It appears that the movie, merchandising, live event, and gaming rights for Lord of the Rings, The Hobbit, and other content from J.R.R. Tolkien will be made available for auction in the near future. This comes after the Saul Zaentz Company decided to sell its holdings in J.R.R. Tolkien IP.
Zaentz Co. recently hired ACF Investment Bank to handle the sales process. According to Variety, these Tolkien properties are expected to be worth at least $2 billion. Representatives of ACF and Zaentz declined to comment on this story.
This comes around the time that Amazon gave us a look at its new LOTR show, Lord of the Rings: The Rings of Power, which is set to premiere on September 2nd. According to Variety, Amazon is near the top of the list in terms of candidates expected to pursue additional rights held by Zaentz.
Zaentz Co. is a California-based organization that serves as the home of Middle Earth Enterprises, the company that handles all licensing matters for Tolkien-related products and IP. The Saul Zaentz Company was founded by the American film producer of the same name in 1970.
The Profit‘s Take:
I feel like the gaming rights alone for Lord of the Rings should cost $2 billion. The price tag here seems way too low. This once again sparks the great Star Wars debate. There is no way Lord of the Rings is worth half a Star Wars (or half a Destiny). If the price tag is only $2 billion, there’s no reason Sony shouldn’t throw its hat in the ring to buy these rights. Disney has been an exemplary organization when it comes to milking the Marvel IP. The way the Marvel Cinematic Universe has been exploited by Disney is unprecedented. The Tolkien universe is just as big, if not bigger than Marvel’s. The only difference is nobody has exploited it yet. It may even be deeper than Star Wars. Furthermore, Amazon’s new Lord of the Rings show is going to introduce the IP to a WHOLE new audience.
(All information was provided by Variety, Wikipedia, and Zaentz Co.)
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