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Desert Warrior, an action film starring Marvel's Anthony Mackie, is shaping up to be not just one of the worst box office flops of the year, but of all time.
The film, set in 7th century Arabia, follows Mackie's bandit on a mission to help a princess resist a villainous emperor.
Desert Warrior boasts a reported $150 million budget and was produced in Saudi Arabia. Rupert Wyatt directs (according to a report from Deadline, which has a deep dive on apparent behind the scenes issues, Wyatt exited then re-joined the film "amid creative fissures"). The film actually wrapped filming in 2022, but didn't have its debut at Zurich Film Festival until September 2025. It was released in the US on April 24 and distributed by Vertical.
So far, according to Box Office Mojo the film has grossed just $517,508 worldwide. Against its budget, that's a loss of approximately $149 million. That puts the film among some of the biggest flops in history (H/T Discussing Film).
The film hasn't performed well with critics, either, scoring just 25% on Rotten Tomatoes. "The film was shot five years ago and is only reaching theaters now, but it's likely to be swept away as quickly as desert sands," says The Hollywood Reporter, while Screen Rant's review reads: "Though no disaster, Desert Warrior is probably the last thing its producers wanted from their blockbuster spend: a mostly boring, mostly forgettable movie."
It's not all negative, though, with The New York Times writing: "Rather than extend the epic sweep of this picture into the cosmic ineffable, he [Wyatt] just wants the viewer bouncing along and rooting for its female hero. And the film succeeds admirably in this respect."
Along with Mackie, the film stars Aiysha Hart as Princess Hind, Ben Kingsley as Emperor Kisra II, and Sharlto Copley as Jalabzeen.
You'll soon be able to see Mackie suited up as Captain America once again in the upcoming Avengers: Doomsday, which lands this December 18. In the meantime, check out our guide to all the upcoming Marvel movies and shows.
