Middle-Earth On Film: A Visual History

9. The Lord Of The Rings: The Return Of The King (2003)

Gollum lord of the rings
Warner Bros. Pictures

The highest grossing Middle-Earth movie and one of the best regarded, by The Return Of The King is was clear Tolkien's work was no longer the reserve of high-fantasy obsessives.

Fantasy is a genre the Academy are all but allergic to. Which makes The Return Of The King's Oscar success (it won all eleven of its nominated awards, matching Titanic and Ben-Hur as the most honoured movies) all the more incredible.

Contributor
Contributor

Film Editor (2014-2016). Loves The Usual Suspects. Hates Transformers 2. Everything else lies somewhere in the middle. Once met the Chuckle Brothers.