The Lord of the Rings: The Return of the King (2003)

The Lord of the Rings: The Return of the King
Theatrical Performance
Domestic Box Office $379,021,990Details
International Box Office $742,364,991Details
Worldwide Box Office $1,121,386,981
Further financial details...

Metrics

Opening Weekend:$72,629,713 (19.2% of total gross)
Legs:5.22 (domestic box office/biggest weekend)
Domestic Share:33.8% (domestic box office/worldwide)
Production Budget:$94,000,000 (worldwide box office is 11.9 times production budget)
Theater counts:3,703 opening theaters/3,703 max. theaters, 9.6 weeks average run per theater
Infl. Adj. Dom. BO $656,270,541

Latest Ranking on Cumulative Box Office Lists

RecordRankAmount
All Time Domestic Box Office 53 $379,021,990
All Time International Box Office 34 $742,364,991
All Time Worldwide Box Office 32 $1,121,386,981

See the Box Office tab (Domestic) and International tab (International and Worldwide) for more Cumulative Box Office Records.


Watch Now On

Amazon VOD:Amazon
Google Play:Google Play
Netflix:Netflix, Netflix, Netflix
Hulu:Hulu

Movie Details

Domestic Releases: December 17th, 2003 (Wide) by New Line
June 28th, 2011 (Special Engagement) by Warner Bros.
February 12th, 2021 (IMAX) by Warner Bros.
April 13th, 2023 (Wide) by Fathom Events (20th Anniversary Extended Edition)
International Releases: December 17th, 2003 (Wide), released as El Señor De Los Anillos: El Retorno del Rey (Mexico)
December 17th, 2003 (Wide), released as El Señor de los Anillos: El Retorno del Rey (Spain)
December 17th, 2003 (Wide) (United Kingdom)
December 18th, 2003 (Wide) (New Zealand)
December 19th, 2003 (Wide), released as Yüzüklerin Efendisi: Kral'ın Dönüşü (Turkey)
... Show all releases
Video Release: December 14th, 2004 by New Line Home Video, released as Lord of the Rings, The: The Return of the King
MPAA Rating: PG-13 for intense epic battle sequences and frightening images
Running Time: 201 minutes
Franchise: Peter Jackson's Lord of the Rings
Comparisons: Best Picture Oscar Winners
Eragon
vs. Night at the Museum: Secret of the Tomb
Create your own comparison chart…
Keywords: Lord of the Rings, Visual Effects, Oscars Best Picture Winner, Character's Journey Shown on Map, Motion Capture Performance, Filmed in Hobbiton Movie Set, Matamata, New Zealand, Filmed in Matamata, New Zealand, Filmed in New Zealand, Filmed in Stone Street Studios, Wellington, New Zealand, Filmed in Wellington, New Zealand, Filmed in Rangipo Desert, New Zealand, Filmed in Mount Ruapehu, New Zealand, Filmed in Pūtangirua Pinnacles, New Zealand, Filmed in Twizel, New Zealand, Heroic Adventure, 2004 Oscars Best Picture Nominee
Source:Based on Fiction Book/Short Story
Genre:Adventure
Production Method:Animation/Live Action
Creative Type:Fantasy
Production/Financing Companies: Wingnut Films, New Line Cinema
Production Countries: New Zealand, United States
Languages: English

