J.R.R. Tolkien’s legendary fantasies of Middle-Earth have become some of the most beloved and highly-regarded stories of modern fiction. Although Tolkien’s works in Middle-Earth extend much further, the most famous of these stories are those ofThe HobbitandThe Lord of the Rings. There have been numerous adaptations of both stories over the years, through live-action and animation. Although the trilogy ofLord of the Ringsmovies directed by Peter Jackson throughout the early 2000s is considered to be the best of the bunch, each of these Tolkienian adaptations brings something unique to the table.
The most recent adaptation of Tolkien’s work came in the form of the Amazon Prime Video series,The Lord of the Rings: The Rings of Power. That series is a breath of fresh air into Middle-Earth on-screen, as it explores the stories of the Second Age, rather than re-telling the adventures of Bilbo and Frodo Baggins. Elsewhere, Warner Bros. Discovery is gearing up to dive all-in onThe Lord of the Rings, as they intend to produce new spin-offs and prequels that they hope will expand the franchise intoan equivalent standing asStar Wars.
The first of these new films produced by WBD isThe Lord of the Rings: The War of the Rohirrim, a prequel anime film that will hit theaters in 2024. Before that film releases and the second season ofThe Rings of Powerdebuts, we wanted to take a look back at how each of theseLord of the Ringsfilms and shows have been received. So, here’s how everyLord of the RingsandHobbitadaptation ranks based on their Rotten Tomatoes score:
10The Lord of the Rings (1978) – 50%
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Coming in at the bottom of the list is the cult-classic animated adaptation ofThe Lord of the Ringsfrom director Ralph Bakshi. This take onThe Lord of the Ringstackled the events of the first two books in Tolkien’s trilogy,The Fellowship of the RingandThe Two Towers, which resulted in the story feeling overly rushed and constrained. Many of the film’s characters were also missing much of the development and personality that made them so memorable in the original novels.
Bakshi’sLord of the Ringsis certainly an interesting watch, though, as the use of rotoscope animation brings a visual flair to the movie that is unlike anything seen in Middle-Earth since. On Rotten Tomatoes, the film holds a 50% approval rating from critics, based on 44 reviews, meanwhile, the audience score sits at a decent 64%.
Related:The Lord of the Rings: Revisiting Ralph Bakshi’s 1978 Animated Film
9The Hobbit: The Battle of the Five Armies (2014) – 59%
After the massive success of Jackson’s live-actionLord of the Ringsmovies in the 2000s, the director was then convinced to return and adapt Tolkien’s other famous novel,The Hobbit. However, that short novel was needlessly extended into three lengthy films, the final chapter of which buckled under the weight of it all. Neither of the first twoHobbitmovies wasas well received asThe Lord of the Rings, but the third,The Battle of the Five Armies, was the only one of the three to actually receive a “rotten score.”
The movie earned a 59% approval rating from 268 critic reviews, though its audience score is a much more favorable 74%.
8The Hobbit: An Unexpected Journey (2012) – 64%
The first of Jackson’sHobbitmovies had the benefit of being the first new Middle-Earth movie to release since his outstanding adaptation ofThe Return of the King. That excitement didn’t quite translate to a great reaction, though.An Unexpected Journeyearned a lukewarm 64% critic score on Rotten Tomatoes, based on 307 reviews.
It wasn’t a divisive film by any means; this was more of a case of most critics collectively saying the movie was just okay. The audience score for this film is nearly 20% higher, though, with an 83% rating. This wasn’t the great start to theHobbitmovies that WB had hoped for, but the box office success made the studio’s investment more than worth it.
7The Return of the King (1980) – 67%
One of the least talked about adaptations of Tolkien’s material is the animated television special ofThe Return of the King, which was released in 1980. Despite only releasing a few years later, this version ofThe Return of the Kingis entirely disconnected from Bakshi’sThe Lord of the Rings. Rather, this special was produced by the animation studio Rankin/Bass, which also produced the classicRudolph the Red-Nosed ReindeerandFrosty the Snowmanholiday specials.
