The newly released The Lord of the Rings: The War of the Rohirrim was fast-tracked to ensure that New Line Cinema kept the franchise's movie rights. The anime film released on Friday, December 13 and has so far seen disappointing box office returns, placing fifth in its opening weekend. The $4.6 million debut set a new low for a Lord of the Rings feature film in the Peter Jackson era.
However, box office performance might not have been the studio's primary concern. ScreenRant has confirmed that after The War of the Rohirrim was announced in 2021, it was fast-tracked by the studio to ensure the Lord of the Rings franchise's movie rights remained with New Line. This would buy time for series stewards Jackson, Fran Walsh, and Philippa Boyens to plan out new live-action films, including The Hunt for Gollum and another yet to be named.
What This Means For The Lord Of The Rings Franchise
Rohirrim Isn't The Misstep It Appears To Be
At this early stage in its release cycle, this expansion into anime films would appear to be a misstep for the Lord of the Rings franchise. Though Screen Rant's review of The War of the Rohirrim was positive, the movie split critics right down the middle, ending up with a 51% Rotten Tomatoes score. An 83% on the site's Popcornmeter suggests audiences who saw it had a good time with it, but the box office indicates attendance was low - especially for a franchise that typically finishes in the neighborhood of $1 billion worldwide.
This update, however, recontextualizes the movie's performance. The project was much lower risk than its predecessors – when adjusted for inflation, The Lord of the Rings trilogy's combined budget totaled $500 million and the three Hobbit films nearly $1 billion, while The War of the Rohirrim's reported budget is just $30 million. As much as there are connections to what's familiar from Tolkien's story and Jackson's adaptation, it also stands noticeably apart from the rest of the franchise, both narratively and stylistically. That undoubtedly played a part in the disinterest from established fans.
Warner Bros.' new Tolkien adaptation The Lord of the Rings: The War of the Rohirrim recalls the original LotR trilogy in multiple ways.
Knowing the situation with The Lord of the Rings' film rights, that strategy begins to make sense. New Line and Warner Bros. settled on a project that required minimal investment, both from them and from audiences, to buy time for their live-action plans. As much as it would've been great if The War of the Rohirrim was a hit, there's no need to have seen it to enjoy what's coming next, and fans know it. Even if the studio suffers a loss, the franchise's box office history suggests the next movies will more than make up for it.
Our Take On War Of The Rohirrim's Rights Situation
It's easy to see the logic that led to The War of the Rohirrim, and with the marketing, it'd be unfair to say the studio didn't give it a chance to succeed. But the people in this equation who can't afford to be low-investment are the creatives. I enjoyed the final product, but this confirmation that the project was fast-tracked, and potentially rushed, makes me wonder what an anime Lord of the Rings movie could have been like if it had the time and means to be fully realized.
Given how low-risk it was, the studio is unlikely to ever see their approach to The War of the Rohirrim as a mistake. But it remains to be seen whether The Hunt for Gollum and whatever other live-action movies follow will be worth the effort.
Set before the events of the original Lord of the Rings trilogy, The Lord of the Rings: The War of the Rohirrim is an animated action-adventure fantasy film that follows a King of Rohan named Helm Hammerhand. When his home comes under siege by Dunlendings, Hammerhand prepares himself and his allies to fight back against them, with the war leading to the eventual establishment of Helm's Deep.
Release Date December 13, 2024
Runtime 134 Minutes
Director Kenji Kamiyama
Studio(s) New Line Cinema , Warner Bros. Animation , Sola Entertainment
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English (US) ·