Ranking on other Records and Milestones

RecordRankAmountChart
Date
Days In
Release
Biggest Domestic 13th Weekend 100 $2,021,501 Mar 12, 2004 89
Biggest Domestic 12th Weekend 68 $3,037,822 Mar 5, 2004 82
Biggest 10th Thursday 96 $198,000 Feb 26, 2004 72
Biggest 10th Sunday 59 $896,887 Feb 22, 2004 68
Biggest 10th Saturday 63 $1,299,866 Feb 21, 2004 67
Biggest 10th Friday 91 $600,000 Feb 20, 2004 66
Biggest 9th Thursday 88 $293,000 Feb 19, 2004 65
Biggest 9th Wednesday 86 $298,000 Feb 18, 2004 64
Biggest 9th Monday 29 $903,281 Feb 16, 2004 62
Biggest 9th Sunday 41 $1,429,675 Feb 15, 2004 61
Biggest Domestic 9th Weekend 94 $4,187,000 Feb 13, 2004 61
Washington's Birthday (All Movies, 3-Day, Inflation Adjusted) 318 $7,618,856 Feb 13, 2004 61
Washington's Birthday (All Movies, 4-Day, Fri-Mon) 203 $5,090,281 Feb 13, 2004 61
Washington's Birthday (All Movies, 4-Day, Fri-Mon, Inflation Adjusted) 187 $9,262,508 Feb 13, 2004 61
Biggest 9th Saturday 49 $1,957,907 Feb 14, 2004 60
Biggest 9th Friday 99 $800,000 Feb 13, 2004 59
Biggest 8th Sunday 75 $1,370,995 Feb 8, 2004 54
Fastest to $350m 54 $351,133,343 Feb 6, 2004 54
Biggest 8th Saturday 80 $2,014,866 Feb 7, 2004 53
Super Bowl (All Movies, 3-Day) 153 $5,310,803 Jan 30, 2004 47
Super Bowl (All Movies, 3-Day, Inflation Adjusted) 163 $9,663,783 Jan 30, 2004 47
Biggest 7th Saturday 86 $2,739,574 Jan 31, 2004 46
Biggest 5th Monday 47 $2,228,291 Jan 19, 2004 34
Biggest 5th Sunday 91 $3,229,017 Jan 18, 2004 33
Martin Luther King (All Movies, 3-Day) 116 $10,219,470 Jan 16, 2004 33
Martin Luther King (All Movies, 3-Day, Inflation Adjusted) 121 $18,595,811 Jan 16, 2004 33
Martin Luther King (All Movies, 4-Day, Fri-Mon) 105 $12,447,761 Jan 16, 2004 33
Martin Luther King (All Movies, 4-Day, Fri-Mon, Inflation Adjusted) 86 $22,650,511 Jan 16, 2004 33
Biggest 5th Saturday 91 $4,614,194 Jan 17, 2004 32
Fastest to $300m 52 $301,700,000 Jan 9, 2004 24
Biggest Domestic 3rd Weekend 79 $28,180,378 Jan 2, 2004 19
Biggest Domestic January Weekend 49 $28,180,378 Jan 2, 2004 19
New Year's Day (All Movies, 3-Day) 19 $28,180,378 Jan 2, 2004 19
New Year's Day (All Movies, 3-Day, Inflation Adjusted) 14 $51,278,304 Jan 2, 2004 19
Biggest 3rd Saturday 87 $10,563,221 Jan 3, 2004 18
Biggest 3rd Friday 39 $10,602,130 Jan 2, 2004 17
Biggest 2nd Thursday 7 $11,950,000 Jan 1, 2004 16
Biggest Domestic January Day 86 $11,950,000 Jan 1, 2004 16
Fastest to $250m 52 $261,350,000 Jan 1, 2004 16
Biggest 2nd Wednesday 28 $7,500,000 Dec 31, 2003 15
Biggest 2nd Tuesday 27 $9,615,000 Dec 30, 2003 14
Biggest 2nd Monday 27 $10,490,000 Dec 29, 2003 13
Biggest 2nd Sunday 75 $14,196,641 Dec 28, 2003 12
Biggest Domestic 2nd Weekend 69 $50,598,104 Dec 26, 2003 12
Christmas (All Movies, 3-Day) 10 $50,598,104 Dec 26, 2003 12
Christmas (All Movies, 3-Day, Inflation Adjusted) 5 $94,819,001 Dec 26, 2003 12
Biggest 2nd Saturday 100 $17,249,267 Dec 27, 2003 11
Fastest to $150m 79 $208,072,067 Dec 26, 2003 11
Fastest to $200m 76 $208,072,067 Dec 26, 2003 11
Biggest 2nd Friday 37 $19,152,196 Dec 26, 2003 10
Biggest 1st Thursday 23 $13,986,220 Dec 25, 2003 9
Biggest 1st Tuesday 57 $12,476,242 Dec 23, 2003 7
Biggest Domestic Tuesday 79 $12,476,242 Dec 23, 2003 7
Biggest 1st Monday 60 $13,563,208 Dec 22, 2003 6
Biggest Domestic Monday 81 $13,563,208 Dec 22, 2003 6
Biggest Domestic December Weekend 14 $72,629,713 Dec 19, 2003 5
Top Adventure Weekend Domestic 56 $72,629,713 Dec 19, 2003 5
Top Animation/Live Action Weekend Domestic 64 $72,629,713 Dec 19, 2003 5
Top Based on Fiction Book/Short Story Weekend Domestic 31 $72,629,713 Dec 19, 2003 5
Top Fantasy Weekend Domestic 21 $72,629,713 Dec 19, 2003 5
Top New Line Weekend Domestic 2 $72,629,713 Dec 19, 2003 5
Top 2003 Theater Average 26 $19,614 Dec 19, 2003 5
Fastest to $100m 98 $100,774,423 Dec 19, 2003 4
Biggest Domestic Thursday 31 $17,019,987 Dec 18, 2003 2
Fastest to $50m 146 $51,470,821 Dec 18, 2003 2
Top Adventure Day Domestic 82 $34,450,834 Dec 17, 2003 1
Top Based on Fiction Book/Short Story Day Domestic 46 $34,450,834 Dec 17, 2003 1
Top Fantasy Day Domestic 27 $34,450,834 Dec 17, 2003 1
Top New Line Day Domestic 1 $34,450,834 Dec 17, 2003 1
Biggest Domestic December Day 27 $34,450,834 Dec 17, 2003 1
Biggest Domestic Wednesday 9 $34,450,834 Dec 17, 2003 1

