The Lord of the Rings: The War of the Rohirrimis struggling on Rotten Tomatoes. Animated in a traditional Japanese anime style, the movie is set relatively early inThe Lord of the Rings' timeline, taking place 183 years before Frodo’s adventures. It depicts the war between Helm Hammerhand (Brian Cox) and the Dunlendings. Alongside Cox, the movie stars Gaia Wise as Héra, Luke Pasqualino as Wulf, and Miranda Otto returning as Éowyn to serve as the movie’s narrator.
Despite being a majorLord of the Ringsrelease,Rohirrimis divisive with critics. Alongside 1978’sThe Lord of the RingsandThe Hobbit: The Battle of the Five Armies(2014),Rohirrimis one of only threeLord of the Ringsmovies to earn a Rotten Tomatometer score onRotten Tomatoeswith a52% score. Among top critics, that score sinks to just 35%. Despite its low critical score, it has secured an85% on the audience-led Popcornmeter. Check out the chart below, which compares the three lowest-scoring movies:
49%
64%
59%
74%
52%
85%
What The Rotten Tomatoes Score Means For War Of The Rohirrim
The Movie Is Not Expected To Achieve Box Office Success
WhileRohirrim’s ending promises a follow-up, its box office results make that unlikely. The movie isexpected to earn under $10 millionthrough its first weekend, despite its $30 million budget. It should end its run with the lowest box office results of any movie in the franchise’s history. Even the 1978 movie earned $30 million at the box office, which was a success and would be $151 million today. With aB rating on CinemaScore, it also opens with the lowest rating of any modernLord of the Ringsadaptation:
The Lord of the Rings: The War of the Rohirrim(2024)
B
With a $30 million budget, the standard Hollywood rule of thumb suggests thatThe War of the Rohirrimis likely looking at a break-even point of between $60 million and $75 million. Considering the movie’s soft start, it could be a challenge to reach either of these figures, though it’s possible that business picks up around Christmas as more people find themselves on vacation and looking for something to do with their families.
Still, with such a lackluster reception thus far, the movie will likely continue to struggle at the box office in the long term, andit’s possible that it will get an early VOD release date in several weeks' time. Many critics argue that the story is generic, the animation does not fit the narrative, and the entire production feels like a desperate grasp for money that did not need to be made.Screen Rant’sRohirrimreviewwas an exception, as Alex Harrison gave the movie a 7 out of 10 stars, saying:
The War of the Rohirrimis a film I would happily go back to.If Warner Bros. is to continue milking this property for all it’s worth, as they undoubtedly will, I hope they continue to take this approach, ideally with less of a mandate for callbacks. It would be nice to see more animators get the chance to filter this and other franchises through their imaginations.
How Much Does The War Of The Rohirrim’s Underwhelming Start Actually Matter?
New Information Sheds Light On The Anime’s Purpose For The Lord Of The Rings Franchise
FollowingThe War of the Rohirrim’s underwhelming start critically and commercially, new information has recontextualized the film’s performance.ScreenRanthas now confirmed thatThe War of the Rohirrimwas fast-trackedthrough development to ensure that New Line Cinema would retain theLord of the Ringsfeature film rights. Even if the movie fails to make its $30 million budget back, then,it can’t be dubbed a total failure since it’s already accomplished one key goal for New Line.
Boyens also recently teased thatThe Hunt for Gollummay be the first of several bigLord of the Ringsmovies to come over the next few years.
The War of the Rohirrim’s fast-tracking seems to mostly be servingThe Hunt for Gollum, an in-development, live-action film from franchise stewards Peter Jackson, Fran Walsh, and Philippa Boyens, and director Andy Serkis. With New Line now retaining the franchise’s movie rights,the creative team has more time to craftThe Hunt for Golluminstead of rushing that project – a far more commercially viable one– to the big screen.
Lord Of The Rings' Gollum Movie Could Be The Blueprint For Adapting A Major Event Cut From Peter Jackson’s Movies
The Lord of the Rings’ upcoming Gollum movie could offer a blueprint for adapting a major event that was cut from Peter Jackson’s trilogy.
Boyens also recently teased thatThe Hunt for Gollummay be the first of several bigLord of the Ringsmovies to come over the next few years. During an interview withGamesRadar+, she revealed that there could be more standalone movies on the horizon, butthere’s also the possibility of another “epic trilogy.“Though Boyens also said she would “love to see another anime,“The War of the Rohirrim’s reception thus far essentially guarantees that another animated take onTolkien’s Middle-earthprobably won’t be arriving for quite some time.
The Hunt for Gollumis expected to release in 2026 and will feature a story that takes place within the events ofThe Fellowship of the Ring.
Our Take On War Of The Rohirrim’s Rotten Tomatoes Score
This Should Not Come As A Surprise
Unfortunately, there was little chance for success. The animation style makes for a fairly generic depiction thatdoes not match the aesthetic of Jackson’s movies.The War of the Rohirrim’s trailers attempted to tie into Jackson’s work by showing footage from older movies, but they instead serve as reminders of how different they really are.
The movie was also released just two months afterThe Rings of Powerseason 2 ended. Even though the Prime Video series continues to be divisive with audiences for a variety of reasons, it is a tale told in live-action, which now seems to be the preferred medium for Middle-earth stories. With an abundance ofThe Lord of the Ringscontent available,War of the Rohirrimsimply could not be the spectacle that Warner Bros. needed.
The Lord of the Rings: The War of the Rohirrim
Cast
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.
