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The Academy unveiled its full line-up of Oscar nods Thursday morning, with “Emilia Pérez” leading the field with 13 nominations, followed by “The Brutalist” and “Wicked” with 10 each. While guild nominations and other preliminary awards bodies can help provide a comprehensive forecast for Oscar nominations, there are always a few curveballs mixed into the proceedings. Big names like Angelina Jolie and Denzel Washington missed out on acting nominations this year, and there were many, many more surprises.

Snub: Angelina Jolie Misses for ‘Maria’

The star earned some of the best reviews of her career out of the Venice Film Festival for her portrayal of the opera icon Maria Callas. Director Pablo Larrain previously delivered Oscar nominations to two of his stars playing historical figures — Natalie Portman for “Jackie” in 2017 and Kristen Stewart for “Spencer” in 2022. But Jolie didn’t land a nod to match, falling behind a highly competitive best actress field.

Turns out, we’ve been cheering for the wrong heroes in The Lord of the Rings all along. Sure Frodo and Aragorn stole the ultimate limelight, J.R.R. Tolkien himself pointed to a less glam, but far more heroic, character.

Elijah Wood in Lord of the Rings | Credits: New Line Cinema

Tolkien’s revelation broke the mold on who truly deserved the very title. The quiet endurance of this unsung figure didn’t just support the Fellowship; it saved the day.

Samwise Gamgee: The unsung hero J.R.R. Tolkien always knew deserved the spotlight J.R.R. Tolkien | Credits: YouTube/@BBC Global

Folks, we’ve all been watching The Lord of the Rings with the wrong hero in mind. J.R.R. Tolkien had a different champ – Samwise Gamgee. Tolkien, who served in the British military during World War I, based Sam on a figure he deeply admired: his batmen.

Aragorn lives for many years after the events of The Lord of the Rings, and there are important lore reasons as to why. Viggo Mortensen delivered an iconic portrayal as Aragorn in the Lord of the Rings movies directed by Peter Jackson, and he'll hopefully be returning to the character for the upcoming movie, The Hunt for Gollum. He's introduced in The Fellowship of the Ring as the ranger, Strider, but the film delicately introduces new elements about his past before Legolas reveals that he's the lost heir to Gondor at the Council of Elrond.

Gondor is one of the notable human kingdoms in Middle-earth, which was founded toward the end of the Second Age. At the start of The Lord of the Rings, Gondor is ruled by a Steward who acts in the place of the king. This makes it all the more important to the narrative and for...

It's been many decades since J.R.R. Tolkien first published The Hobbit, creating one of the most beloved fantasy franchises. When Peter Jackson decided to adapt The Lord of the Rings novels into an epic trilogy, it was a significant risk, but it paid off in the end and resulted in another trilogy based on The Hobbit. However, the Lotr universe hasn't concluded yet, as The Lord of the Rings: The Hunt for Gollum will bring one of the best secondary characters of the franchise to the forefront. Gollum, played by Andy Serkis, is a complex figure in Lotr.

Gollum is enthralled by the One Ring and at war with himself throughout the story. He lives for many years and impacts the lives of both Bilbo and Frodo when they embark on their adventures. As time has progressed, it's clear that there's a deeper interest in Gollum and his origin story,...

There were a few reasons underlying Denethor's distaste for Faramir in The Lord of the Rings. J.R.R. Tolkien's seminal novel was released in three parts between 1954 and 1955, with each of Peter Jackson's Lord of the Rings movies adapting a part. Faramir and Denethor II were two of the most unfaithful characters in the movies, but they were masterpieces unto themselves. The characters are high fantasy legends, and digging deeper into Tolkien's lore explains a lot about them and their motivations, which weren't always totally clear in the cinematic franchise.

Faramir is one of the best characters in Lord of the Rings, so it was difficult to see him get the villain treatment in The Two Towers. Faramir was a hero from the start in the book but presented in a villainous light in the movie at first, stopping Frodo on his mission. Denethor was a just leader and bad father in the books,...

Fans of the Lord of the Rings franchise get ready to celebrate as The War of the Rohirrim, an anime prequel to the iconic movie trilogy, is set to arrive on Max in February. This announcement comes just weeks after the film's theatrical debut on December 13, and excitement is mounting for those eager to dive into Middle-earth’s rich lore from the comfort of their own homes.

Set 183 years before the events of the original trilogy, The War of the Rohirrim focuses on the House of Helm Hammerhand, the legendary King of Rohan. With a gripping tale of vengeance, resilience, and leadership, the anime explores the origins of Helm’s Deep, the fortress central to one of the most memorable battles in The Two Towers, and the legend of Héra Hammerhand.

A New Chapter in Middle-Earth Exploring the Origins of Helm's Deep

Héra Hammerhand, voiced by Gaia Wise, is the...

