George R.R. Martin wrote In the Lost Lands as a short story in 1982, long before A Song of Ice and Fire became the foundation for Game of Thrones. Now that same story has become a cult hit on streaming, thanks to a movie that barely made it through its theatrical run.
The desert dystopian film, starring Milla Jovovich as the sorceress Gray Alys and Dave Bautista as the drifter Boyce, premiered on March 7, 2025, in the United States. It struggled at the box office, grossing only $6 million against a production budget of about $55 million. But more than a year later, the movie is finding new life on HBO Max.
The Numbers Behind the Revival
The film’s streaming success has been most pronounced in South and North America. In several countries, including Argentina, Brazil and Mexico, In the Lost Lands has held the #1 and #2 spot on HBO Max for nearly a week. In Australia and New Zealand, the movie has also climbed into Netflix’s Top 10 rankings.
“The film reportedly cost about $55 million to produce, but upon its arrival at the box office, bowed out of theaters after grossing only $6 million.”
The revival is being driven by niche audiences who have pulled the movie back into conversation. It is a classic case of streaming rescue, where a film that failed in theaters finds a second life online.
Martin’s Early Work
Martin is best known for A Song of Ice and Fire, the book series that spawned Game of Thrones. But he has a longer history than that. His short stories appear in Dreamsongs: A Retrospective, and he has won a Hugo Award for the novelette A Song for Lya. Other novels, including Sandkings, show his range.
Before A Song of Ice and Fire began in 1991, Martin published In the Lost Lands, one of his earliest short stories. The story provided the basis for the movie adaptation, which brought Jovovich and director Paul W.S. Anderson together for a desert adventure filled with strange lands and deadly creatures.
Streaming Rescue
Niche audiences discovered the film online, shared it, and pushed it into visibility. In the Lost Lands has done that across multiple markets.
The movie’s theatrical failure was complete. Its $55 million budget was not recovered at the box office. But streaming platforms do not measure success the same way. A film can find its audience months or years after release, and In the Lost Lands is doing exactly that.
The HBO Max numbers are particularly striking. Holding the #1 and #2 spot in multiple countries for nearly a week suggests sustained demand rather than a flash-in-the-pan spike.
What This Means for Martin
The revival puts Martin’s earlier work back in the spotlight. Fans who know him through Game of Thrones may now explore his shorter fiction, including Dreamsongs.
For the streaming platforms themselves, the story is a reminder that box office failure does not predict streaming longevity. A film that bombed in theaters can still find its audience online, and the numbers suggest In the Lost Lands has found a significant one.
The movie’s theatrical performance was poor. Its streaming performance is strong. That contrast is the whole story.
The bottom line is simple: a movie that failed in theaters found its true home on streaming.
See the video the story is built around at Collider.
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