THE LORD OF THE RINGS Trilogy Re-Release Surprises Box Office

Published: June 12, 2024

THE LORD OF THE RINGS Trilogy Re-Release Surprises Box Office

By Movieguide® Contributor

The enduring love for THE LORD OF THE RINGS franchise was on display last weekend as one-day showings of each movie exceeded box office expectations.

The first movie, THE FELLOWSHIP OF THE RING, grossed an estimated $2.4 million on Saturday, followed by an estimated $1.9 million on Sunday for THE TWO TOWERS and an estimated $1.8 million for THE RETURN OF THE KING on Monday.

The showings, organized by Fathom Events to celebrate the trilogy’s twentieth anniversary, were such a success that Warner Bros. has decided to repeat the event, with another weekend of showings on June 15, 16 and 17. The addition of these dates is likely to bump the trilogy just over a $3 billion total gross.

While that accolade would be nice for the studio, the re-releases really are for the fans. The version of the movie shown is the extended cut, which provides additional background info and lore, tacking on roughly an hour to each movie – each of which already ran close to three hours. This weekend was the first time these marathon movies were shown in theaters nationwide.

The re-release of these movies will certainly help generate hype for the new LORD OF THE RINGS movie coming out this December, THE WAR OF ROHIRRIM – an animated movie about Helm Hammerhand, the King of Rohan.

Fans also recently received delightful news that a new live-action movie is in early production. The movie is set to dive into Gollum/Sméagol’s backstory and his tragic fall into madness from the whisperings of his precious ring.

The project will see Peter Jackson handing over the reins of the franchise to Andy Serkis, who is also slated to reprise his role as Gollum while heading production. Jackson, however, will remain on the project as a producer.

Movieguide® previously reported:

Peter Jackson explained why he felt Gollum was the most intriguing character to bring THE LORD OF THE RINGS franchise back to theaters over a decade after the last movie.

“The Gollum/Sméagol character has always fascinated me because Gollum reflects the worst of human nature, whilst his Sméagol side is, arguably, quite sympathetic,” Jackson told Deadline. “I think he connects with readers and film audiences alike, because there’s a little bit of both of them in all of us.”

“We really want to explore his backstory and delve into those parts of his journey we didn’t have time to cover in the earlier films,” he continued. “It’s too soon to know who will cross his path, but suffice to say we will take out lead from Professor Tolkien.”

Despite playing a supporting role in the original trilogy, a portion of Gollum’s story has already been covered, such as his first encounter with the ring and the corruption of his soul from the ring’s maddening power. The new movie looks to fill in the gaps, focusing on the dark period when Gollum was alone with his precious.