Poster © Warner Bros. Pictures. Shown at reduced size for review and commentary.
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GenreAction, Adventure & Animation
RatedPG-13
Runtime2 hr 14 mins
ReleasedDecember 3, 2024
StreamingSee Where to Watch
DirectorKenji Kamiyama
StarringBrian Cox, Gaia Wise, Luke Pasqualino
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The Lord of the Rings: The War of the Rohirrim (2024)
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| The Lord of the Rings: The War of the Rohirrim's Details | |
| Genre | Action, Adventure & Animation |
| Rated | PG-13 |
| Released | 12/03/2024 |
| Streaming | See Where to Watch on this page. |
| Running Time | 2 hr 14 mins |
| Budget | $30M (reported) |
| Box Office | Updated daily from Box Office Mojo. See the numbers below. |
| Based On | Characters created by J. R. R. Tolkien |
| Country | New Zealand, Japan, United States |
| Language | English |
| The Lord of the Rings: The War of the Rohirrim's Interests | |
| General | Horse lords, golden halls, shield maidens, arranged marriages nobody asked for, hand-drawn armies. |
| Music | Stephen Gallagher |
| Movies | The Two Towers (2002). Same kingdom, about two centuries later. |
| Television | The Lord of the Rings: The Rings of Power. Even further back in Middle-earth history. |
| Heroes | Héra. Said no to every suitor and meant it. |
| The Lord of the Rings: The War of the Rohirrim's Crew | |
| Director | Kenji Kamiyama |
| Writers | Jeffrey Addiss, Will Matthews, Phoebe Gittins, Arty Papageorgiou, Jeffrey Addiss (story), Will Matthews (story), Philippa Boyens (story) |
| Producers | Philippa Boyens, Jason DeMarco, Joseph Chou |
| Music | Stephen Gallagher |
| Edited By | Tsuyoshi Sadamatsu |
| Production | New Line Cinema, Warner Bros. Animation, Sola Entertainment, WingNut Films, Domain Entertainment |
| Distributed By | Warner Bros. Pictures |
The War of the Rohirrim pulls its heroine out of the appendices of Tolkien’s novel, then surrounds her with characters flat enough to fit back in there. Kenji Kamiyama directs this anime prequel, Miranda Otto’s Éowyn narrates, and the story jumps back about two centuries before Bilbo’s ring, to the Rohan of King Helm. Héra, Helm’s daughter, has zero interest in marrying anyone, which gets awkward fast when Freca, a Dunlending lord, shows up pushing a match with his son Wulf, her childhood friend. One brawl later, Helm has a nickname and Wulf has a grudge. Brian Cox gives Helm a thundering voice that critics singled out, and the fights hit hard. But Wulf is a one-note revenge machine, and the 2D characters and 3D backgrounds don’t always blend. Critics split at 48% on Rotten Tomatoes, and it made $20.8 million worldwide on a reported $30 million. A 5.6 because the battles roar and the people around them stay paper-thin. $493 says you blow across an empty bottle during the siege and call it Helm’s horn.
What works: Brian Cox’s booming voice work as Helm is a highlight, and the big fight sequences carry real weight and scale.
What doesn’t: The characters are stock types, Wulf is a one-note villain, and the uneven animation keeps pulling you out of Middle-earth.
Who it’s for: Lord of the Rings fans who read the appendices for fun and anime fans curious to see Rohan done anime-style.
Spoilers
Helm dies holding off Wulf’s army so Héra can get back inside the Hornburg. Héra beats Wulf in single combat, Fréaláf scares off the Dunlendings with Helm’s horn and armor, and the valley becomes Helm’s Deep, while Héra rides off with her aunt and soon crosses paths with Gandalf.
About two hundred years before Bilbo finds a certain ring, Rohan is ruled by King Helm (Brian Cox), and Éowyn (Miranda Otto) is here to tell you about his daughter. Héra (Gaia Wise) is fierce, stubborn and absolutely not taking marriage orders from anyone. When the Dunlending lord Freca (Shaun Dooley) rides in with his son Wulf (Luke Pasqualino), Héra's childhood friend, and pushes for Wulf to marry her so his family can grab the throne, it goes badly. Words turn into fists, Helm earns his famous nickname, and Wulf storms off swearing revenge. Kenji Kamiyama directs. One hundred thirty-four minutes of Rohan doing what Rohan does.
Anyone who still gets chills when the horns of Rohan sound. Horses welcome.
| Brian Cox | Helm Hammerhand |
| Gaia Wise | Héra |
| Luke Pasqualino | Wulf |
| Laurence Ubong Williams | Fréaláf Hildeson |
| Lorraine Ashbourne | Olwyn |
| Miranda Otto | Éowyn |
- (cur | prev) 14:30, 20 October 2026 DataBot +520 Numbers refreshed: Worldwide box office $20.8M; Domestic box office $9.2M; Opening weekend $4.6M; Profit / loss (est.) -$34.6M; Rotten Tomatoes 48%; CinemaScore B; box office chart updated; Rotten Tomatoes critics 48% (146 reviews); Metacritic 54 / 100; Rotten Tomatoes audience 81% (1,000+ verified ratings); CinemaScore B; IMDb users 6.3 / 10 (42,290 votes); movie.guru score 4.7.
- (cur | prev) 12:00, 20 October 2026 DataBot +2,000 Profile created from Wikipedia and Box Office Mojo: cast, crew, release dates, budget, official trailer.