The Lord of the Rings: The Return of the King
The eye of the enemy is moving.
As armies mass for a final battle that will decide the fate of the world--and powerful, ancient forces of Light and Dark compete to determine the outcome--one member of the Fellowship of the Ring is revealed as the noble heir to the throne of the Kings of Men.
- Director
- Peter Jackson
- Signature
- Craft · Wonder · Action
- Worldwide
- $1.12B
Who's in it
Cast
The billed ensemble, with character names. Open any performer for their Nutevio filmography.
The Nutevio profile
Movie DNA
How The Lord of the Rings: The Return of the King actually feels to watch, measured on the twelve traits our editors track across every Nutevio title.
Story overview
What It's About
Spoiler-free. Read the analysis below for the full argument.
As armies mass for a final battle that will decide the fate of the world--and powerful, ancient forces of Light and Dark compete to determine the outcome--one member of the Fellowship of the Ring is revealed as the noble heir to the throne of the Kings of Men. Yet, the sole hope for triumph over evil lies with a brave hobbit, Frodo, who, accompanied by his loyal friend Sam and the hideous, wretched Gollum, ventures deep into the very dark heart of Mordor on his seemingly impossible quest to destroy the Ring of Power.
Where to watch
Streaming
Availability verified against regional listings.
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Why We Recommend It
Why It's Ranked
The Lord of the Rings: The Return of the King appears in 5 Nutevio collections. Here is the argument behind each placement.
- Fantasy Movies Ranked #5
Placed at #5 by the Nutevio ranking model. An editor's written case is on the way.
- Best Action Movies Ranked #5
Placed at #5 by the Nutevio ranking model. An editor's written case is on the way.
- Action Movies Ranked #6
Placed at #6 by the Nutevio ranking model. An editor's written case is on the way.
- Adventure Movies Ranked #11
Placed at #11 by the Nutevio ranking model. An editor's written case is on the way.
- Top 250 Movies of All Time Ranked #12
Placed at #12 by the Nutevio ranking model. An editor's written case is on the way.
The record
Awards
15 wins · 1 nomination
Academy Awards
11 wins
- WinnerBest Picture
- WinnerBest Director
- WinnerBest Adapted Screenplay
- WinnerBest Film Editing
- WinnerBest Art Direction
- WinnerBest Costume Design
- WinnerBest Makeup
- WinnerBest Original Score
- WinnerBest Original Song
- WinnerBest Sound Mixing
- WinnerBest Visual Effects
BAFTA Awards
No wins yet · 1 nomination
- WinnerBAFTA's Children & Young People Award - Feature Film
Amanda Award for Best Foreign Feature Film
1 win
- WinnerAmanda Award for Best Foreign Feature Film
Dallas-Fort Worth Film Critics Association Award for Best Film
1 win
- WinnerDallas-Fort Worth Film Critics Association Award for Best Film
Hugo Award for Best Dramatic Presentation, Long Form
1 win
- WinnerHugo Award for Best Dramatic Presentation, Long Form
International Cinephile Society Award for Best Film
1 win
- WinnerInternational Cinephile Society Award for Best Film
The numbers
Box Office & Release
The Lord of the Rings: The Return of the King returned 11.9× its budget worldwide.
- Budget
- $94M
- Opening weekend
- —
- Domestic gross
- —
- International gross
- —
- Worldwide gross
- $1.12B
- Release date
- Dec 17, 2003
- Runtime
- 3h 21m
- MPAA rating
- —
- Language
- English
- Country
- New Zealand, United States of America
Figures from the verified production record. Fields we cannot source are left blank rather than estimated.
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