See How ’The Lord of the Rings: The War of the Rohirrim’s Rotten Tomatoes Score Stacks Up to the Rest of the Franchise

The Lord of the Rings: The War of the Rohirrim

By Adam Blevins

Published Dec 10, 2024

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Image via Warner Bros

The Lord of the Rings: The War of the Rohirrim is set to debut in U.S. theaters this weekend after premiering overseas with dismal box office returns, but reviews for the animated film are pouring in and Warner Bros. might be showing they weren’t. The upcoming film has debuted on Rotten Tomatoes with a 65% score from critics as a result of 37 reviews, and while this is subject to change as more reviews come in, it is still significantly lower than most other installments in The Lord of the Rings franchise. All three entries in the original Lord of the Rings trilogy, The Fellowship of the Ring, The Two Towers, and The Return of the King, have over a 92% score on Rotten Tomatoes, more than 25% higher than The War of the Rohirrim.

However, The Hobbit movies faltered in the eyes of critics despite general audience enjoyment not tapering off too much. The final installment, The Hobbit: The Battle of the Five Armies, earned a “rotten” score of 59% from critics on Rotten Tomatoes, making it the lowest-rated LOTR installment, behind The Hobbit: An Unexpected Journey, which landed at 64% on the aggregate site. As it currently sits, The Lord of the Rings: The War of the Rohirrim would be the third-lowest rated movie in the Lord of the Rings franchise, not something that will bode well for Warner Bros. when it comes time for word-of-mouth marketing to give the film an extra box office push. Brian Cox and Gaia Wise star in The Lord of the Rings animated film, which was directed by Kenji Kamiyama.

Is Peter Jackson Involved in ‘The Lord of the Rings: The War of the Rohirrim’?

Original Lord of the Rings writer and director Peter Jackson is credited as an executive producer on The Lord of the Rings: The War of the Rohirrim. Jackson is not, however, credited as a writer on the film. Philippa Boyens, who co-wrote The Lord of the Rings and Hobbit movies with Jackson helped write the screenplay for The War of the Rohirrim, along with Arty Papageorgiou, Phoebe Gittins, Will Matthew, and Jeffrey Addiss. The film’s runtime is 2:14 and it will also be available in IMAX formats.

The Lord of the Rings: The War of the Rohirrim is out in theaters this weekend. Stay tuned to Collider for future updates and coverage and find tickets below for a showtime near you.