The Lord of the Rings genius Peter Jackson wasn’t exactly itching to join the The Rings of Power bandwagon. You’d think he’d be all in for another Middle-earth adventure, right? Nah, not really. Jackson had one very specific condition before he’d even consider getting involved.

Peter Jackson. | Image by Mike Walen, licenced under Cca-by-sa-3.0 via Wikimedia Commons.

Spoiler alert: that condition wasn’t met, and Jackson gracefully bowed out. Turns out, even the king of Middle-earth has his limits.

Peter Jackson’s hypnotic wish: Watching The Rings of Power with fresh eyes The Orc family in The Rings of Power Season 2 | Credits: Amazon MGM

Peter Jackson had one condition for being part of The Rings of Power: he needed a clean slate to watch it as a fan. The legendary director, who brought J.R.R. Tolkien’s The Lord of the Rings to life, once joked about...

Peter Jackson's The Lord of the Rings movies are some of the most revered films ever made. Even now, over two decades after release, they remain culturally relevant, and the gold-standard by which all fantasy movies are compared. All these years later, director Peter Jackson has finally named which movie of the trilogy he's most proud of...and his choice will probably surprise you!

Speaking to Letterboxd, Jackson explained that he has a tough time watching his own films. "I can’t watch my own films. I mean, one day… I sort of enjoy it more as more time goes by, so one day I’ll watch them again," he said. As for what his favorite movie in the trilogy is, it's surprisingly The Two Towers, the middle movement of the trilogy, but his answer is far from set in stone. "The Two Towers, I think. But if I...

Lord of the Rings is one of the most beloved franchises in the world.

Originally conceived as a fantasy novel by J. R. R. Tolkien, the story began as a sequel to his 1937 children’s book The Hobbit.

The story follows a hobbit named Frodo who inherits the One Ring, which can destroy the entire world. As the reawakened evil Sauron goes after the Ring to secure his reign, Frodo teams up with eight others to destroy the Ring and defeat Sauron.

Originally intended to be a single volume, the work was published in three parts: The Fellowship of the Ring, The Two Towers, and The Return of the King. It’s now one of best-selling books ever written, with over 150 million copies sold, leading to music, films, television, video games, and board games.

Over the years, the movies and TV shows have garnered significant acclaim among critics and fans alike.

Ian McKellen's powerful wizard is a source of guidance, counsel, and knowledge for the Fellowship in The Lord of the Rings, making for a lot of wise Gandalf quotes. In many ways, Gandalf exemplifies the archetype of the wizard character, and he is great at dispensing wisdom. While Gandalf is also extremely powerful, as one of the few Istari in Middle-earth, his intelligence is one of his greatest strengths. Many of Gandalf's quotes are still enshrined in pop culture today, decades after the original movies were released, and his wisest are always worth remembering.

The best Gandalf quotes are often the ones that display his immense wisdom. Throughout both the Lord of the Rings and Hobbit movies, Gandalf is an invaluable source of information and guidance. However, many of the wisest things that he says are simple phrases that can be applied to everyday life. Ian McKellen gave such...

The Lord of the Rings movies made lots of changes to J.R.R. Tolkien's novel, and some of the most noticeable were during the Battle of Helm's Deep. This battle is one of Peter Jackson's most impressive set pieces, setting a standard for high fantasy battles in cinema worldwide. It comes toward the end of The Lord of the Rings: The Two Towers movie, which followed on from The Lord of the Rings: The Fellowship of the Ring, the first movie in the trilogy. Brutal and often hard to watch, Jackson's version of Helm's Deep was extraordinary but not always faithful.

Peter Jackson's The Lord of the Rings movies are renowned as some of the most faithful adaptations ever made, but diehard Lord of the Rings fans could point out the differences between the book and the movies for days on end. Some of the Warner Bros. movies'...

One does not simply pick their favorite Lord of the Rings movie. Oh, we do? Well, Peter Jackson does, too, giving his definitive pick that will no doubt divide Lord of the Rings fans. No, it’s not Ralph Bakshi’s movie, but instead The Two Towers.

Speaking with Letterboxd, Peter Jackson said that as of now, his favorite movie of the Lord of the Rings saga is the second installment. “The Two Towers, I think. But if I see them again I might have a totally different one.” But Jackson was careful to note that he’s not just sitting around his hobbit-hole watching his own flicks, adding, “I can’t watch my own films. I just, I mean, one day…I sort of enjoy it more as more time goes by, so one day I’ll watch them again. I hope you enjoy ’em!” If only he could shake them from his memory…...

When it comes to works of fantasy adaptation, The Lord of the Rings trilogy remains one of the most acclaimed and beloved. Peter Jackson directed all three installments, which were released in theaters between 2001 and 2003. The three movies, which serve as adaptations of the book series by author J.R.R. Tolkien, were all critically and commercially successful, and Jackson would ultimately return to the world of Middle-earth with his less successful Hobbit trilogy in the 2010s.

