The Lord of the Rings: The War of the Rohirrim Already Coming to Digital After Falling Flat in Theaters

The Lord of the Rings: The War of the Rohirrim will be available to watch at home starting on Friday, December 27th. The movie debuted in theaters on December 13th, and it has not been particularly successful at the box office. Hopefully it will find its audience once it’s available to stream.

The War of the Rohirrim is coming to digital PVOD stores, not any subscription-based streamers. According to Prime Video, it will start at $24.99 to purchase. It’s safe to assume that other platforms such as Apple TV and Vudu will match that price, and if the movie is available to rent as well it will probably cost $19.99. For those that prefer physical media, a Blu-ray release is already available for pre-order. However, the disc will not be available until December 31st, so streamers can watch the movie a few days earlier.

The War of the Rohirrim has gotten mixed reviews overall, but it is definitely worth a look for fans of The Lord of the Rings, fans of anime, and fans of fantasy in general. It is set in the same Middle-earth as Peter Jackson’s films, but the story is self-contained and stands on its own. It even ties in with a cameo and a framing device — it is narrated by Miranda Otto as Éowyn, who is telling the story to her child after the events of Return of the King.

[RELATED: 10 The Lord of the Rings Spinoffs We Need After The War of the Rohirrim]

The story is set 183 years before the beginning of Fellowship of the Ring, in the human kingdom of Rohan. It centers around Héra (Gaia Wise), the only daughter of Rohan’s king, Helm Hammerhand (Brian Cox). She proves to be a capable leader and a worthy bearer of the legacy of Rohan’s shieldmaidens.

The movie is about a family feud turned civil war in Rohan, led by Héra’s childhood friend Wulf. The traditional hand-drawn animation style gives the movie room to explore Tolkien’s fantasy world differently from any other adaptation, yet it remains grounded enough to believably share the setting of the live-action films.

The future of animated Lord of the Rings films is likely based on the success of The War of the Rohirrim, so many fans are hoping to see this movie find a second wind. Meanwhile, two new live-action films in the franchise are in development now, with The Hunt for Gollum slated to premiere in 2026. Fans that want to keep up with Middle-earth can check out The War of the Rohirrim on PVOD stores starting on Friday, December 27th.