The rights to The Lord of the Rings have passed back and forth since the death of its author, JRR Tolkien, nearly 50 years ago. From the Sault Zaentz Company to the current Embracer Group, the British writer’s magnum opus has undergone numerous changes of ownership. However the valor of his work has continued to increase, and as the years have passed, the price of acquiring his rights has continued to rise.
Last year it was announced that Embracer had acquired the full rights to The Lord of the Rings to make movies, video games, board games, merchandising, theme parks and even theater productions, but we did not know the purchase price. Many speculated that the agreement with the former owner, the Saul Zaentz Company, reached an astronomical amount of dollars, but nothing could be further from the truth, since the final price it turned out to be considerably lower.
As far as he could tell Varietythe final purchase price for the worldwide rights to The Lord of the Rings was about $395 million. The portal itself has commented that it is a real bargain, considering that the current value of the saga is about 2,000 million dollars. Interestingly, the acquisition of the rights itself turned out to be cheaper than the production of the first season of The Rings of Power on Prime Video, a series that has failed to fully satisfy the franchise’s most devoted fans.
The Swedish conglomerate has not been slow to take action regarding these rights, and although it has experienced cuts due to its current economic situation, it has already closed an agreement with Amazon Games to create a proper Middle-earth MMO. It will be interesting to see how the company evolves, but considering that he owns the One Ring, it is likely that he will use it to get the most out of the work of Tolkien.
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