The Lord of the Rings: The Return of the King

2003 | 201 min | Adventure, Fantasy, Action

Friday Night Flick

Why it’s a Friday Night Flick

Critics loved it (94%), audiences adore it (8.5/10), it won 6 Oscars and it made about 12 times its budget. Make plans for this one.

Based on critics, audiences, awards, box office and buzz. Details below.

Have you seen it?

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.

How it earned its rating

CriticsVery strong
94% on Rotten Tomatoes, 94 on Metacritic
AudiencesVery strong
8.5/10 from 28K viewers
AwardsVery strong
15 wins, 1 other nomination — won Academy Award for Best Picture; won Academy Award for Best Director
Box office & staying powerVery strong
$1.1 billion worldwide on a $94 million budget
Buzz & cultural impactVery strong
957K Wikipedia readers in the past year