Much has changed over the past nine years. We know that Fox had high hopes for Eragon, intending from the start to build a powerful film franchise based on the series and that these hopes were never realized. We’re closing in on a decade of no news about a new Inheritance movie. Could the franchise have matched the success of more recent book-to-movie adaptations, such as Twilight, Hunger Games, and Harry Potter? We think so. We’re left wondering what the film’s true potential would have been if the work were approached differently. Reviewing audience scores and the total box office take leads us to a major conclusion: the film did have an audience. (Other films’ critic scores: Hunger Games – 86%, Maze Runner – 63%, and even Twilight scored 47%.) Rotten Tomatoes, a popular review aggregator, offers a critic score of just 16% and average audience rating of 47%. The box office wasn’t the film’s only problem critics panned the film and audiences were on the fence. (These totals do not include DVD sales or rentals, where Eragon is rumored to have done quite well.) The film saw success overseas, grossing $174.4m for a total worldwide take of $249m.

Eragon opened to $23 million in the United States, earning a total of $75m during the entirety of its domestic run. In the case of Eragon, the movie more than doubled its budget of $100 million (not including its marketing budget, rumored to have been substantial). The film industry often defines a “flop” as a film that fails to earn back its budget. Bumped from June, 2006, the film hit theaters in December, 2006. Filming began in the summer of 2005, with the intent to release the film exactly one year later.

However, future films are still possible, and it is our hope that the recent success of similar films (which we explore below) may help open their eyes to the series’ big screen potential.įox’s purchase of the film rights was first announced in early 2004, aimed at a 2005 release. The studio has been silent for nearly a decade. Let’s address the big question straight away: there is no news from Fox regarding a future film. Mistakes were made, the movie didn’t quite resonate with audiences, and hopes of a film franchise faded. It isn’t hard to understand why: the 2006 Eragon movie was a less-than-stellar take on a book we are all passionate about.

It’s the second most asked question we get here on Shur’tugal (“When will we see Book 5?” comes in first). Get involved! Join thousands of fellow fans by signing our petition to Fox, encouraging them to reboot the movie franchise!

Sequel to eragon movie