Lord of the Rings continues to make more money than you'd think
It's not the Prime Video show that's driving its success, either
Good news, Tolkien fans: Lord of the Rings is still bringing in the big bucks — and it’s got nothing to do with the much-hyped Prime Video series, surprisingly.
According to Embracer Group, which bought the Lord of the Rings property last summer in a deal worth roughly $395 million, the property is performing “well ahead of the business plan,” thanks primarily to its gaming licenses.
The success of LoTR — specifically the survival crafting game The Lord of the Rings: Return to Moria and the trading card game The Lord of the Rings: Tales of Middle-Earth, both of which were specifically called out by Embracer — was a significant factor in the growth of Embracer’s Entertainment & Services division, which grew 70% in the past quarter, according to the company. That’s good news, given that Embracer just announced a restructuring and lay-offs in June because of concerns over the company’s financial wellbeing.
During the earnings call, the company said that “good progress” is being made when it comes to that restructuring, which is expected to take nine months to roll out completely. “We now have increased confidence regarding earnings this year and we are on track to deliver on the restructuring program announced in June, with a series of initial actions now taken,” CEO Lars Wingefors explained, saying that he is “confident we will emerge a stronger company.”
One of the reasons for that confidence? The Swedish company said that it’s planning “many other exciting new products that will grow the [Lord of the Rings] IP further.” Smaug would be proud. Might we suggest a Lord of the Rings comics? After all, Embracer also owns Dark Horse Comics…
Whether you're Shirefolk, Elven, Dwarven, or something else, there's a good reason to love Lord of the Rings. We do! With that in mind, we have a dragon's horde of goodies for you from a Lord of the Rings reading guide, a Lord of the Rings watch guide, details on the upcoming animated film Lord of the Rings: The War of Rohirrim, a full the Lord of the Rings reunion panel you can watch, how the OG Hobbit actors stay in touch every day on a groupchat, and the true message of the Lord of the Rings film trilogy, according to Gimli himself - John Rhys-Davies.
