The most divisiveLord of the Ringsfilm has made a comeback on its streaming debut on Max.The Lord of the Rings: The War of the Rohirrim, which massively underperformed at the box office in 2024 and received some very mixed critical reviews, has debuted at the top of Max’s streaming chart. Following in the footsteps of many other theatrical flops, the animated movie has finally found an audience several months after its December release in cinemas.
WhenThe War of the Rohirrimwas first announced, fans seemed to be on board with the addition to the Tolkien franchise, but the film’s biggest initial stumbling block became its anime animation format.The story of Helm Hammerhand, the legendary King of Rohan from long before the events ofThe Lord of the Rings, was an untouched chapter of the fantasy saga’s screen adaptations. Despite bringing in a strong voice cast, director Kenji Kamiyama, and involving longtimeLord of the Ringscollaborator Philippa Boyens, the film failed to make any kind of impact on its initial release. The film’s synopsis reads:
“Set 183 years before the events chronicled in the original trilogy of films, “The Lord of the Rings: The War of the Rohirrim” tells the fate of the House of Helm Hammerhand, the legendary King of Rohan. A sudden attack by Wulf, a clever and ruthless Dunlending lord seeking vengeance for the death of his father, forces Helm and his people to make a daring last stand in the ancient stronghold of the Hornburg–a mighty fortress that will later come to be known as Helm’s Deep. Finding herself in an increasingly desperate situation, Héra, the daughter of Helm, must summon the will to lead the resistance against a deadly enemy intent on their total destruction”
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It’s probably the fault of those sneaky little Hobbitses.
‘The Lord of the Rings: The War of the Rohirrim’ Failed to Capture an Audience
Despite seemingly pleasing audiences with an 82% Rotten Tomatoes score, critics only scored it 49%, with the consensus saying, “This animated deep cut from The Lord of the Rings mythos has plenty of spectacle, but its clichéd characters and uneven animation resemble middle of the road more than they do Middle Earth.”
With a hefty $30 million budget to contend with, making a profit was a battle that even the mighty Helm Hammerhand could not win. The movie took just over $20 million worldwide, making it the firstLord of the Ringsflop to ever hit cinemas. However, several reports suggested that it did not really matter to Warner Bros. Discovery, as the movie was only created out of the necessity for them to release something from the IP or risk losing it. In the long-term, withplans for more live action movies likeThe Hunt for Gollumnow in motion, it was a loss that they were willing to accept.
Now, thanks to its streaming debut,The War of the Rohirrimis enjoying a second chance to make a first impression, as many who did not bother turning out to see the movie in cinemas have been giving it a go now that it is on Max. WhileThe War of the Rohirrimmay not be the most engagingLotRproject to have been released, it is certainly worth a watch for fans of Tolkien’s world. Animated movies that are not aimed mostly at children tend to struggle in cinemas, and this was no exception, proving a long-standing issue with animated entries in big franchises. However, the viewership of the film on streaming shows that there is still an audience out there who will check out this kind of release, but only when they can watch it as part of an existing streaming subscription.
The Lord of the Rings: The War of the Rohirrim
