Tolkien Still Printing Money

J.R.R. Tolkien placed third in Forbes Magazine’s 10th annual ranking of Top-Earning Dead Celebrities, trailing only Michael Jackson and Elvis Presley.

Financially it’s been a good decade for Dead Inklings. The Lord of the Rings film trilogy grossed nearly $3 billion worldwide while the first two films in The Chronicles of Narnia series grossed $1 billion, and The Voyage of the Dawn Treader is still on the way.

Are those old friends Tolkien and C.S. Lewis sitting on a cloud somewhere watching Box Office Mojo in a spirit of friendly competition, all the while scoffing “Oh no, couldn’t care less, the director murdered the book you know”?   

The Forbes list also included other figures beloved by genre fans, Charles Schulz at #4 and Dr. Suess at #7.

[Thanks to John Mansfield for the link.]

One thought on “Tolkien Still Printing Money

  1. “Are those old friends Tolkien and C.S. Lewis sitting on a cloud somewhere watching Box Office Mojo in a spirit of friendly competition, all the while scoffing “Oh no, couldn’t care less, the director murdered the book you know”?”

    You and Diana would know far better than I, but am I incorrect in recalling that JRRT’s attitude towards paperback publication was originally that it was tawdry, and he was uninterested? (Which is part of what led to the Ace situation, in my understanding, which obviously there are a number of views on).

    I also seem to recall reading some words of his indicating a considerable lack of enthusiasm for the making of a live action film of his work. Or am I garbling or exaggerating that in memory?

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