‘Desert Warrior’ Flops at Box Office After Troubled $150M Saudi Production

Key facts

• ‘Desert Warrior’ grossed $596,000 in the U.S. over its opening weekend from 1,010 screens.
• The film's budget swelled from $70 million to at least $150 million during production.
• Directed by Rupert Wyatt, the film took five years to reach theaters amid creative differences and post-production delays.
• In Saudi Arabia, the film earned $87,000 from 6,100 admissions in its opening weekend.
• The movie was acquired by distributor Vertical after no major streamer or distributor would touch it following the October 7 Hamas attack.
• MBC Group, the Saudi-backed studio behind the film, faced an internal audit revealing overspending and disorganization.
• Principal photography was completed on schedule despite 120-degree heat, sandstorms, and COVID-19 border closures.

A $150M Epic Crashes on Opening Weekend

‘Desert Warrior,’ the Saudi-backed historical action epic that was meant to herald a new era for the kingdom’s film industry, has instead become one of the biggest box-office flops in history. In its opening weekend across North America, the film grossed a mere $596,000 from 1,010 screens, averaging just $467 per cinema. The film failed to crack the top ten new releases, a devastating outcome for a project that cost at least $150 million to produce. The film’s performance in its home market of Saudi Arabia was scarcely better. ‘Desert Warrior’ earned $87,000 from 6,100 admissions over its opening weekend, placing it eighth among titles showing in the country. As of Thursday, total ticket sales in Saudi Arabia stood at $110,000, with $37,000 in the UAE and just $225,000 across the entire Middle East. Local sources said the film had not been heavily marketed.

A Five-Year Journey Marred by Creative Turmoil

The road to release for ‘Desert Warrior’ was fraught with setbacks. Originally announced in 2019 as a “statement movie” for Saudi Arabia’s nascent film industry, the project was conceived under the kingdom’s Vision 2030 initiative, which seeks to diversify the economy away from oil through entertainment and tourism. Directed by Rupert Wyatt, best known for ‘Rise of the Planet of the Apes,’ the film was intended to be the first Hollywood-style tentpole shot entirely on location in Saudi Arabia, at the Neom Media complex. But production, which began in September 2021, faced immediate challenges. The Neom studio was not yet complete, forcing the crew to build a massive ad hoc soundstage in a hotel parking lot in Tabuk, cooled by giant fans against the desert heat. “It was like an inflatable stadium,” recalled one person on set. “There were no studios. There were studios after us because of the film.” Wyatt left the project amid creative differences, later returned, and the film languished in post-production for years. The director’s editor was fired, and Wyatt was stripped of oversight before eventually returning to complete the film.

Budget Bloat and Internal Disarray at MBC

The film’s budget ballooned from an initial $70 million to at least $150 million, with one insider estimating it reached $170 million. Internal accounting by MBC Group, the studio’s parent company, revealed the escalation. An internal 2022 audit spanning more than 50 pages documented a culture of wild overspending, unclear strategy, corporate disorganization, and lack of internal controls at MBC Group. The disarray stalled MBC Studios’ ambitions to become a leading force in Saudi film and television. Casting also became a point of contention. While MBC executives were fixated on securing an American or British movie star for the male lead, some members of the Saudi royal court questioned the choice of Anthony Mackie, a Black actor, as the protagonist of the kingdom’s first major film. “They were like, ‘Why the fuck are we having [a Black man] as the lead of our first Saudi Arabian movie?’” a source with knowledge of the production recalled. Ali Jaafar, MBC’s head of film and global series, called that characterization “entirely inaccurate.”

Logistical Nightmares and a Miraculous Shoot

Despite the chaos, principal photography was completed on schedule, a feat that those involved describe as miraculous. The production required trucking in 12,500 extras from as far as former Soviet Georgia, a technical crew from 40 countries, and camera equipment from across the Middle East. Some 600 non-cast crew members were brought in from Jordan, Lebanon, Syria, Canada, Italy, Serbia, South Africa, and the U.K. The director suffered repeated sunstroke, and a team of “sweepers” was hired to erase footprints between takes in the sand dunes. When Saudi Arabia closed its borders for six weeks due to COVID-19 protocols, crucial equipment was stuck outside the country. Sets were built and then junked, only to be rebuilt at considerable cost due to unfamiliarity with standard Hollywood procedures. “To be honest, it’s quite the miracle that we pulled this off,” said production designer Paki Smith. Sharlto Copley, who plays the main villain, pushed back against the narrative of a “troubled” production. “I’ve worked on films all over the world under every kind of pressure. What we did on ‘Desert Warrior’ was difficult, no question,” he said. “But to reduce that experience to ‘chaos’ or ‘dysfunction’ isn’t just an oversimplification, it’s a distortion.”

Geopolitical Irony and a Delayed Sale

After years in post-production limbo, ‘Desert Warrior’ finally found a distributor in February 2026, when it was sold to Vertical, a small independent American distributor known for releases like the Riz Ahmed ‘Hamlet’ and Liam Neeson’s ‘Ice Road: Vengeance.’ Industry sources said Vertical likely paid a modest sum, meaning a path to profit is plausible once all theatrical and home entertainment revenue is counted. Vertical is focusing on premium video on demand, where it plans to hero Mackie in artwork, following similar tactics with films like ‘Elevation.’ The film’s release, however, coincided with a period of intense conflict in the Middle East, including the U.S. at war with Iran after two and a half years of the Israel-Hamas war. “Man makes his plans and the gods laugh,” said Jaafar. “Destiny has decreed that this film comes out in the geopolitical circumstances that it does. It’s a delicious twist of irony.” Insiders close to the film acknowledged that audiences have little appetite for a desert war movie amid real-world desert warfare.

A Cautionary Tale for Saudi Arabia’s Cinema Ambitions

The failure of ‘Desert Warrior’ underscores the challenges facing Saudi Arabia’s ambitious push into the global entertainment industry. The film was meant to showcase the kingdom’s ability to produce world-class cinema, but instead it has become a symbol of overreach and mismanagement. MBC Group did not respond to a request for comment, and Vertical declined to comment. Despite the box-office disaster, those involved in the production remain proud of what was accomplished under extreme conditions. The film’s practical effects and in-camera photography stand in contrast to the CGI-heavy blockbusters of modern Hollywood. But the question remains whether the kingdom’s sovereign wealth fund, the Public Investment Fund, which backs MBC, will continue to invest in such high-risk projects. For now, ‘Desert Warrior’ serves as a stark reminder that ambition alone cannot guarantee success at the box office.

The bottom line

• ‘Desert Warrior’ grossed $596,000 in the U.S. on a $150M+ budget, making it one of the biggest box-office flops in history.
• The film took five years to reach theaters, plagued by creative differences, budget bloat, and post-production delays.
• Saudi Arabia’s ambitious film industry push under Vision 2030 suffered a major setback with the film’s poor performance.
• The film’s release was poorly timed amid ongoing Middle East conflicts, reducing audience appetite for desert warfare themes.
• Despite production chaos, principal photography was completed on schedule, a feat praised by crew and cast.
• Vertical, the small distributor that acquired the film, may still turn a profit through premium video-on-demand and home entertainment.