Quick Links 'The 13th Warrior's Premise, Explained 'The 13th Warrior's A-List Pedigree Why 'The 13th Warrior' Didn't Deserve Its Box Office Demise
Although 1999 was a banner year for American cinema, it was not kind to John McTiernan's highly underrated historical action adventure, The 13th Warrior. The director behind such bona fide action hits as Predator and Die Hard took a financial drubbing when The 13th Warrior was soundly defeated at the box office, losing nearly $130 million for Touchstone Pictures. When the dust settled, The 13th Warrior was the largest box-office failure of 1999.
Armed with an expensive production budget of $160 million (equivalent to $302 million in 2025), The 13th Warrior had an A-list international pedigree to become a success. Alas, between the mixed reviews and stiff box-office competition from a galaxy far, far away, The 13th Warrior was slain theatrically. With the film celebrating its 25th anniversary in August, a reassessment of its merits is in order despite its notorious financial flop.
'The 13th Warrior's Premise, Explained
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The 13th Warrior AdventureActionHistory
Release Date August 27, 1999 Runtime 102 Minutes Main Genre Adventure Cast Antonio Banderas , Diane Venora , Dennis Storhøi , Vladimir Kulich , Omar Sharif , Anders T. Andersen , Richard Bremmer , Tony Curran , Mischa Hausserman , Neil Maffin , Asbjørn Bear Riis , Clive Russell , Daniel Southern , Oliver Sveinall , Sven Wollter , Albie Woodington , John DeSantis , Erick Avari , Maria Bonnevie , Richard Ooms Expand
The 13th Warrior is a historical action-adventure film based on Michael Crichton's (Jurassic Park) 1976 novel Eaters of the Dead. Unlike Crichton's typical science fiction fare, Eaters of the Dead is a combo adaptation of the epic English poem Beowulf and the 10th-century chronicle of the Volga Vikings, told by Muslim nomad Ahmad Ibn Fadlan (Antonio Banderas). Therefore, it's possible that the dramatic crux of the story was lost in translation, perhaps alienating, if not confusing, viewers who saw the film in theaters in 1999.
Plot-wise, The 13th Warrior follows Fadlan as he is given a dangerous mission to travel from Baghdad to consort with the King of Saqaliba. En route to meet the King, Fadlan and his close ally Melchisidek (Omar Sharif) are rescued from the ruthless Tartar forces by traveling Norsemen. The more time Fadlan spends with the Vikings, the more he understands their barbarous lifestyle, vastly differing from his cultured, diplomatic upbringing.
Over time, Fadlan's alienated culture clash develops into acceptance and assimilation. The Viking leader, Buliwyf (Beowulf), embraces Fadlan as one of his own despite his Muslim beliefs and different cultural and customary backgrounds. By combining Beowulf and the Volga Vikings tale, Crichton and McTiernan sought to bridge cultural gaps to tell a story of inclusion, cooperation, and religious tolerance.
'The 13th Warrior's A-List Pedigree Close
As promoted in the marketing material, The 13th Warrior came "From the Author of 'Jurassic Park' and the Director of 'Die Hard.'" Such a draw should have led to better box office business, with Crichton also responsible for The Andromeda Strain, Westworld, The Great Train Robbery, Rising Sun, Twister, Congo, and other highly lucrative movie adaptations.
Similarly, John McTiernan would have been a Hall of Fame director if he made Predator or Die Hard alone. That he directed both all-time great action classics and still failed to attract droves to theaters for a movie based on a Crichton novel speaks volumes. Sadly, McTiernan directed only two movies after The 13th Warrior, including the abysmal Rollerball remake and the aptly-titled crime thriller Basic.
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Of course, in 1999, Antonio Banderas was a massive movie star hot off the success of El Mariachi, Desperado, Assassins, The Mask of Zorro, and more. Yet, McTiernan and Touchstone may have overestimated Banderas' draw by surrounding him with a talented international ensemble that many American audiences didn't recognize.
Despite the A-list writer, director, and star pedigree, the obscure supporting cast (beyond Sharif) may have hurt the film more than the creators had anticipated. Still, when assessing the story, performances, and technical craft, there's no way The 13th Warrior deserved to die a painful box-office death.
Why 'The 13th Warrior' Didn't Deserve Its Box Office Demise Close
The 13th Warrior opened theatrically on August 27, 1999, between the dog days of summer blockbusters and the beginning of prestigious awards darlings. While perhaps not an ideal time to release a historical adventure tale, The 13th Warrior was drubbed domestically and internationally. The film earned just $61 million on an estimated $160 million budget (production and marketing), losing up to $129 million to become the biggest box office flop of 1999 (via Business Insider and The Numbers).
While it's easy to point to the runaway success of Star Wars: The Phantom Menace, which has now grossed over a billion dollars worldwide, The 13th Warrior faced other stiff theatrical competition. Hit movies like The Sixth Sense and The Blair Witch Project opened in August 1999, leaving little room for a historical drama to resonate with the masses.
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In the last 25 years, The 13th Warrior has been reappraised as a cult classic, unjustly overlooked in 1999. Much has been made about the lengthy re-shoots and re-edits required, including Crichton taking over McTiernan's directorial duties. Omar Sharif even briefly retired from acting after the movie's dismal performance. However, based on the movie's message and legacy, The 13th Warrior attempts to reunite the world through cultural differences rather than tear them apart.
The fusion of Muslim and Viking customs may seem irreconcilable, but in the end, it's an honorable and uplifting tale of tolerance, acceptance, empathy, and unified heroism. The storytelling may be clunky and confusing, but there's no way such a well-meaning movie from Banderas, Crichton, and McTiernan deserved to be 1999's largest cinematic debacle. The 13th Warrior is available to rent on Prime Video or stream on Hoopla.