Compare this performance with other movies…

Domestic Cumulative Box Office Records

Weekend Box Office Performance

DateRankGross% ChangeTheatersPer TheaterTotal GrossWeek
Dec 19, 2003 1 $72,629,713   3,703 $19,614   $124,100,534 1
Dec 26, 2003 1 $50,598,104 -30% 3,703 $13,664   $222,268,708 2
Jan 2, 2004 1 $28,180,378 -44% 3,703 $7,610   $290,410,961 3
Jan 9, 2004 1 $14,209,098 -50% 3,532 $4,023   $312,320,936 4
Jan 16, 2004 3 $10,219,470 -28% 3,003 $3,403   $326,812,102 5
Jan 23, 2004 5 $6,785,756 -34% 2,558 $2,653   $337,817,998 6
Jan 30, 2004 4 $5,310,803 -22% 2,256 $2,354   $345,331,815 7
Feb 6, 2004 7 $4,293,671 -19% 1,878 $2,286   $351,133,343 8
Feb 13, 2004 8 $4,187,000 -2% 1,663 $2,518   $356,464,575 9
Feb 20, 2004 10 $2,850,455 -32% 1,407 $2,026   $361,118,934 10
Feb 27, 2004 11 $2,174,665 -24% 1,112 $1,956   $364,115,612 11
Mar 5, 2004 7 $3,037,822 +40% 1,903 $1,596   $368,210,170 12
Mar 12, 2004 9 $2,021,501 -33% 1,307 $1,547   $371,147,794 13
Mar 19, 2004 11 $1,350,748 -33% 1,021 $1,323   $373,359,557 14
Mar 26, 2004 15 $705,817 -48% 661 $1,068   $374,556,572 15
Apr 2, 2004 19 $373,903 -47% 348 $1,074   $375,204,550 16
Apr 9, 2004 21 $289,233 -23% 338 $856   $375,667,233 17
Apr 16, 2004 27 $227,321 -21% 295 $771   $376,058,551 18
Apr 23, 2004 27 $194,730 -14% 268 $727   $376,337,432 19
Apr 30, 2004 35 $154,631 -21% 221 $700   $376,556,583 20
May 7, 2004 35 $103,709 -33% 190 $546   $376,716,328 21
May 14, 2004 40 $92,571 -11% 153 $605   $376,853,002 22
May 21, 2004 43 $72,176 -22% 135 $535   $376,958,965 23
May 28, 2004 73 $25,304 -65% 61 $415   $377,013,073 24