The Rankin/BassReturn of the Kingwas produced asa sequel to the animatedHobbitspecialthe studio had also produced a few years earlier. With only 15 reviews counted, Rankin/Bass’sThe Return of the Kinghas a 67% approval score from critics on Rotten Tomatoes. The audience score, however, is a much less kind 39%.
6The Hobbit (1977) – 71%
The Rankin/Bass animated television special based onThe Hobbitis much more well-known than their take onThe Return of the King. That doesn’t necessarily mean that it’s better, though. The special, which premiered in 1977, holds a 71% approval on Rotten Tomatoes, based on 17 reviews.
Audiences seem much more receptive to Rankin/Bass’sThe HobbitoverThe Return of the King, as the audience score is a positive 65%. While that’s still not great, it’s certainly much better than the sequel.
5The Hobbit: The Desolation of Smaug (2013) - 74%
The Hobbit: The Desolation of Smaugis the second chapter of Jackson’sHobbittrilogy, and it’s generallyconsidered to be the best of the three. The movie, which was released in December 2013, is the only adaptation ofThe Hobbitto achieve a “certified fresh” score on Rotten Tomatoes.
With 254 reviews counted,The Desolation of Smauglanded a 74% approval from critics on the site. Meanwhile, the 85% audience score is nearly identical toAn Unexpected Journey, which was only 2% lower.
4The Lord of the Rings: The Rings of Power, Season One (2022) – 83%
In what is sure to upset many of the more toxic fans ofThe Lord of the Ringsonline, the first season of the Amazon Prime Video seriesThe Rings of Poweractually has a pretty high score on Rotten Tomatoes. With 485 reviews counted, the debut season of the series sits at a solid, and “certified fresh,” 83%.
The audience score, on the other hand, is nearly 50% lower at 38%. It’s hard to tell how much of that audience reaction is genuine and how much is hate-based, though, asthe widespread review-bombingthat the series received is well-documented at this point.
Related:The Lords of the Rings: The Rings of Power - 7 Things the Prime Video Series Got Right
3The Lord of the Rings: The Fellowship of the Ring (2001) – 91%
It’s no surprise that the top three spots on this list go to the threeLord of the Ringsfilms directed by Jackson, it was only a question of how they would rank in relation to one another. The first chapter,The Fellowship of the Ring, is the lowest rated of the three. Don’t interpret that as it being poorly received though,The Fellowship of the Ringholds a 91% approval from critics, based on 234 reviews, and the audience score is an even higher 95%. Considering how beloved and widely praised the movie is, it would be shocking if its scores were any lower.
2The Lord of the Rings: The Return of the King (2003) – 93%
Coming in with the second-highest Rotten Tomatoes score of the entire franchise is the final part of Jackson’sLord of the Ringstrilogy,The Return of the King.The film has an easily anticipated 93% approval rating from critics, based on 276 reviews. However, the audience score is noticeably lower than expected. It’s still a solid 86%, but that’s nearly 10% lower than bothThe Fellowship of the RingandThe Two Towers.In all honesty, it’s a surprise that this film isn’t in the top spot.
As the conclusive finale to the trilogy, it’s easy to credit many of the great aspects of theLord of the Ringsfilms toReturn of the King. On top of that, the film isone of the most Oscar-winning films in history, as it won all 11 of the Academy Awards that it was nominated for.
1The Lord of the Rings: The Two Towers (2002) – 95%
Finally, the highest-scoring Tolkien adaptation on Rotten Tomatoes is Jackson’sThe Lord of the Rings: The Two Towers. The critics and audiences seem to be united on this movie, as both have given the movie a 95% approval score, based on 256 critic reviews and over 250,000 audience ratings. The middle chapter of the trilogy includes many of the series’ best moments and sequences, ranging from the proper introduction of Gollum to the Battle of Helm’s Deep and the march of the Ents upon Isengard.
While there is a lot of potential for future films and series based on Tolkien’s stories in Middle-Earth, it’s hard to imagine any newLord of the Ringsmovies achieving as high a score asThe Two Towers.
