Tomb Raider could get a new movie reboot after MGM loses rights

Tomb Raider rights to film are in motion again. MGM’s Tomb Raider film rights have been lost to them since 2018. The news has prompted the rest of Hollywood to enter a bidding process for their Lara Croft movie.

MGM’s Tomb Raider film, Tomb RaiderAlicia Vikander portrayed Lara Croft in the movie. It was not met with enthusiasm by critics or fans. The studio briefly flirted with plans for a sequel, but they never came to fruition — at least, not before the May deadline by which MGM had to greenlight a movie in order to retain control of the rights, according to The Wrap. One likely factor in a sequel not happening is that in March, Amazon closed its purchase of MGM, and the new owner is presumably reexamining many of the studio’s existing projects and franchises.

The history of Tomb Raider on the big screen has been somewhat turbulent. Angelina Jolie starred in the first and best-reviewed adaptation of Tomb Raider. This movie is called Lara Croft: Tomb RaiderIt grossed nearly twice the amount of each movie’s subsequent films at the U.S. Box Office, making $131million. Jolie made a sequel called Lara Croft: Tomb Raider – The Cradle of LifeIt was disappointing in 2003.

MGM’s effort actually managed to make about the same dollar amount globally as Jolie’s first adventure. But given 17 intervening years of inflation, and the lowest domestic box office performance of the three films, it seems that it wasn’t enough to get a sequel started.

Even though the returns were not great for these movies, it is likely that the appeal of the immediately recognizable IP as well the popularity of the original movie will keep many studios and streaming service companies interested in the Tomb Raider franchise.

The only exception to these rights that apply to Tomb Raider is the film version. Netflix has an animated Tomb Raider series under contract, so the television rights are part of another deal.