We’d be forgiven for not noticing, but a new film from one of the most successful franchises in film history hit theaters over the weekend. The film in question is “The Lord of the Rings: War of the Rohirrim,” an animated version of the works of JRR Tolkien, which takes place long before the events of director Peter Jackson’s original trilogy. Unfortunately, audiences largely seemed uninterested in this companion story, given its dismal box office performance. That said, Warner Bros. probably won’t mind that much, as it was a decision made with bigger business in mind.
Directed by Kenji Kamiyama (“Blade Runner: Black Lotus”), “War of the Rohirrim” opened with an estimated $4.6 million at the domestic box office in its debut, peaking at number five on the charts. Given that The “Lord of the Rings” films have grossed almost $6 billion worldwideincluding “The Hobbit” trilogy, is a surprisingly low number. To make matters worse, the film has only grossed $5.7 million overseas to date after two opening weekends, giving it a cumulative total of $10.3 million. Not exactly a barn burner, to put it mildly.
Critics were a bit mixed about the film and WB didn’t exactly spend a fortune marketing it. So why make the movie? On the one hand, “The War of the Rohirrim” had a modest budget of only 30 million dollarsmuch less than that of the live action entries. More importantly, the studio produced the film to ensure it retained the rights to “The Lord of the Rings.” In a statement (via Relations with the exhibitor), Warner Bros. did not mince words and said the following:
“Announced in June 2021, The Lord of the Rings: War of the Rohirrim was fast-tracked to ensure that New Line Cinema did not lose the film adaptation rights to Tolkien’s novels while the LOTR trio, Peter Jackson, Fran Walsh and Philippa Boyens, was working through a creative vision for the upcoming live-action films in the LOTR film series.”
The Lord of the Rings: The War of the Rohirrim was a long-term investment
It’s very unusual for a studio to come clean and reveal the true reasoning behind its trading decisions like this. At the same time, there’s no getting around the fact that “War of the Rohirrim” has been disappointing at the box office so far, and this is a way for Warner Bros. to explain away a theatrical failure. You could consider it a $30 million investment to stay in the Middle-earth business. Also, not in vain, but with such a low budget, this movie could still make money in the long run, once you take into account VOD, streaming, Blu-ray, etc.
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 of enormous importance in “The Two Towers.” and this movie attempts to give hardcore fans some historical context. It’s deep stuff that clearly wasn’t of interest to casual moviegoers. Then again, WB didn’t expect it to be like this. They have more important things to do: the new live-action “Lord of the Rings” movies. The first of them is called “The Hunt for Gollum” and will be directed by Andy Serkis.the actor who gave life to Gollum. It’s expected to hit theaters in 2026. This is just the first new live-action movie the studio is planning, as at least one more as-yet-unspecified “LOTR” movie is also in development. That’s the end here. This animated film was just a way to ensure that the rights would not expire, allowing someone else to keep them.
I talked more about this in today’s episode of the /Film Daily podcast, which you can listen to below:
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“The Lord of the Rings: War of the Rohirrim” is now in theaters.
