The Lord of the Rings: The War of the Rohirrim’s Rotten Tomatoes score has arrived, and it fails to match the score for the original trilogy. Directed by Kenji Kamiyama, the anime film takes place 183 years before the events of Peter Jackson’s threeLord of the Ringsfilms, chronicling the origins of Helm’s Deep and a conflict between the Rohirrim and the Dunlendings.The War of the Rohirrim’s releasecomes 10 years afterThe Hobbit: The Battle of the Five Armies, and the film presents a very familiar version of Middle-earth to audiences.
Ahead of its theatrical bow,The War of the Rohirrimhas now debuted onRotten Tomatoesto a lukewarm score of 63%with 27 reviews, as of writing. Though this score is sure to fluctuate as more reviews are added, it currently ranks behind all threeLord of the Ringsmovies and twoHobbitfilms. An audience score for the movie isn’t yet available, but one should arrive around December 13 when the film releases in theaters. Check out theLord of the Ringsfranchise’s Rotten Tomatoes scores below:
92%
95%
94%
86%
64%
83%
74%
85%
59%
63%
What War Of The Rohirrim’s Rotten Tomatoes Score Means For The Film
Does The Critics' Score Spell Trouble For The Movie’s Box Office?
ThoughThe Lord of the Rings: The Rings of Powerhas now been running at Prime Video since 2022, there hasn’t been a movie in the franchise for a decade, and that puts a lot of pressure onThe War of the Rohirrim. Unfortunately, a Rotten Tomatoes score in the low 60s isn’t a positive sign for the movie.Jackson’s original trilogy remains the gold standard when it comes to epic fantasy adaptations, andThe War of the Rohirrimreviewsdon’t suggest the anime will be achieving this same status.
Lord Of The Rings Is Only Weeks Away From Crossing A Rare Box Office Milestone
The upcoming Lord of the Rings: The War of the Rohirrim will push the long-running fantasy franchise over an impressive box office milestone.
That being said, it’s still entirely possible that the anime will achieve box office success. Jackson’sThe Hobbittrilogy, after all, is widely considered a major step down from the original trilogy in terms of quality, and yet all three of those movies were major commercial hits. The big variable at play this time around, however, is the fact thatThe War of the Rohirrimis an anime, andit’s not clear how much of an appetite there is for animeLord of the Ringscontent, even if it does take place in Jackson’s version of Middle-earth.
The first ever adaption of J.R.R Tolkien’sThe Lord of the Ringswas an animated movie of the same name from 1978, which earned mixed reviews.
Our Take On The War Of The Rohirrim’s Lukewarm Rotten Tomatoes Debut
Peter Jackson’s Original Trilogy Remains Undefeated
All threeHobbitmovies andThe War of the Rohirrimpaint a somewhat concerning picture for the future of the franchise. A live-action film calledThe Hunt for Gollumis now in development, and it’s clear that additional movies could be on the way after that. So far, however,more than 20 years after theLord of the Ringstrilogy debuted, it’s looking like an impossibly tall order to match those original three films' quality.
Though the critics' score is a little disappointing, it’s entirely possible that general audiences will end up enjoying the film. All the audience scores forThe Hobbittrilogy, after all, are higher than the critics' scores. It remains to be seen howThe Lord of the Rings: The War of the Rohirrimwill fare in theaters, but it’s certainly looking Jackson’s trilogy’s supremacy will remain unchallenged.
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.