The Lord of the Rings: The Fellowship of the Ring was the movie that started it all, introducing Elijah Wood as Frodo and kicking off his quest to destroy the One Ring in the fires of Mount Doom. This installment was followed by The Two Towers, which features the climactic Battle of Helm's Deep, and finally by The Return of the King, the trilogy-capper that wraps up the stories of Lord of the Rings characters like Frodo,...

Amazon’s TV series “The Lord of the Rings: The Rings of Power” has already learned that it can be risky to delve into the world created by J.R.R. Tolkien’s epic fantasy novels and put on screen in Peter Jackson’s Oscar-winning film trilogy. In fact, Jackson himself learned that when he followed his “Lord of the Rings” films with the three overstuffed and significantly less appreciated “Hobbit” movies.

But now the makers of the animated film “The Lord of the Rings: The War of the Rohirrim” are taking on an even more daunting challenge: They’re not only building a story only glancingly mentioned in Tolkien’s legendarium, but they’re doing so using the medium of anime, a distinctly different form from the CG-heavy live-action world that Jackson created.

For director Kenji Kamiyama, however, the different medium was an advantage. “Hand-drawn pictures give the audience room for imagination,...

J.R.R. Tolkien's famous The Lord of the Rings provided one Aragorn moment that would have benefited the movies, had it been shown. Published in three parts between 1954 and 1955, The Lord of the Rings is the masterpiece of British author Tolkien. Peter Jackson's The Lord of the Rings trilogy adapted one part of the novel per movie, resulting in some of the best fantasy movies ever made. All three movies in Jackson's first Lord of the Rings trilogy are rated between 90% and 100% on Rotten Tomatoes. But one Aragorn inclusion would have made them even better.

Released in 2001, The Lord of the Rings: The Fellowship of the Ring movie debuted American actor Viggo Mortensen as Aragorn. The epic high fantasy adventure movie sold Aragorn well as the classic knight in shining armor, journeying alongside the rest of the Fellowship of the Ring. Aragorn grew throughout the next movie, The Lord of the Rings: The Two Towers...

One of the most important details about The Lord of the Rings' Gandalf is his staff, which he changes multiple times throughout the movies. Gandalf is one of the most vital characters in Peter Jackson's The Lord of the Rings and The Hobbit movies, with Ian McKellen playing the role in all six films. McKellen consistently delivers one of The Lord of the Rings' best performances and successfully brings one of J.R.R. Tolkien's most important characters to life.

Throughout Gandalf's many appearances, his staff is one of his defining features. The staff is not just used as a way to wield and enhance his magic, with Gandalf being capable of performing magic without a staff. Gandalf's staff has tremendous symbolic value, signifying his authority as a wizard and as one of The Lord of the Rings' Maiar. During his time as Gandalf the Grey and as Gandalf the White,...

In 2002, the global box office had a chance to settle which was more popular - Star Wars or Spider-Man - and the web-slinger won their battle. Though Star Wars movies have always been profitable at the box office, there have been several movies that beat Star Wars at the box office over the years. From massive pop-culture moments like Avengers: Infinity War to popular children's movies like Frozen II, Star Wars has always had competition. One of its most difficult years for competition, however, was in 2002.

There's quite a bit of overlap between Star Wars movies and the superhero genre. They target largely the same audience of children and (generally) male young adults, and many of the movies that outperformed Star Wars traded the Jedi's robes for a superhero's cape, like The Dark Knight. It's no wonder, then, that 2002's Spider-Man served as direct competition for Star Wars: Episode II - Attack of the Clones.

I've been watching and loving "The Lord of the Rings" trilogy for the past 20 years. Growing up alongside these films, I've always wondered what it would be like to travel to New Zealand and see the filming locations of Middle-earth with my own eyes. This November, after saving up for years, my long-awaited dream finally came true. During a two-week tour with incredibly friendly and expert guides Julie James and Josh Roach from Red Carpet Tours and a fellowship of over thirty passionate fans, we went across the entire country, gaining exclusive access to private lands, insider insights into the making of the films, and even reenacting our favorite scenes with props in the very same spots where filming occurred.

I saw firsthand how the locations perfectly embody J.R.R. Tolkien's vision of Middle-earth. New Zealand, with its lush forests, snowy glaciers, rolling hills, and sprawling mountains, is breathtaking — a...

Editing movie trailers is always a challenge - enough fascinating details must be revealed to potential viewers without revealing the plot of the movie or giving away spoilers. The best trailers inspire intrigue but essentially divulge no important plot points. Expected action sequences, witty one-liners, minimal exposition introducing the premise, shots that establish the atmosphere of the setting, and, of course, a couple of scenes that demonstrate chemistry between actors, are commonly used elements of good movie trailers.