Daily Box Office Performance

DateRankGross%YD%LWTheatersPer TheaterTotal GrossDays
Dec 17, 2003 1 $34,450,834     3,703 $9,303   $34,450,834 1
Dec 18, 2003 1 $17,019,987 -51%   3,703 $4,596   $51,470,821 2
Dec 19, 2003 1 $21,811,549 +28%   3,703 $5,890   $73,282,370 3
Dec 20, 2003 1 $27,492,053 +26%   3,703 $7,424   $100,774,423 4
Dec 21, 2003 1 $23,326,111 -15%   3,703 $6,299   $124,100,534 5
Dec 22, 2003 1 $13,563,208 -42%   3,703 $3,663   $137,663,742 6
Dec 23, 2003 1 $12,476,242 -8%   3,703 $3,369   $150,139,984 7
Dec 24, 2003 1 $7,544,400 -40% -78% 3,703 $2,037   $157,684,384 8
Dec 25, 2003 1 $13,986,220 +85% -18% 3,703 $3,777   $171,670,604 9
Dec 26, 2003 1 $19,152,196 +37% -12% 3,703 $5,172   $190,822,800 10
Dec 27, 2003 1 $17,249,267 -10% -37% 3,703 $4,658   $208,072,067 11
Dec 28, 2003 1 $14,196,641 -18% -39% 3,703 $3,834   $222,268,708 12
Dec 29, 2003 1 $10,490,000 -26% -23% 3,703 $2,833   $232,759,000 13
Dec 30, 2003 1 $9,615,000 -8% -23% 3,703 $2,597   $241,937,000 14
Dec 31, 2003 1 $7,500,000 -22% -1% 3,703 $2,025   $249,400,000 15
Jan 1, 2004 1 $11,950,000 +59% -15% 3,703 $3,227   $261,350,000 16
Jan 2, 2004 1 $10,602,130 -11% -45% 3,703 $2,863   $272,832,713 17
Jan 3, 2004 1 $10,563,221 n/c -39% 3,703 $2,853   $283,395,934 18
Jan 4, 2004 1 $7,015,027 -34% -51% 3,703 $1,894   $290,410,961 19
Jan 5, 2004 1 $2,382,000 -66% -77% 3,703 $643   $292,793,000 20
Jan 6, 2004 1 $2,180,000 -8% -77% 3,703 $589   $294,972,000 21
Jan 7, 2004 1 $1,921,000 -12% -74% 3,703 $519   $296,894,000 22
Jan 8, 2004 1 $1,652,000 -14% -86% 3,703 $446   $298,112,000 23
Jan 9, 2004 2 $3,600,000 +118% -66% 3,532 $1,019   $301,700,000 24
Jan 10, 2004 1 $6,439,410 +79% -39% 3,532 $1,823   $308,228,208 25
Jan 11, 2004 1 $4,092,728 -36% -42% 3,532 $1,159   $312,320,936 26
Jan 12, 2004 1 $1,177,000 -71% -51% 3,532 $333   $313,497,000 27
Jan 13, 2004 1 $1,218,000 +3% -44% 3,532 $345   $314,716,000 28
Jan 14, 2004 1 $1,057,000 -13% -45% 3,532 $299   $315,773,000 29
Jan 15, 2004 1 $1,036,000 -2% -37% 3,532 $293   $316,593,000 30
Jan 16, 2004 4 $2,376,259 +129% -34% 3,003 $791   $318,968,891 31
Jan 17, 2004 2 $4,614,194 +94% -28% 3,003 $1,537   $323,583,085 32
Jan 18, 2004 2 $3,229,017 -30% -21% 3,003 $1,075   $326,812,102 33
Jan 19, 2004 3 $2,228,291 -31% +89% 3,003 $742   $329,040,393 34
Jan 20, 2004 2 $762,000 -66% -37% 3,003 $254   $329,802,000 35
Jan 21, 2004 2 $599,000 -21% -43% 3,003 $199   $330,401,000 36
Jan 22, 2004 3 $642,000 +7% -38% 3,003 $214   $331,032,000 37
Jan 23, 2004 6 $1,500,000 +134% -37% 2,558 $586   $332,500,000 38
Jan 24, 2004 6 $3,158,167 +111% -32% 2,558 $1,235   $335,700,055 39
Jan 25, 2004 3 $2,117,943 -33% -34% 2,558 $828   $337,817,998 40
Jan 26, 2004 3 $536,000 -75% -76% 2,558 $210   $338,354,000 41
Jan 27, 2004 3 $556,000 +4% -27% 2,558 $217   $338,910,000 42
Jan 28, 2004 3 $590,000 +6% -2% 2,558 $231   $339,500,000 43
Jan 29, 2004 3 $552,000 -6% -14% 2,558 $216   $340,021,000 44
Jan 30, 2004 7 $1,400,000 +154% -7% 2,256 $621   $341,400,000 45
