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Anthony Mackie’s new movie Desert Warrior is shaping up to be a historical bomb at the box office. The $150 million dollar film was produced with funds from Saudi Arabia.
The $150 million Saudi-backed historical epic directed by Rupert Wyatt opened to just $488,000 across over 1,000 U.S. theaters — one of the worst wide-release debuts ever recorded.
Anthony Mackie-starring, Saudi Arabia-funded action epic Desert Warrior is shaping up to be one of the biggest box office bombs of all time
For context, that’s less than $500 per theater on opening weekend for a film that cost nine figures to make.
The film features Captain America: Brave New World star Anthony Mackie as a bandit who aids Princess Hind, played by Aiysha Hart, in 7th-century Arabia against an invading emperor, with Ben Kingsley also in the cast.
‘DESERT WARRIOR’ is tracking to be one of the biggest box office flops of all time.
The Saudi Arabia-funded film has earned $488K so far on a $150M budget. pic.twitter.com/Bxc3DtBUOj
— DiscussingFilm (@DiscussingFilm) April 29, 2026
Here are some further comparisons that illustrate just how big of a bomb Desert Warrior is shaping up to be. Damien Chazelle’s 2022 Hollywood epic Babylon cost $80 million, opened to $3.5 million, and was considered one of the worst bombs in Paramount’s recent history — Desert Warrior opened to one-seventh of that on nearly double the budget.
In addition to Marvel Cinematic Universe star Anthony Mackie, Desert Warrior also stars Aiysha Hart, Sharlto Copley, Ben Kingsley, Ghassan Massoud, Sami Bouajila, Lamis Ammar, Géza Röhrig, and Numan Acar.
The film was directed by Rupert Wyatt, whohas previously helmed Rise of the Planet of the Apes, The Gambler and Captive State. You can check out the official trailer below.