New “Lord of The Rings” motion pictures to be made, Warner Bros. Discovery says

Warner Bros Discovery will revisit Middle-earth after penning a cope with New Line Cinema to supply “a number of” movie diversifications of “The Lord of the Rings” and “The Hobbit,” Warner Bros. Discovery’s CEO David Zaslav mentioned Thursday in an earnings name.

This newest Middle-earth cinematic universe enlargement kinds half of a bigger technique to lean right into a catalog of tried-and-true film franchises that executives hope will enhance the corporate’s streaming numbers.

“For all of the scope and element lovingly packed into the 2 trilogies, the huge, complicated and dazzling universe dreamed up by J.R.R. Tolkien stays largely unexplored on movie,” Warner Bros. Pictures Group Co-Chairs and CEOs Michael De Luca and Pam Abdy mentioned in an announcement following the announcement. 

Mining Middle-earth

The authentic three “Lord of the Rings” movies, together with three sequels primarily based on J.R.R. Tolkien’s “The Hobbit,” loved large vital and business success, scooping up 17 Academy Awards and incomes practically $6 billion on the field workplace worldwide, in accordance with Warner Bros. Discovery. Executives hope the newly introduced motion pictures can replicate the business success of the franchise’s authentic movies and attract new subscribers to its streaming platforms.

In the fourth-quarter, Warner Bros. Discovery streaming providers like HBO, HBO Max and Discovery+ added 1.1 million subscribers, bringing the corporate’s whole worldwide subscribers to 96.1 million. But these numbers weren’t sufficient to offset the corporate’s massive money infusions into numerous high-cost manufacturing initiatives. 

Zaslav has spent his tenure at Warner Bros. Discovery rejuvenating the corporate’s film operations to unlock new audiences throughout the corporate’s numerous streaming channels. Last month, Warner Bros. Discovery moved to broaden its DC Comics catalog, green-lighting manufacturing of 5 tv collection and 5 movies primarily based on the superhero comics in a bid to rival Walt Disney Co.’s Marvel-based content material. 

“We are very lucky to have an enormous share of probably the most beloved and globally acknowledged storytelling IP on the planet, together with ‘Harry Potter,’ ‘Game of Thrones,’ ‘Superman,’ ‘Batman,’ ‘Lord of the Rings,’ and we intend to take full benefit of those one-of-a-kind franchises throughout our numerous platforms,” Zaslav mentioned throughout the earnings name.  

Details about what number of Tolkien movies Warner Brothers Studio will produce and who will direct them have but to be introduced.

Warner Bros. Discovery posted a quarterly lack of $2.1 billion, or 86 cents a share, far larger than Wall Street estimates of a 35-cents-a-share loss. The firm’s revenue for the interval was $38 million.