Academy Award for Best Picture

2003

The Lord of the Rings: The Return of the King

Release dates

December 1,  2003 

(Wellington premiere)

December 17, 2003 

(United Kingdom)

December 17, 2003 

(United States)

December 18, 2003

(New Zealand)

Starring 

See Cast

The Lord of the Rings: The Return of the King is a 2003 epic fantasy film directed by Peter Jackson based on the second and third volumes of J. R. R. Tolkien's The Lord of the Rings. It is the third and final installment in The Lord of the Rings film trilogy, following The Fellowship of the Ring (2001) and The Two Towers (2002).

As Sauron launches the final stages of his conquest of Middle-earth, Gandalf the Wizard and Théoden King of Rohan rally their forces to help defend Gondor's capital Minas Tirith from the looming threat. Aragorn finally claims the throne of Gondor and, with the aid of Legolas the Elf and Gimli the Dwarf summons the Army of the Dead to help him defeat Sauron. Still, it comes down to the Hobbits, Frodo and Sam, to bear the burden of the One Ring and deal with the treachery of Gollum. After a long journey they finally arrive in the dangerous lands of Mordor, seeking to destroy the Ring in the place it was created, the volcanic fires of Mount Doom.

Released on 17 December 2003, The Lord of the Rings: The Return of the King received universal acclaim and became one of the greatest critical and box-office successes of all time, being only the second film to gross $1 billion worldwide, becoming the highest grossing film from New Line Cinema, as well as the biggest financial success for Time Warner in general, until Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows – Part 2 surpassed The Return of the King's final gross in 2011. The film was the highest-grossing film of 2003.

Notably, it won all 11 Academy Awards for which it was nominated, therefore holding the record for highest Oscar sweep. The wins included the awards for Best Picture, the first and only time a fantasy film has done so; it was also the second sequel to win a Best Picture Oscar (following The Godfather Part II) and Best Director. The film is tied for largest number of Academy Awards won with Ben-Hur (1959) and Titanic (1997).