Hèra clasping her hand over her mouth in The Lord of the Rings The War of the Rohirrim with a Rotten Tomatoes logo behind her head 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 three Lord of the Rings films, chronicling the origins of Helm’s Deep and a conflict between the Rohirrim and the Dunlendings. The War of the Rohirrim‘s release comes 10 years after The 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 Rohirrim has now debuted on Rotten Tomatoes to 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 three Lord of the Rings movies and two Hobbit films. 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 the Lord of the Rings franchise’s Rotten Tomatoes scores below:

Lord Of The Rings Franchise Rotten Tomatoes Scores

Title
Rotten Tomatoes Critics’ Score
Rotten Tomatoes Audience Score

The Lord of the Rings: The Fellowship of the Ring (2001)
92%
95%

The Lord of the Rings: The Two Towers (2002)
95%
95%

The Lord of the Rings: The Return of the King (2003)
94%
86%

The Hobbit: An Unexpected Journey (2012)
64%
83%

The Hobbit: The Desolation of Smaug (2013)
74%
85%

The Hobbit: The Battle of the Five Armies (2014)
59%
74%

The Lord of the Rings: The War of the Rohirrim (2024)
63%
TBD

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?

Helm Hammerhand sitting on his throne and glowering in The War of the Rohirrim

Though The Lord of the Rings: The Rings of Power has 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 on The 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, and The War of the Rohirrim reviews don’t suggest the anime will be achieving this same status.

That being said, it’s still entirely possible that the anime will achieve box office success. Jackson’s The Hobbit trilogy, 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 that The War of the Rohirrim is an anime, and it’s not clear how much of an appetite there is for anime Lord of the Rings content, even if it does take place in Jackson’s version of Middle-earth.

The first ever adaption of J.R.R Tolkien’s The Lord of the Rings was 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 three Hobbit movies and The War of the Rohirrim paint a somewhat concerning picture for the future of the franchise. A live-action film called The Hunt for Gollum is 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 the Lord of the Rings trilogy 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 for The Hobbit trilogy, after all, are higher than the critics’ scores. It remains to be seen how The Lord of the Rings: The War of the Rohirrim will fare in theaters, but it’s certainly looking Jackson’s trilogy’s supremacy will remain unchallenged.