A clash of the titans is set to ensue at the box office in years to come withThe Lord of the Ringsfacing off againstStar Wars. This will entail a massive fantasy contest, with each movie vying for the higher box office profits. At worst, one movie could end up cannibalizing the other, eclipsing the pull of the other and hogging all the cinema-goers that week or month.Peter Jackson’sThe Lord of the Ringsmoviesare widely known as some of the best fantasy movies in the world, which would seem to putLord of the Ringsin good stead againstStar Wars.
However,the latest release in theLord of the Ringsmovie franchise didn’t perform quite as well.The Lord of the Rings: The War of the Rohirrim’s receptionwas a bit disappointing upon its release on July 24, 2025, the first officialLord of the Ringsmovie since 2003. Meanwhile,Star Warshas been releasing movies and TV shows throughout the 2000s. These are just a couple of many factors at play, but it is certainly the first time a conflict of this kind has occurred to this extent between the two franchises, making it hard to know how things will pan out.
LOTR & Star Wars Are Both Set To Release New Movies In December 2027
December 2027 Will See Two Huge Fantasy Releases
BothThe Lord of the RingsandStar Warsfranchises have a movie slated to come out in the last month of 2027.Lord of the Rings’new Gollum movieis the franchise’s entry for the 2027 holiday season. This incredibly exciting venture will be directed by Andy Serkis, who will also star as Gollum, reprising his historic role from the original trilogy. This story will be told from Gollum’s perspective and will probably cover Gandalf and Aragorn’s hunt for him during the first of Jackson’s groundbreaking movies. It is also likely the movie will feature some of the original Fellowship of the Ring.
Bilbo’s birthday party
3001
September
22
Gandalf started seeking news of Gollum and called on Aragorn’s help
Gandalf and Aragorn renewed their hunt for Gollum
3009 - 3017
Sauron captured and tortured Gollum
Sauron let Gollum go
3017
Gollum escaped
3018
June
20
All trace of Gollum lost, Gollum thought to have entered Moria
23
Council of Elrond, meeting of the Fellowship
25
3019
January
13
Using both the characters and the timeframe ofThe Lord of the Rings: The Fellowship of the Ring, the Gollum movie (working titleThe Lord of the Rings: The Hunt for Gollum) constitutes a realLord of the Ringsrevival. Contrastingly, theStar Warsmovie coming out is unconfirmed in its storyline or premise. WhileThe Hunt for Gollum’s original release date of 2026 was delayed,Star Warshas booked a release date for December 17 but has not confirmed which movie will premiere. Shawn Levy and Simon Kinberg are both exploring productions, and it could be one of these.
TheStar WarsandLord of the Ringsmovie franchises have released movies in the same year before, but never in the same month. This makesThe Lord of the Ringsvs.Star Warsclash of December 2027 an unprecedented occurrence, and the two movies face inevitable comparisons. The competition is made all the more noteworthy by how it could have a significant impact on the revenue of either franchise and could ultimately decide their future. But this huge month for the box office was precipitated by a similar event in 2002.
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While Amazon’sRings of PowerexploresLord of the Rings’Second Age, Warner Bros. situates all its movies in the Third Age. The latest point in this timeline is the Best Picture winnerThe Return of the King, which is preceded by the 2002 movie,The Lord of the Rings: The Two Towers. Like the Gollum movie,The Two Towerslaunched in December. However,Star Wars: Episode II - Attack of the Cloneswas released in May of that year. So, whileThe Two Towerswas higher-grossing thanStar Wars: Episode II,that doesn’t necessarily indicate how the 2027 clash will transpire.
Who Will Win: Star Wars Or Lord Of The Rings?
Star Wars & LOTR Are Two Of The Biggest Fantasy Franchises
AlthoughStar Warsis more sci-fi, whereasLord of the Ringsis pure high fantasy, the two movie franchises are some of the biggest in the fantasy space, and it is difficult to guess which would win a box office contest.Star Warshas the higher ceiling, withStar Wars: The Force Awakensreaping huge rewards for Lucasfilm Ltd. in 2015. However, the franchise has not gotten a cinematic update since 2019’s Episode IX, and some momentum has been lost. However,The Mandalorian & Groguis set for release in May 2026, and its success will certainly impact the upcoming box office clash.
The Hunt for Gollummay feature Legolas, Aragorn, Frodo, Thranduil, and Gandalf, reuniting fan-favorite actors on screen, which would draw in moviegoers.
The War of the Rohirrimmay have disappointed at the box office, butThe Hunt for Gollumis a very different beast.The War of the Rohirrimwas the franchise’s first anime movie, and Warner Bros.' first animatedLord of the Ringsmovie, after the Ralph Bakshi and Rankin and Bass movies of the ’70s and ’80s. It didn’t cater toLord of the Rings’typical audience and felt more like a spinoff, despite adapting material from the book’s appendices.The Hunt for Gollummay feature Legolas, Aragorn, Frodo, Thranduil, and Gandalf, reuniting fan-favorite actors on screen again, which will draw in moviegoers.
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It’s also a challenge to measure where enthusiasm is at for both long-running franchises.Rings of Powersaw a better sophomore season and could hype up the nextLord of the Ringsmovie if it continues this trend, whileStar Warshas been inconsistent concerning the quality of its Disney+ releases.The Lord of the Ringstrilogy saw better reviews and profits than theStar Warsprequel trilogy all around,while bothThe Hobbitand the sequel trilogy had their issues. Much could change regarding both franchises in the next two years, which could kill the momentum for either.
Either LOTR Or Star Wars Could Be Delayed Again
Both Star Wars & LOTR Have Been Subject To Delays
However, the December 2027Star WarsandLord of the Ringsclash may not yet be inevitable. Both franchises are often subject to delays, likeThe Hunt for Gollumbeing moved from 2026 to 2027. This kind of thing could happen again forThe Lord of the Ringsmovie, especially as it tackles the unique challenge of reuniting a cast that last worked together in the early 2000s.It is also simply possible that eitherLord of the Ringsor its competition will move their movie by a few weeksjust to avoid this confrontation and loss of profits for both enterprises.
This leads to a lot of industry conversations and press releases, while not all rumored pictures see the light of day.
On theStar Warsside, more movies have actually been shelved than made. The franchise is incredibly active, composed of many famous filmmakers who are also huge fans. This leads to a lot of industry conversations and press releases, while not all rumored pictures see the light of day. If the movie planned for December 2027 runs into trouble,Star Warswill have to go back to the drawing board and see if it can find another project to take its place, andThe Lord of the Rings’December 2027 movie may end up not having to share the limelight.
The Lord of the Rings
The Lord of the Rings is a multimedia franchise consisting of several movies and a TV show released by Amazon titled The Lord of the Rings: The Rings of Power. The franchise is based on J.R.R. Tolkien’s book series that began in 1954 with The Fellowship of the Ring. The Lord of the Rings saw mainstream popularity with Peter Jackson’s The Lord of the Rings and The Hobbit trilogies.
Star Wars
Star Wars is a multimedia franchise that started in 1977 by creator George Lucas. After the release of Star Wars: Episode IV- A New Hope (originally just titled Star Wars), the franchise quickly exploded, spawning multiple sequels, prequels, TV shows, video games, comics, and much more. After Disney acquired the rights to the franchise, they quickly expanded the universe on Disney+, starting with The Mandalorian.