Unfortunately, the temptation to induce surprise in audiences often leads to movie trailers that spoil incredible moments. Even worse is the case where shocking plot twists are included, leading to entire movies being spoiled by their trailers. While the motivation behind such decision-making isn't difficult to understand, it almost always backfires, leaving audiences feeling no intrigue when it seems like the whole movie's plot has been given away by a trailer. There are only a few exceptions,...

The Lord of the Rings: The War of the Rohirrim's digital release date has been revealed after its $15.4 million box office disappointment.

Per Warner Bros., The Lord of the Rings: The War of the Rohirrim will be available to rent or buy on participating digital platforms – including Amazon Prime Video, Apple TV, Fandango at Home, and more – on December 27. Its digital release contains the following special features: "Return to Helm’s Deep: History Becomes Legend," "Middle-earth and Anime: A Marriage of Creativity," and "Héra: A New Hero for Middle-earth."

More to come...

Source: Warner Bros.

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The Lord of the Rings: The War of the Rohirrim 7/10

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...

A new Lord of the Rings movie reaches another record box office low for Peter Jackson's universe in its second weekend.

Per Box Office Mojo, The Lord of the Rings: The War of the Rohirrim suffered the worst second-weekend drop of the franchise with 72.1%. Previously, the worst second-weekend drop was The Hobbit: The Desolation of Smaug with 57.2%.

More to come...

Source: Box Office Mojo

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The Lord of the Rings: The War of the Rohirrim 7/10

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...

Wicked Box Office (Worldwide): On Track To Beat Godzilla X Kong: The New Empire( Photo Credit – Instagram )

Wicked registers another splendid weekend at the worldwide box office. It inches closer to the $600 million mark and is also a few thousand dollars away from surpassing the worldwide haul of Godzilla x Kong: The New Empire. It has dropped to #4 in the domestic box office chart and is also closer to a significant milestone in the US. Scroll below for the deets.

Godzilla x Kong is the 6th highest-grossing film of the year. It is the fifth movie in the MonsterVerse franchise starring Rebecca Hall, Bryan Tyree Henry, Dan Stevens, Kaylee Hottle, Alex Ferns, and Fala Chen. In this movie, the two titans team up to fight against the tyrannical Skar King and the powerful frost-breathing Shimo from invading the earth’s surface. The film collected $80 million in its debut weekend.

Moana 2 Box Office (Worldwide): 4th Weekend Update ( Photo Credit – Instagram )

Moana 2 continues its strong run at the box office and is now very close to achieving a huge milestone worldwide. The movie is expected to achieve that mark before entering the fifth weekend. Despite the release of Mufasa: The Lion King, the Moana sequel has collected another strong weekend. It has also beaten Inside Out’s domestic haul. Keep scrolling for more.

Due to the arrival of Mufasa and Sonic the Hedgehog 3, the sequel has lost its #1 spot to Sonic 3. The movie came out at #3 in its 4th weekend. Wicked is at #4. The film was made on a reported budget between $150-$175 million. Auli’i Cravalho and Dwayne Johnson returned to voice the titular cast.

According to Luiz Fernando’s report, Moana 2 collected $13.1 million on 4th weekend in the United States. It lost 400 theatres due to the...

Barroz Box Office Day 1 Prediction ( Photo Credit – Instagram )

After the poor performance of Malaikottai Vaaliban earlier this year, Mohanlal is looking forward to ending his 2024 with a bang. He’s coming up next with a magnum opus, Barroz, and there’s excitement around it. As the film arrives in theatres on the Christmas holiday (December 25), it is expected to set the cash registers ringing at the Indian box office. Keep reading to learn more about day 1’s prediction!

For the unversed, the upcoming Malayalam fantasy film also marks Mohanlal’s directorial debut. As the actor steps into the director’s shoes for the first time after spending over four decades in the industry, everyone is excited to see what kind of film he makes. Also, it is said to be one of the most expensive Mollywood films ever.

The presence of Mohanlal alone has created hype for Barroz. It is...

Sonic The Hedgehog 3 Box Office (North America): Beats Lotr: The Two Towers’ Debut Weekend ( Photo Credit – Twitter )

Sonic the Hedgehog 3 debuts with a bang at the US box office. The movie crushed the industry’s expectations and has also beaten The Lord of the Rings: The Two Towers’ debut numbers as the 15th biggest opening ever for December. Scroll below for the deets.

It clashed with Mufasa: The Lion King, the Disney prequel/sequel to the 2019 movie, and Sonic 3 successfully beaten it to take the #1 spot in the domestic box office chart. Meanwhile, Lotr: The Two Towers was released in 2002 and was the second installment in the Lotr trilogy. Directed by Peter Jackson, it was the highest-grossing film of the year. The movie was followed by the final installment in the trilogy, The Return of the King, the next year.

Based on Luiz Fernando’s report, The Lord of the Rings: The Two Towers...

