Many directors, companies, and other famous individuals processed the idea of making an adaptation of The Rings before New Line Cinema officially did. “There were plans for the Beatles to do a versions of The Rings but they came to nothing. It was even said that Kubrick had looked into the possibility of filming the trilogy, but he abandoned the idea as it was too ‘immense’ to be made into a movie” (). There were many individuals in previous years that fondled the idea of producing this trilogy into an adaptation. Common consensus among them all was it would be too expensive to finance the entire project. Even though many thought about this idea, the process was never initiated because the purchases of the rights were never discussed. Hollywood producer Saul Zaentz has held the rights to the Tolkien books since 1976 when he purchased them from a undisclosed source. (NewsFromRussia). Miramax Films was the first to purchase these rights from Zaentz, with Peter Jackson as the director. Finances immediately became a problem for the small film company, and New Line Cinema’s leaped in with their financially deep pockets and removed the rights from Miramax’s weak hold (). New Line Cinema had the financial backing of Time Warner to purchase the rights of the film from Miramax, and gave Jackson a blank check for production expenditure cost. In doing this, it meant that Time Warner automatically acknowledge the possibility of this film being a financial box office bomb. The profits that had already been generated from Warner Books publications of the novels were enough incentive for Time Warner to produce this into an adaptation.
The obvious reason for film and literary industries to link their corporate hands together to produce a blockbuster adaptation is revenue. If a film is successful in the box office, there is no doubt that it will also be highly successful in the department of DVD sales, merchandise, etc. The question concerning The Rings was whether or not the first movie would be a box office hit. If it were, Time Warner and New Line Cinema would be able to assume that the two other films would also generate approximately the same figures in the box office. With the filming of The Rings by Jackson, he achieved a concept that has never been done before in any aspect of filming a movie. New Line and Jackson decided to film all three movies at once, which took sixteen months to complete the film and used 2400 members throughout the filming (). This process that Jackson created has now been dubbed as “simulesequeling,” and in terms of schedule, crew size, and overall budget, The Rings is the biggest film undertaking of all time (Gilsdorf, 30). In doing this, New Line and Time Warner were able to release one movie each year for the next three years to keep the hungry fans happy and content with a yearly injection of another Rings movie. In total, the entire cost for producing The Rings was $310 million, with New Line and Time Warner footing the bill (Gilsdorf, 31). Since all three movies were completed together in their entirety, the first film of The Rings had to grab the audience immediately, so that they felt compelled to finish the epic ride. When the Fellowship of the Rings hit the box office, it was a success grossing $66.1 million in the first day and achieved $314,776,170 million in total box office revenue (). Jackson and New Line Cinema were ecstatic with the figures this movie achieved, and the first film immediately put New Line and Time Warner heads above their competition. With the success of the movie, Warner Books decided to release a new rendition of the trilogy, with a nice glossy cover consisting of pictures of the movie characters on the cover. The Rings trilogy has arguably become the most profitable fictional work of all time, and hungry commercial forces were ready to produce the tie-in products for the movie. Items such as children’s novels, hobbit cake decoration, balrog votive candleholders, and even Aragorn shot classes were made (Gilsdorf, 33). Anything that could have been thought to create a profit by merchandising was made, and shaped Tolkien’s name into more of a brand name than an author.
With the success of the first film, the Two Towers released before Christmas of 2002, and grossed $62 million in its opening day and total box office revenue achieved $341,748,130 million (Variety.com). Time Warner, New Line Cinema and Warner Books investment in The Rings was paying off in both the literary and film industries, and with one more film still to come up, it was only a matter of how much money this trilogy would actually gross. Following the trend, the third installment entitled, “The Return of the King,” capped off the trilogy, and grossed the largest amount of the three films in both the opening day and total box office revenue. It has been speculated by various media sources, that the final movie had a special place in the hearts of the American audience. It was your classic tale of good vs. evil, and with the war ensuing over in Iraq; this movie became a ‘must-see’ for the American nation. $72.6 million was the opening day total of the third film, and it grossed $377,027, 325 million in total box office revenue (). This trilogy generated over $2.9 billion worldwide in box office revenue, sold an estimated 100 million copies of the novels, and also at least 100 million copies in DVD and VHS sales (32). The film and literary industries of Time Warner and various other industries involved made a fortune off the blockbuster epic of The Lord of The Rings. Warner and New Line’s original investment of $300 million in the project increased by ten folds, and showed other industries that it pays extremely well when the film and literary industries combine their ambitions to create a epic blockbuster like The Rings.
