The Lord of the Rings: Return of the King returned to theaters this week for its 20th anniversary, and the re-release is doing big business at the box office. The fantasy epic earned $1.1 million in the US on Thursday, April 13 alone. That’s a big number for a 20-year-old movie.
According to IndieWire, only The Super Mario Bros. Movie made more money on Thursday in the US. Return of the King’s re-release did better than the Ben Affleck/Matt Damon movie Air ($982,598) and the Nicolas Cage/Nicholas Hoult film Renfield ($900,000). The Pope’s Exorcist ($850,000) also trailed Return of the King on Thursday in the US.
Of course, Thursday isn’t historically the biggest day for box office results, as movies tend to do better on Friday and Saturday. But in any event, Return of the King’s re-release is doing solid numbers for its return to theaters two decades later.
Due to high demand, the re-release of Return of the King has been extended with additional dates through April 20, so its box office numbers will grow further still over the coming week.
Series star Elijah Wood, who played Frodo, appears in a video message before the screenings to discuss the “lasting impact” of the films. As it happens, Wood also just recently made comments about WB Discovery’s plans to make more Lord of the Rings films, saying it’s obvious that the “core” of the plan is to “make a lot of money.”
You can learn more and order tickets right now for Return of the King’s re-release through Regal, Cinemark, and Fathom Events.
Return of the King swept the Oscars, winning 11 Academy Awards, including Best Picture and Best Director for Peter Jackson, among other accolades. Jackson followed up those films with a Hobbit trilogy, and while it was not as adored critically, the three movies earned billions at the box office.
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