Warning! Spoilers for The Lord of the Rings: The War of the Rohirrim ahead!The Lord of the Rings: The War of the Rohirrim subtly hints at where Gandalf the White got his battle plan in Peter Jackson's The Lord of the Rings: The Two Towers. Both these movies center around conflicts involving Rohan and the Dunlendings, though they are set about 200 years apart from one another. Despite the time difference, various commonalities exist between the battles featured in each film. Both take place at the Hornburg (or Helm's Deep), and both make Rohan's chance at victory appear rather small. Moreover, both these Lord of the Rings battles involve a surprise ambush.

Set just under 200 years before Frodo destroyed Sauron's One Ring, The War of the Rohirrim tells a renewed version of Tolkien's legend of Helm Hammerhand. This king of Rohan famously died at Helm's Deep while single-handedly...

The Lord of the Rings is full of mysterious prophecies, but one of the most mysterious may be that made by the Witch-king of Angmar in relation to Saruman. The Witch-king of Angmar is one of Sauron's most powerful followers in The Lord of the Rings, leading the deadly Ringwraiths, and he may have been wiser than some realize. The Witch-king, Saruman, and Wormtongue all appear in Peter Jackson's legendary The Lord of the Rings trilogy and its source material, J.R.R. Tolkien's eponymous novel. However, the Witch-king's fascinating Wormtongue prophecy appears in neither.

While Saruman may genuinely be one of the most evil characters in Lord of the Rings, Gríma Wormtongue often comes across as just as much of a victim as a perpetrator. Likewise, the Witch-king of Angmar is a petrifying force of evil but is also an automaton, decayed by his Ring of Power into a slave to Sauron.

In 1937, English author J.R.R. Tolkien penned a children’s book called “The Hobbit,” or “There and Back Again,” which ignited what would become one of the most popular franchises of all time across books, film and television. That means there’s a whole lot to watch, so we’ve put together a handy guide for anyone wondering how to watch all the “Lord of the Rings” and “Hobbit” movies in chronological or release date order.

Tolkien followed the success of “The Hobbit,” which features a Hobbit named Bilbo Baggins and his adventures in the Third Age of the fictional, mystical world of Middle Earth, with a sequel series called “The Lord of the Rings.” Set 60 years after “The Hobbit,” “The Lord of the Rings” follows an ensemble of different characters traveling to defeat the evil One Ring. The “Hobbit” and “Lord of the Rings” books later spawned some of the...

Moana 2 Box Office (North America): Beats The Lord Of The Rings: The Two Towers (Photo Credit – Instagram/Netflix)

Moana 2 is unaffected by the release of Mufasa: The Lion King, another Disney movie. Although Mufasa seems to be heading for an underwhelming debut at the US box office, Dwayne Johnson’s movie has surpassed the domestic haul of The Lord of the Rings: The Two Towers. The film, however, had weaker legs than Wicked. Scroll below for more.

Two new movies have arrived at the theatres – Sonic the Hedgehog 3 and Mufasa: The Lion King this Friday. However, the exhibitors did not predict much impact on the Moana sequel because of them. Its biggest competition is Wicked, as it managed to take away the #1 spot from the Disney sequel several times at the US box office.

Moana 2 has now surpassed the domestic haul of The Lord of the Rings: The Two Towers,...

The Hobbit movies' box office put an end to The Lord of the Rings' $1 billion trend, reversing the franchise's performance and highlighting how much went wrong with Peter Jackson's second trilogy. The Lord of the Rings movies are overwhelmingly beloved, and they're still hailed as the standard of fantasy filmmaking today. Jackson's initial adaptations of J.R.R. Tolkien's books only became more successful as time went on, but the same can't be said about The Hobbit movies — even if they did see some level of success.

The first Hobbit film, An Unexpected Journey, debuted in 2012 — almost a full decade after The Return of the King first hit theaters. After nearly 10 years away, fans were eager to return to Middle-earth, and Tolkien's first book seemed like the obvious way to do this. But while adapting The Hobbit was a smart way to expand Warner Bros.' Lord of the Rings franchise,...

The Lord of the Rings: The Hunt for Gollum producer Philippa Boyens explains which movie from Peter Jackson's original trilogy the upcoming film will be most similar to. Following the release of anime The War of the Rohirrim, audiences will get to return to a live-action version of Middle-earth from director Andy Serkis. The Hunt for Gollum's story is expected to take place within the events of The Fellowship of the Ring, chronicling Gandalf and Aragorn's attempts to apprehend Gollum before he can speak of Frodo and the One Ring to Sauron.

During a recent interview with SlashFilm, Boyens, who also produces The War of the Rohirrim, shares new details about The Hunt for Gollum. The producer touches on the movie's general tone, revealing that it will have a lot of similarities to The Two Towers (2002) as a film that helps to bridge the larger parts of a narrative together.

Warning! Spoilers for The Lord of the Rings: The War of the Rohirrim ahead!

