While Warner Bros still depends on movie distribution the traditional way, the company is open to exploring alternative distribution systems.
American multimedia entertainment company Warner Bros Discover Inc has announced the launch of “The Lord of the Rings: The Fellowship of the Ring” Non-Fungible Tokens (NFTs) as it seeks to deepen its foothold in the Web3.0 ecosystem. The Lords of the Rings NFTs have a limited edition and the extended version of the original movie franchise will be available as early as Friday, October 21.
Launched in partnership with Web3.0 platform Eluvio, the Lord of the Rings NFTs comes in two versions with different pricing. There are 999 copies of the Epic Edition version which sells for $100 and 10,000 of the Mystery Edition which can be acquired for $30 each.
As reported by Variety, buyers in the two categories will be able to gain access to an extended version of the film (which clocks in at 3 hours and 48 minutes) in 4K UHD, along with access to more than eight hours of special features; hundreds of images; and hidden AR collectibles.
To purchase one of these NFTs, users will have to create an Eluvio wallet through which they can gain access to the sales page. The NFTs can be purchased using Bitcoin (BTC), Ethereum (ETH), Solana (SOL), and USD Coin (USDC), all of which compliments the credit card options that are made available on the platform.
NFTs are tokens whose digital ownership can be verified through the blockchain. While Warner Bros is one of the first mainstream movie studios to launch these related NFTs, questions about the complete ownership of the NFT pieces have raised eyebrows as Warner Bros and Eluvio still control the IPs to these digital collectibles.
The collections are Ethereum-compatible and are hosted on Eluvio’s Content Fabric Blockchain.
“The core digital assets themselves, not just the token, are on the blockchain,” Eluvio CEO and Co-founder Michelle Munson told Decrypt of the NFTs in an interview. “They’re both owned and attested to and all of the streaming that you’ll see with the film, with the AR objects, the interactive experience, the audio commentaries, all of that is both authorized and distributed directly from the Content Fabric blockchain.”
Warner Bros Harnessing Digital Age Advantage with Its NFTs
Times are changing, and the same holds true for the entertainment industry. While Warner Bros still depends on movie distribution the traditional way, it is open to exploring alternative distribution systems one of which is made possible by blockchain technology.
According to Jessica Schell, Warner’s EVP and General Manager of Warner Bros, the debut of the Lord of the Rings NFT is more or less an experiment to gauge consumers’ appetite for content packaged and sold as digital collectibles.
“It will be easy to miss that it’s actually using Web3 or NFTs under the hood, and that is by design,” Schell said. “We think the initiative has implications as a potential new way to handle movie distribution directly to our fans.”
The trend featuring the launch of NFTs is growing amongst entertainment brands with Warner Bros’ competitors including Netflix Inc (NASDAQ: NFLX) also have launched their own collections.
Benjamin Godfrey is a blockchain enthusiast and journalists who relish writing about the real life applications of blockchain technology and innovations to drive general acceptance and worldwide integration of the emerging technology. His desires to educate people about cryptocurrencies inspires his contributions to renowned blockchain based media and sites. Benjamin Godfrey is a lover of sports and agriculture.
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