bautista and Milla Jovovich, has hit a record low for the author with users on Rotten Tomatoes. The most well-known adaptation of the author’s work is the HBO fantasy dramaGame of Thrones, which ran for eight seasons between 2011 and 2019. Altogether, the show, which featured breakout stars including Emilia Clarke, Kit Harrington, Gwendoline Christie, and Jason Momoa, earned 59 Primetime Emmy awards, which is the most for any drama series in history.
OtherGeorge R. R. Martin booksand stories have been adapted for the screen since then. This includesFire & Blood, which became theGame of ThronesprequelHouse of the Dragon. The spinoff series premiered in 2022 and has already been renewed for season 3, ahead of the 2024 premiere of season 2. His sci-fi horror novellaNightflyershas also been adapted to the screen twice, once as a movie in 1987 and again as a Syfy television series in 2018. However,none of his previous adaptations have had the same Rotten Tomatoes reception as his newest movie.
In The Lost Lands Has Received Mixed User Reviews
Its Rotten Tomatoes Audience Score Broke A Dismal Record
In the Lost Landshas broken an unfortunate record for Martinwith its Rotten Tomatoes audience score. The movie, which was directed by Paul W. S. Anderson, follows the witch Gray Alys (Milla Jovovich) and the hunter Boyce (Dave Bautista) exploring the mythical lost lands to present a queen with the gift of lycanthropy. Ahead of its debut, critics’In the Lost Landsreviewsearned the movie a dismal 18% score on Rotten Tomatoes. Below, read an excerpt from the 2 out of 10 review written byScreenRant’s own Alex Harrison:
Boyce’s emotional arc is as muddled as Alys', especially by the end. In the Lost Lands goes for some last-act reveals (in the same rapid-fire succession of all its storytelling) that land as truly nonsensical, and actually illustrate the importance of character very well. A twist might “make sense” for the plot, but if it doesn’t cohere at the level of character, it just doesn’t work. And an ending like that, after everything that came before, leaves me with only one recommendation: don’t waste your time.
Rotten Tomatoeshas now collected more than 100 verified user reviews forIn the Lost Lands, which is enough for them to tabulate an official audience score on the Popcornmeter. While this score could fluctuate as more reviews are added,the George R. R. Martin movie has earned a 51% score from audienceswith an average rating of 3.1 out of 5. While this is superior to the movie’s Tomatometer score by a considerable margin, it marks the lowest audience score that any Martin adaptation has ever earned on the platform.
What This Means For In The Lost Lands
It Is A Negative Standout Among Martin’s Work
Not only hasIn the Lost Landshit a record low for George R. R. Martin, it isone of just two properties to have earned him a Rotten audience score, after the 2018 seriesNightflyers(55%). Everything else is above the Fresh threshold, includingHouse of the Dragon(78%),Game of Thrones(85%), and evenDark Winds(70%), which he executive produced but is not based on his work.
Dark Winds, which premiered in 2022, is adapted from Tony Hillerman’sLeaphorn & Cheeseries.
It also seems likely thatIn the Lost Landscould continue to be the lowest forGeorge R. R. Martinfor quite some time, as impending adaptations of his work including theupcomingA Knight of the Seven Kingdoms, anotherGame of Thronesspinoff thatcould very well win over audiences, just like its predecessors.
Our Take On In The Lost Lands' Negative Score
The New Movie Is Also Tanking At The Box Office
So far, it seems likeIn The Lost Lands' negative audience score is directly affecting the movie’s box office. The sci-fi film opened to a dismal $1 million this weekend, not even breaking into the top 10. It was beaten out by Bong Joon Ho’sMickey 17, and even movies far into their releases such asMufasa: The Lion Kingand Best Picture winnerAnora. This bodes incredibly poorly forIn the Lost Lands, which had an estimated budget of around $55 million.
WhileA Knight of the Seven KingdomsandHouse of the Dragonseason 3 have much better success chances because of theirGame of Thronesproximity, I do wonder to what extent In the Lost Landswill worsen audience’s faith in Martin-based work.
In general, Martin’sGame of Thronesuniverse does much better than his work outside of it. This is the case with the 2018 version ofNightflyers, which is far lower rated thanGame of Thronesis overall.Game of Thronesseason 8 is still rated lower by audiences thanIn the Lost Lands, as it holds a dismal 30%. Even so, the series conclusion was highly watched, something that cannot be said for the Jovovich and Bautista-led project.
WhileA Knight of the Seven KingdomsandHouse of the Dragonseason 3 have much better success chances because of theirGame of Thronesproximity, I do wonder to what extentIn the Lost Landswill worsen audience’s faith in Martin-based work. In this regard, the movie’s atrocious box office may work in its favor. That is, if people do not see the movie, they cannot lose as much faith in Martin. AsIn the Lost Landscontinues its (likely short-lived) theatrical, it will be interesting to see how the discourse on Martin adaptations develops.