The Lord of the Rings: The War of the Rohirrim is essentially a Rohan prequel, which meant a perfect opportunity to redefine Éowyn's role within her kingdom. Set just under 200 years before The Lord of the Rings: The Fellowship of the Ring, War of the Rohirrim centers on the conflict between King Helm Hammerhand and the Dunlendings. However, the legendary Rohirrim leader isn't the primary protagonist of the 2024 movie. Instead, Héra, Helm's daughter, is at center stage—creating a unique chance for War of the Rohirrim to cleverly retcon Éowyn's Lord of the Rings story.

Éowyn was the most heavily featured female character in Tolkien's The Lord of the Rings. She was known to be beautiful and passionate, and after watching Rohan suffer under Saruman, Éowyn became determined to defend her home. She dressed as...

The Lord of the Rings: The War of the Rohirrim has set a surprising box office record, and it continues a trend that's worrisome for the franchise's future. War of the Rohirrim is Warner Bros.' first Lotr movie to hit theaters since The Hobbit trilogy's conclusion a decade ago. The film adapts characters and events only briefly touched on in J.R.R. Tolkien's appendices, and it does so in an animated format. Such elements make it a risky endeavor, and that shows in The War of the Rohirrim's mixed reception and underwhelming opening weekend.

The War of the Rohirrim set a new box office low for Peter Jackson's universe, with its opening weekend bringing in an estimated $5 million (via Deadline). This is the lowest opening since The Fellowship of the Ring debuted in 2001, accumulating $47.2 million. Given The War of the Rohirrim's $30 million budget, its performance doesn't look great...

Peter Jackson’s Lord of the Rings trilogy brought Middle-earth to life like never before, but even legends stumble. Some creative decisions sparked debates over what worked — and what didn’t. The animated epic Lord of the Rings: War of the Rohirrim took on the challenge of filling gaps and fixing past missteps.

Peter Jackson | Image by: Mike Walen, licenced under Cca-by-sa-3.0 via Wikimedia Commons.

By exploring the history of Helm Hammerhand and the creation of Helm’s Deep, this new chapter gave long-overlooked details the attention they deserved. It’s a triumphant move that promised to enrich the lore and satisfy fans longing for a deeper dive into Rohan’s storied past.

Turning the tide: War of the Rohirrim restores the oliphaunts’ menace The Lord of the Rings: The War of the Rohirrim | Credits – Warner Bros.

Peter Jackson’s The Lord of the Rings trilogy dazzled with epic battles,...

The IMDb top-250 is a curious portrait of populist taste. The list is, it's worth remembering, culled only from user ratings on the IMDb website, and, judging by the films on the list, the average IMDb user seems to be a college-age white male with a taste for crime, guns, fantasy, and the ultra-masculine. The top movies on the list all seem to be the types of movies that young men would own posters for, proudly displayed on their dorm room walls. There are many unassailable classics, to be sure, and young teens could easily look to the list as a rudimentary introduction to the world of cinema, but the list seems ... skewed. There's not a lot of variety. It's not curated by a single critic, nor even a panel of critics. It's just a general consensus of the taste of the types of people who like to rate movies on IMDb.

Of the movies adapting J.R.R. Tolkien's epic The Lord of the Rings and The Hobbit books, not all are considered equals. Released in 1937 to immediate popularity, J.R.R. Tolkien's The Hobbit introduced Middle-earth - the literary fantasy realm to rule them all. In 1954, Tolkien began expanding his mythology with The Fellowship of the Ring - the first part of his Lord of the Rings trilogy, finding even greater acclaim and enshrining the series as a culturally defining body of work.

The Lord of the Rings has enraptured one generation after another for almost a century, but compared to most timeless novels, relatively few attempts have been made to translate Middle-earth onto the silver screen. Filmmakers struggled to conceptualize the sheer scale of Tolkien's words onscreen, and even The Beatles - as high as they were - ultimately decided against filming a live-action Lord of the Rings. Though a...

For the first time in a decade, a new Lord of the Rings movie is playing in cinemas. The Lord of the Rings: The War of the Rohirrim is an animated prequel film set 183 years before The Hobbit, when the land of Rohan was ruled by a legendary figure named Helm Hammerhand. If you've read The Lord of the Rings by J.R.R. Tolkien or watched the films from Peter Jackson, Helm's name may ring a bell; he is the king for who, the fortress of Helm's Deep was named.

But what did Tolkien actually write about Helm Hammerhand? Is the movie a close adaptation, or does it take massive liberties?

If you want to go back to the source, you might be surprised to find out that Tolkien really didn't write about Helm Hammerhand at all in The Lord of the Rings proper. There's even debate that he may...

Denis Villeneuve’s Dune is a story that adapted Frank Herbert’s seminal novel, which looked into feuding families with intricate lineages and secret heritages. Paul Atreides, the Duke of Arrakis, draws his own lineage from the Atreides family through his father, and also from the Harkonnens, through his mother. However, one theory suggests that his family tree might be further convoluted, and even have a branch that directly leads to Chani.

