27 Years Later, This Forgotten Viking Action Movie That Bombed at the Box Office Is a Success on Prime Video

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The current landscape of streaming entertainment is unpredictable. It’s difficult to know what will become popular – sometimes it’s brand new content, and other times it’s older movies or shows that find a new audience and unexpectedly go viral. That’s happening now with a 30-year-old action film that’s gaining popularity after being added to Amazon Prime Video.

If you weren’t a big moviegoer in 1999, you might not recall the film The 13th Warrior. Although it didn’t get much attention when it came out – a year packed with hits like Star Wars: The Phantom Menace, The Matrix, and The Sixth Sense – it’s become a beloved cult classic. And it still holds that appeal today, 27 years later.

Die Hard Director’s Viking Action Film Is A Hit On Streaming

As a huge cinema fan, I always enjoyed The 13th Warrior. It stars Antonio Banderas – you might remember him from Desperado – as Ahmed ibn Fahdlan, a bit of a troublemaker back in 922 AD. Because of his wild lifestyle, some powerful people send him away on what’s supposed to be a diplomatic mission to ancient Russia, specifically the territory of the Volga Bulgars. Things go south fast, though! The group is attacked by raiders, and they’re only rescued by a band of Vikings. Then, a local king asks the Vikings for help, because he’s facing a terrifying enemy – the Wendol, a tribe of cannibals who use scary disguises to seem like monsters from legends. A shaman predicts they can win if twelve Vikings go with a thirteenth warrior – someone who isn’t Norse. And, you guessed it, Ahmed ends up being that thirteenth man, whether he’s ready for the adventure or not!

The movie The 13th Warrior is currently at number 6 on Prime Video’s list of most popular movies – a surprising resurgence for a film that didn’t do well when it first came out. However, 1999 was a particularly strong year for movies, so it’s understandable that some good films were overlooked. Interestingly, The 13th Warrior would have been number one at the box office its opening weekend if it hadn’t been for The Sixth Sense, which took the top spot. The film ultimately earned $61.7 million, but with a production budget estimated between $85 million and $170 million, it was considered a financial disappointment for Touchstone Pictures. The film’s poor performance even led veteran actor Omar Sharif (Lawrence of Arabia) to briefly stop acting after appearing in it. The 13th Warrior was also noteworthy as one of the first big-budget Hollywood action movies to feature a Muslim character as the lead.

Many criticisms of The 13th Warrior seem out of step with how we view action movies today. For example, Roger Ebert complained that the film prioritized spectacle over storytelling, saying it felt like the special effects were created first and the plot was awkwardly fitted in around them. He believed the story was lost amidst all the action and violence, and wasn’t worth the effort to find.

The 13th Warrior Comes From A Master of the Action Genre

John McTiernan was a leading action director in the late 80s and 90s. Before making The 13th Warrior, he directed a string of hugely successful films, including Predator, Die Hard, Die Hard with a Vengeance, and The Hunt for Red October, as well as the comedy Last Action Hero. These films are all now considered classics – or cult favorites – and often mixed action with other genres like thrillers, horror, and science fiction.

Looking at John McTiernan’s successful films from the late 1990s, it’s easy to wonder if The 13th Warrior is unfairly judged. Many feel a re-watch is necessary to determine if it’s a surprisingly good movie, rather than a failure. He also released the well-regarded The Thomas Crown Affair remake with Pierce Brosnan and Renee Russo that same year, making it hard to believe The 13th Warrior was as flawed as some claim.

Watch it now on Amazon Prime Video! Then, share your thoughts on the best 90s action movies with other fans on the ComicBook Forum.

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2026-02-11 23:40