In a first for a major movie studio, Warner Brothers Discovery is releasing NFTs. And not just any NFTs: Lord of the Rings non-fungible tokens. Called “The Lord of the Rings: The Fellowship of the Ring (Extended Version) Web3 Movie Experience,” the NFT drop will see two types of digital assets available for purchase: an Epic edition for $99 and a Mystery edition for $30.
Each of the editions comes with a 4K viewing option, eight hours of special features, a trove of still images, and AR collectibles. In addition, the Epic edition includes navigation menus for three Fellowship of the Ring locations: The Shire, Rivendell, and Mines of Moria. The Mystery edition contains one navigation menu assigned at random.
For the NFT drop, Warner Brothers partnered with Eluvio, which describes itself as “the blockchain home for crypto content.” To mint, users will need to either create an Eluvio custodial wallet or use a Web3 wallet. Buyers can pay for the NFT with debit cards, credit cards, or cryptocurrency.
Although the offerings in the NFT LOTR movie experience are like Blu-Ray or collector’s edition DVDs, that could change in the future. Notably, the assets (not just the tokens themselves) are on the blockchain. Therefore, Warner Brothers and Eluvio can modify the smart contracts associated with the NFTs to provide a more gamified experience down the road.
There will be 10,000 Mystery editions and just 999 Epic editions for sale. That number may seem small for an NFT launch of this magnitude, but Warner Brothers is trying to balance making it available to fans but also having some scarcity and exclusivity. The sale will start on the Warner Brothers’ Web3 website at 12 PM EST on Friday October 21st.
Movie & Television Studios Bet Big on Web3
Web3 has many use cases, and many companies are taking advantage of the new technology to connect with audiences in a new way. This is true of the entertainment industry as well. Here are three stories involving the entertainment industry and Web3.
First, there is DreamWorks. The animation and movie studio recently launched an NFT collection based on its Trolls franchise. The 8,888 Trolls came with utility, including the possibility of winning metaverse land parcels.
Second, there is Orange Comet. The Web3 company followed up on its initial drop of The Walking Dead NFTs to launch a “Degenerative Walkers” NFT collection. Holders of the 1:1 Zombies were set to receive additional airdrops and other perks.
Third, there is Lionsgate. Four months ago, the film and entertainment company partnered with The Sandbox to bring “Hellboy” to the metaverse. It marked the first time a Lionsgate film would appear in The Sandbox’s “Action City.”
Warner Brothers launch of LOTR NFTs could inspire other film studios to repackage their special edition DVDs as NFTs as well. Here at Rarity Sniper, we’ll be paying close attention for further developments in the story.