Credits: Timothée Chalamet in Dune / Warner Bros.

Dune: Prophecy has been unraveling the history of the world of Dune, alluding to the various clans and prophecies that will come into play 10,000 years in the show’s future. This includes the everlasting feud between the Harkonnens and the Atreides, while also adding the Fremen into the mix, possibly hinting at a shared heritage between Chani and Paul.

Mikaela and Kieran Atreides could be Paul and Chani’s common...

The Lord of the Rings: War of the Rohirrim offers audiences a fresh perspective on The Two Towers. Though the recent animated Lord of the Rings prequel isn't as highly rated by critics as Peter Jackson's beloved trilogy, Kenji Kamiyama's movie is still a delightful return to Middle-earth painted through a gorgeous new lens. On the Lord of the Rings timeline, War of the Rohirrim is set about 260 years before The War of the Ring occurs, and it offers some insight into the noble people of Rohan.

In Amazon Prime Video's The Rings of Power, Rohan hasn't been established as one of the main kingdoms in Middle-earth. The line of Rohan's kings only began late in the Third Age, about 500 years before the War of the Ring. That's an immensely long time for a kingdom to exist, though compared to the likes of Gondor, or even more so,...

Light the beacons and gather your movie-going fellowship of friends: a new Lord of the Rings movie is out now in theaters! The Lord of the Rings: The War of the Rohirrim is an anime prequel film from director Kenji Kamiyama, set 183 years before The Hobbit when the forces of Mordor were quiet and Rohan was ruled by a fearsome king named Helm Hammerhand (Brian Cox). Hammerhand is a mythic figure in Tolkien's lore, and the man for whom the famed fortress of Helm's Deep, which features heavily in The Two Towers, is named.

But who was he really? And was his legend truly all his own? The War of the Rohirrim brings this story to life for the first time onscreen, expanding Helm as a character and building out the role of his daughter, Héra (Gaia Wise), who is mentioned but never even named in Tolkien's writing. Here, Héra...

One would be forgiven for not noticing, but a new movie in one of the most successful franchises in cinema history arrived in theaters over the weekend. The movie in question is "The Lord of the Rings: The War of the Rohirrim," an animated rendition of the works of J.R.R. Tolkien that takes place long before the events of director Peter Jackson's original trilogy. Unfortunately, audiences largely seemed uninterested in this supplemental tale, given its lousy box office haul. That said, Warner Bros. probably isn't all that bothered by it, as this was a decision made with bigger business in mind.

Directed by Kenji Kamiyama ("Blade Runner: Black Lotus"), "The War of the Rohirrim" opened to an estimated $4.6 million at the domestic box office in its debut, landing at number five on the charts. Given that "The Lord of the Rings" films have made nearly $6 billion globally, including the "Hobbit" trilogy,...

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Based on J.R.R. Tolkien's "The House of Eorl", a short story found in Appendix A of his legendary novel, The Lord of the Rings: The War of the Rohirrim follows the King of Rohan's battle against an army of Dunlendings. The animated movie is told in traditional anime style and helmed by iconic director Kenji Kamiyama (Ghost in the Shell) and borrows from several stories throughout Tolkien's legendarium as well as the Peter Jackson trilogy of movies. But while the movie centers on Rohan's King Helm Hammerhand, it also features the return of Miranda Otto's Éowyn.

She serves as the narrator to The War of the Rohirrim story, which highlights the parallels between her story in The Two Towers and the animated movie's new heroine, who is aptly named Héra (played by Gaia Wise). Éowyn is also a direct...

The Lord of the Rings: The War of the Rohirrim is seeing mixed reviews and scores, which signals a disappointing streak for the Lord of the Rings cinematic franchise. War of the Rohirrim's story and medium has the potential to herald a new era for J. R. R. Tolkiens' epic fantasy saga, testing the waters for a possible demand for more Lord of the Rings anime movies recounting standalone tales of Middle-earth. The movie depicts Héra (Gaia Wise), daughter of the King of Rohan, leading her people during a terrible war, centuries before some famous Hobbits leave the Shire.

War of the Rohirrim is turning out to be one of the lower-ranked Lord of the Rings movies, also falling generally below the acclaim of the prequel TV show The Lord of the Rings: The Rings of Power. While die-hard Tolkien fans seem to be nonetheless pleased, there is no denying...

The Lord of the Rings: The War of the Rohirrim is struggling on Rotten Tomatoes. Animated in a traditional Japanese anime style, the movie is set relatively early in The 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 major Lord of the Rings release, Rohirrim is divisive with critics. Alongside 1978's The Lord of the Rings and The Hobbit: The Battle of the Five Armies (2014), Rohirrim is one of only three Lord of the Rings movies to earn a Rotten Tomatometer score on Rotten Tomatoes with a 52% score. Among top critics, that score sinks to just 35%. Despite its low critical score, it has secured an 85% on the audience-led Popcornmeter.

