As a child who grew up with The Lord of the Rings trilogy being a significant part of my formative years, I can attest to the immense impact that The Lord of the Rings: The Return of the King had on me and countless others. December 17, 2003, was a day etched in my memory, as it marked the culmination of an epic journey that began two years prior with The Fellowship of the Ring.
On December 17, 2003, the Lord of the Rings trilogy concluded its journey. Two years prior, the live-action adaptation of J.R.R. Tolkien’s The Fellowship of the Ring marked the beginning of the Lord of the Rings film series. The final installment, The Lord of the Rings: The Return of the King, premiered both domestically and internationally. This was a momentous cinematic event as all three of Tolkien’s Lord of the Rings books were now brought to life on the big screen, a feat that, given the simultaneous filming, could have easily turned into a disaster. However, director Peter Jackson and his team successfully accomplished an extraordinary task, transforming a fantasy dream into reality for fans everywhere.
Now that “The Lord of the Rings: The War of the Rohirrim” has premiered in cinemas, it’s an ideal moment to reflect on the immense box office success that “Return of the King” enjoyed when it initially released in North American theaters. The numerous box office records that “Return of the King” broke demonstrate undeniably that audiences from all backgrounds were captivated by the “final” Middle-earth journey.
Return of the King broke box office records right away
Similar to many films released prior to 2010 in December, “The Return of the King” debuted on a Wednesday, which limited its potential to surpass the domestic opening weekend record of $114 million set by “Spider-Man” in 2002. This is because “Spider-Man” didn’t prematurely exhaust demand with Wednesday and Thursday showings. On its first day of release within North America, “The Return of the King” earned an impressive $34 million, marking the highest single-day gross ever in December at that time, and setting a new record for the largest Wednesday box office. Only “Spider-Man” and another tentpole from 2003, “The Matrix Reloaded,” had larger opening day earnings. Within just 24 hours of screenings in North America, “The Return of the King” had already broken several records.
Following the initial five days of “The Return of the King’s” global box office performance, it amassed an astounding $250.1 million worldwide. At that point, Box Office Mojo indicated it had broken opening weekend records in numerous international locations such as the United Kingdom and Germany. The film’s five-day North American earnings amounted to $124.1 million, with $72.6 million generated during its three-day weekend premiere. This surpassed the highest December opening weekend domestically held by “The Two Towers”. Given that each Lord of the Rings movie had set a new record for December domestic openings, it was no surprise that “Return of the King” continued this trend.
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By January 2004, “The Return of the King” surpassed the $339.7 million domestic earnings of “Finding Nemo,” making it the highest-grossing film domestically in 2003. It took another month for “The Return of the King” to break the $1 billion barrier globally, a milestone now commonly achieved by films during their box office runs. At the start of 2004, only “Titanic” had previously surpassed the billion-dollar mark at the global box office. With its earnings exceeding $1 billion, “The Return of the King” became the first film other than a James Cameron production to reach this elite milestone.
The Overall Box Office Importance of Return of the King
In simpler terms, “The Return of the King” broke numerous records upon release, such as earning the most on Christmas Day and becoming New Line Cinema’s largest title to date. It also demonstrated that the success of “Titanic” was not a one-time event, as other films would later surpass the $1 billion mark worldwide. What made this achievement remarkable in early 2004 is now routine in modern cinema. Essentially, “The Return of the King’s” global popularity and enormous box office earnings laid the foundation for what we see in today’s movie industry by 2024.
As a movie critic, I can’t help but reflect on the colossal impact “The Return of the King” has left on the landscape of Middle-earth cinematics. Compared to the three Hobbit films of the 2010s, only “The Hobbit: An Unexpected Journey” managed to surpass the billion-dollar mark globally, and even then, it fell short of “RotK’s” staggering $1.141 billion global earnings. Upcoming tentpole productions like “The Lord of the Rings: The Hunt for Gollum” will certainly grapple with this challenge, as the allure of the mountain’s peak is hard to surpass after reaching such heights. A haul of $750-850 million worldwide may be impressive, but when compared to “Return of the King,” it pales in comparison… and that’s before accounting for inflation!
In the passage of time, the opening weekend and daily box office records set by “The Lord of the Rings: The Return of the King” have been broken numerous times. Interestingly, at least two upcoming December 2024 blockbusters are expected to earn more than twice its total domestic gross. Nevertheless, these early box office achievements remain significant – they underscore the immense impact that the “Lord of the Rings” films had in the early 2000s. A series that struck such a deep chord with audiences was able to rewrite the rules of the box office so dramatically.
The Lord of the Rings: The War of the Rohirrim is now in theaters.
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2024-12-25 05:09