With the success of the trilogy movies in theaters, the blockbuster success had a counter effect in other industries also. Tolkien’s name became one that was known in ever household across the world. His novels have been classified as “the greatest of the century” and it has been speculated that The Rings is “the second-most read book in the United States, after the bible” (30). Tolkien’s novels were a success among fantasy readers before the adaptations came up, but with the hype created from these movies, it has created Tolkien into the greatest author ever. Everything and anything dealing with The Rings has “transcended the old notion of a ‘blockbuster’ and has become a cosmos of images, sales, and airplay unto itself ( Grey Havens). Even though it might seem that commercialization has degraded Tolkien’s literary creation, another author should not surpass the stardom that his name has achieved from the adaptation anytime soon. New Line Cinema, Warner Books, and the company as a whole that is Time Warner also benefited not only in the financial department. The companies mentioned were classified as world-renowned industries already, but the success generated by the film and novel sales has helped put the corporation above and beyond their competition. Being able to produce an epic blockbuster like The Rings has shown other industries looking to invest in Time Warner their true devotedness and enthusiasm in their other industries. The Lord of The Rings not only created significant revenue figures, but it established an even bigger name for the film and literary industries that were involved in the production. For a novel that went nearly five decades of being untapped by media conglomerates (Gilsdorf, 31), it has definitely put itself, the industries and people involved in it, into an entire new business stratosphere.
Even though it seems that the production of an adaptation like The Rings will inherit whomever that makes it the largest success and fortunes imaginable, it is not always the case. “Making a film is an uncertain enterprise, not just because of the fickleness of moviegoers, but because of the immense complexity of the process” (Stark 251). So many aspects such as financing, marketing, and manufacturing require the collaboration of the industries involved in the project. It worked extremely well for Time Warner, because all of the industries involved in this project were an embodiment of Warner. This made it easier for the conglomerate to attain these goals. It was crucial for the success of this film that New Line Cinema appeases the millions of viewers. “The best film adaptations provide a critical gloss of the novel and a freshly imagined cinematic experiences that enrich the appreciation if anyone sincerely devoted to film and literature” (Sinyard 115). This is what the production of The Rings was able to accomplish with their blockbuster, and how many others had failed. Failure to combine these aspects of the film and literary industry and creating that so-called ‘happy medium’ between the two is the key feature in having a successful adaptation. “Vogel claims that most movies do not earn a positive return on investments even after taking into account home video income” (Stark 253). It is staggering how many industries fail in trying to adapt a novel to the big screen, but this usually goes unnoticed because the winners outweigh the losers. Industries looking to create an adaptation should look to Time Warner, take a page out of their notebook, and hope to have even half the success that they encountered with The Lord of the Rings blockbuster epic.
When industries from the film and literary field conjoin together in anticipations of achieving a blockbuster, it is crucial for them to examine the outcome from different angles. Finances, viewer’s perceptions, history of the novels, companies, and previous adaptations, are all areas that must be considered. It is difficult when multiple, separate conglomerates are discussing opinions on a specified project because they are all looking out for their own interests by trying to increase themselves financially first. That is why the Lord of The Rings worked for Time Warner and their affiliated companies. These companies were already part of the giant conglomeration of Time Warner. With not having to cover their own assets first, Warner was able to compose a spectacular adaptation that appeased the millions and millions of fans, while still benefiting immensely in revenue. Any corporations that are financially stable in both the film and literary industry may try to create an adaptation. Whether or not they are successful in this venture is determined by the corporation’s ability to mutually agree upon what their expected advantages are to ascertain. If done correctly, every entity on the spectrum concerning the film, whether it be the viewers, the producers, or whoever will be satisfied completely. This fifty-year journey that began in 1954 when Tolkien’s trilogy was released, will be remembered by every one of the film and literary industries as the starting foundation that spawned the greatest blockbuster epic that has ever been created.