This article contains spoilers for The Lord of the Rings: The War of the Rohirrim.

The Lord of the Rings: The War of the Rohirrim is full of J.R.R. Tolkien Easter eggs. The movie, released in December 2024, is based on "The House of Eorl," a short story in Appendix A of The Lord of the Rings. It does not follow its source material to the letter but does drop intriguing references to the rest of The Lord of the Rings and the wider legendarium. The movie enjoys referring to Peter Jackson's Hobbit and Lord of the Rings trilogies with smart callbacks, making its deep myth and legend known.

The Lord of the Rings: The War of the Rohirrim movie is directed by anime legend Kenji Kamiyama, who also worked on Ghost in the Shell. It was about time Tolkien's high fantasy masterpiece was united with Japan's ancient animated art form.

We live in an era of expensive entertainment. It recently came out that Disney dropped over $269 million on its live-action "Snow White" and pumped $150 million into the animated sequel "Moana 2." Big budgets aren't a luxurious habit reserved for the House of Mouse, either. "Gladiator II" had a reported budget of nearly $310 million, and if you wander outside of the full-length movie format, Prime Video famously dropped an eye-watering $465 million on the first season of "The Rings of Power." It's a huge sum (even if co-creator Jd Payne thinks it's a bargain).

In light of all of these massive monetary infusions, one would expect any new project to have a healthy funding lifeline, especially if it's a Middle-earth IP. This includes Warner Bros.' "The Two Towers" prequel "The War of the Rohirrim." However, the new movie actually has a humble budget. According to figures reported by Variety, "War of...

"The Lord of the Rings: The War of the Rohirrim" charged into theaters this weekend, and its arrival heralded a callback to Peter Jackson's Middle-earth magic. Not only is the movie a direct prequel to "The Two Towers" (it tells the backstory of the fortress of Helm's Deep that plays a central role in that film), but it's also a nostalgia-fest filled with cameos, callbacks, and little hidden details for diehard Tolkien fans to spot.

One of the less hidden details is a tribute to the late, great Bernard Hill. Hill passed earlier this year at the age of 79. While known for several memorable depictions, including Captain Edward J. Smith in "Titanic," his most recognizable role was that of the aged King Théoden, who shakes off Saruman's infectious influence, overthrows the Wizard's armies, and rides to a glorious death on the fields of the Pelennor during the War of the Ring.

The Lord of the Rings: The War of the Rohirrim includes one of J.R.R. Tolkien's most important stories about Helm's Deep, underscoring why the location is so important to the people of Rohan by the events of The Lord of the Rings trilogy. Introduced in The Lord of the Rings: The Two Towers, Rohan is one of the nations of Men that the heroes must recruit to combat the forces of Sauron. Targeted and manipulated by Saruman, the Rohirrim end up falling back to their ancient fortress of Helm's Deep to withstand the White Wizard's assault.

The ensuing battle is one of the key battles of The Lord of the Rings trilogy, with the adaptation of the conflict seen in Peter Jackson's cinematic trilogy standing out as one of the film's most impressive and enduring sequences. However, Helm's Deep has survived more than just one massive siege...

Miranda Otto returned to reprise her role as Éowyn in The Lord of the Rings: The War of the Rohirrim, though this time, her place in the story is quite unique. Éowyn was an important character in Tolkien's central Lord of the Rings story and was one of the few female characters to hold weight within the plot. This has made Éowyn's return in 2024's animated Lord of the Rings movie all the more exciting, and Otto's reprisal of her iconic character is icing on the cake. Of course, given the setting of War of the Rohirrim, this return isn't so straightforward.

The Lord of the Rings: The War of the Rohirrim is set just under 200 years before the events of Frodo Baggins' story. It centers on Rohan's King Helm Hammerhand and his conflict with the Dunlendings, which Tolkien outlined in some of his additional work and notes.

Lin-Manuel Miranda is not throwing away his shot to make the perfect “Hamilton” movie.

“I’ve always said I’m open to it, if I hear a director with a great take,” Miranda told Variety during an interview for his latest film “Mufasa: The Lion King.”

“I already have an amazing production of the one we made on Broadway [which debuted on Disney+ in 2020],” he continued. “I’m really happy that exists and that we’re able to share it with the world. But if someone’s got an idea, holla at me.”

But since “Wicked” soared to the top of the box office, Miranda concedes, “I have weirdly gotten more questions about it.”

Of course, there’s a link here — “Wicked” director Jon M. Chu also helmed “In The Heights,” the 2021 big-screen adaptation of Miranda’s first Broadway musical. The 2008 production, in which Miranda wrote the music and lyrics and starred, was...