'The Lord of the Rings: The War of the Rohirrim' Gallops To Max In Defeat
More animated 'LOTR' is fun, but the performance was rough
It turns out, war can be unprofitable! The Lord of the Rings: The War of the Rohirrim, the The Lord of the Rings prequel anime film directed by Kenji Kamiyama and executive produced by Peter Jackson, who directed both previous live-action trilogies, is headed to Max battered and bruised on February 28.
Opening December 13 against the likes of Kraven the Hunter, which probably won’t hit Netflix for a couple of weeks after, Rohirrim earned $9.1 million domestically and nearly $11.3 million internationally for worldwide box office tally of $20.4 million against a $30 million production budget. This followed a fifth place opening weekend earn of $4.6 million, which was at least 25% below projections, and against several heavy-hitters in their fourth week like Moana 2, Wicked, and Gladiator II. As far as pacing from theatrical release to Max arrival, it’s 77 days. That’s a week shorter than Furiosa and Wonka, and thus quicker than several other recent Warner Bros. films that took longer. It’s ten days longer than Aquaman and the Lost Kingdom, which arrived on Max on February 27 last year, but also was originally released on the equivalent weekend after it, a difference of nine days thanks to 2024 being leap.
The War of the Rohirrim’s theatrical run was so quickly given up on, with Sonic the Hedgehog 3 and Mufasa showing up in week 2 and subsequently dominating as their own intimate battle played on, that it was released on digital platforms the week after that on December 27. Soon after the release, it resurfaced that the film was fast-tracked
As the synopsis tells, it is 183 years before the original trilogy, telling the final days of the House of Helm Hammerhand, the legendary King of Rohan here voiced by Brian Cox. They find themselves facing down the revenge-seeking Dunlending lord Wulf, voiced by Luke Pasqualino. Clever and ruthless, the vengeance is for the death of his father, and his attack forces Helm and his people to make a daring last stand in the ancient stronghold of the Hornburg, the mighty fortress that would become known as as Helm’s Deep. His daughter Héra, voiced by Gaia Wise, must summon the will to lead the resistance to avert their total destruction, even in her increasing desperation. Narrated by Éowyn, Shieldmaiden of Rohan from the original trilogy, voiced once again by Miranda Otto, the film also stars Lorraine Ashbourne, Yazdan Qafouri, Benjamin Wainwright, Laurence Ubong Williams, Shaun Dooley, Michael Wildman, Jude Akuwudike, Bilal Hasna, and Janine Duvitski.
Jeffrey Addiss & Will Matthews and Phoebe Gittins & Arty Papageorgiou wrote the film from a story by Addiss & Matthews and Phillipa Boyens, based on J.R.R. Tolkien’s characters. Boyens produces with Jason DeMarco, the Senior Vice President of Anime and Action Series/Longform at Warner Bros. Animation, and Joseph Chou. Fran Walsh, Warner Bros. Animation President Sam Register, former Warner Bros. Pictures Chief Operating Officer Carolyn Blackwood and Toby Emmerich also served as executive producers. The Lord of the Rings: The War of the Rohirrim arrives on Max on February 28.
Source: When to Stream