One would be forgiven for not noticing, but a new movie in one of the most successful franchises in cinema history arrived in theaters over the weekend. The movie in question is “The Lord of the Rings: The War of the Rohirrim,” an animated take on the works of J.R.R. Tolkien, one that takes place long before the events of director Peter Jackson’s original trilogy. Unfortunately, audiences largely seemed uninterested in this supplemental tale, given its lousy box office haul. That said, Warner Bros. probably isn’t all that bothered by it, as this was a decision made with bigger business in mind.
Directed by Kenji Kamiyama’s (“Blade Runner: Black Lotus”), “The War of the Rohirrim” opened to an estimated $4.6 million at the domestic box office in its debut, landing at number five on the charts. Given that “The Lord of the Rings” films have made nearly $6 billion globally, including “The Hobbit” trilogy, that is a shockingly low number. To make matters worse, the film has only made $5.7 million overseas to date after two weekends of release, giving it a $10.3 million running total. Not exactly a barn burner, to put it mildly.
Critics were a bit mixed on the film and WB didn’t exactly spend a fortune marketing it. So, why make the movie at all? For one, “War of the Rohirrim” had a modest budget of just $30 million, far less than that of the live-action entries. More importantly, the studio produced the film to make sure they kept the “Lord of the Rings” rights. In a statement (via Exhibitor Relations), Warner Bros. didn’t mince words, saying the following:
“Announced in June 2021, Lord of the Rings: The War of the Rohirrim was fast-tracked to ensure New Line Cinema did not lose the film adaptation rights for Tolkien’s novels while the LOTR trio – Peter Jackson, Fran Walsh and Philippa Boyens – worked through a creative vision for the next live-action movies in the LOTR series of films.”
The Lord of the Rings: The War of the Rohirrim was a long-term investment
It is highly unusual for a studio to come right out and reveal the true reasoning behind its business decisions like this. At the same time, there’s no getting around the fact that “The War of the Rohirrim” is disappointing at the box office thus far, and this is a way for Warner Bros. to explain away a theatrical flop. One could look at it as a $30 million investment in staying in the business of Middle-earth. Also, not for nothing, but with a budget that low, this film could still make money in the long run, once VOD, streaming, Blu-ray, etc. is factored in.
The anime film is set 183 years before the events of Jackson’s “Lord of the Rings” trilogy. It tells the fate of the House of Helm Hammerhand, the legendary King of Rohan. The Battle of Helm’s Deep was enormously important in “The Two Towers,” and this film attempts to provide hardcore fans with some historical context. It is deep cut stuff that evidently was not of interest to casual moviegoers. Then again, WB didn’t expect it to be. They have bigger fish to fry — new live-action “Lord of the Rings” films. The first of them is called “The Hunt for Gollum” and will be directed by Andy Serkis, the actor who brought Gollum to life. It is expected to hit theaters in 2026. That’s just the first new live-action film the studio is planning, as at least one more as of yet unspecified “LOTR” film is also in development. That’s the endgame here. This animated film was just a way of ensuring that the rights didn’t lapse, allowing someone else to scoop them up.
I spoke more about this on today’s episode of the /Film Daily podcast, which you can listen to below:
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“The Lord of the Rings: The War of the Rohirrim” is in theaters now.