Jan 31, 2004 4 $2,739,574 +96% -13% 2,256 $1,214   $344,131,995 46
Feb 1, 2004 4 $1,199,820 -56% -43% 2,256 $532   $345,331,815 47
Feb 2, 2004 4 $403,000 -66% -25% 2,256 $179   $345,735,000 48
Feb 3, 2004 4 $416,000 +3% -25% 2,256 $184   $346,151,000 49
Feb 4, 2004 4 $381,000 -8% -35% 2,256 $169   $346,532,000 50
Feb 5, 2004 4 $352,000 -8% -36% 2,256 $156   $346,840,000 51
Feb 6, 2004 9 $900,000 +156% -36% 1,878 $479   $347,700,000 52
Feb 7, 2004 7 $2,014,866 +124% -26% 1,878 $1,073   $349,762,348 53
Feb 8, 2004 7 $1,370,995 -32% +14% 1,878 $730   $351,133,343 54
Feb 9, 2004 7 $308,000 -78% -24% 1,878 $164   $351,441,343 55
Feb 10, 2004 6 $286,000 -7% -31% 1,878 $152   $351,727,000 56
Feb 11, 2004 6 $267,000 -7% -30% 1,878 $142   $351,994,000 57
Feb 12, 2004 5 $303,000 +13% -14% 1,878 $161   $352,278,000 58
Feb 13, 2004 8 $800,000 +164% -11% 1,663 $481   $353,100,000 59
Feb 14, 2004 7 $1,957,907 +145% -3% 1,663 $1,177   $355,035,095 60
Feb 15, 2004 7 $1,429,675 -27% +4% 1,663 $860   $356,464,770 61
Feb 16, 2004 6 $903,281 -37% +193% 1,663 $543   $357,367,856 62
Feb 17, 2004 7 $335,000 -63% +17% 1,663 $201   $357,702,000 63
Feb 18, 2004 7 $298,000 -11% +12% 1,663 $179   $358,001,000 64
Feb 19, 2004 6 $293,000 -2% -3% 1,663 $176   $358,268,000 65
Feb 20, 2004 12 $600,000 +105% -25% 1,407 $426   $358,900,000 66
Feb 21, 2004 10 $1,299,866 +117% -34% 1,407 $924   $360,222,047 67
Feb 22, 2004 7 $896,887 -31% -37% 1,407 $637   $361,118,934 68
Feb 23, 2004 11 $207,000 -77% -77% 1,407 $147   $361,326,000 69
Feb 24, 2004 10 $215,000 +4% -36% 1,407 $153   $361,541,000 70
Feb 25, 2004 11 $188,000 -13% -37% 1,407 $134   $361,742,000 71
Feb 26, 2004 11 $198,000 +5% -32% 1,407 $141   $361,941,000 72
Feb 27, 2004 11 $500,000 +153% -17% 1,112 $450   $362,400,000 73
Feb 28, 2004 11 $1,000,000 +100% -23% 1,112 $899   $363,400,000 74
Feb 29, 2004 11 $700,000 -30% -22% 1,112 $629   $364,115,612 75
Mar 1, 2004 7 $276,000 -61% +33% 1,112 $248   $364,392,000 76
Mar 2, 2004 7 $278,000 +1% +29% 1,112 $250   $364,670,000 77
Mar 3, 2004 7 $242,000 -13% +29% 1,112 $218   $364,913,000 78
Mar 4, 2004 7 $252,000 +4% +27% 1,112 $227   $365,172,348 79
Mar 5, 2004 8 $800,000 +217% +60% 1,903 $420   $366,000,000 80
Mar 6, 2004 7 $1,433,740 +79% +43% 1,903 $753   $367,326,659 81
Mar 7, 2004 7 $883,511 -38% +26% 1,903 $464   $368,210,170 82
Mar 8, 2004 6 $222,000 -75% -20% 1,903 $117   $368,432,000 83
Mar 9, 2004 7 $229,000 +3% -18% 1,903 $120   $368,661,000 84
Mar 10, 2004 7 $211,000 -8% -13% 1,903 $111   $368,873,000 85
Mar 11, 2004 6 $236,000 +12% -6% 1,903 $124   $369,126,000 86
Mar 12, 2004 10 $500,000 +112% -38% 1,307 $383   $369,600,000 87
Mar 13, 2004 9 $908,040 +82% -37% 1,307 $695   $370,521,028 88
Mar 14, 2004 9 $626,766 -31% -29% 1,307 $480   $371,147,794 89
Mar 15, 2004 9 $211,000 -66% -5% 1,307 $161   $371,359,000 90
Mar 16, 2004 9 $231,000 +9% +1% 1,307 $177   $371,590,000 91
Mar 17, 2004 9 $199,000 -14% -6% 1,307 $152   $371,790,000 92
Mar 18, 2004 9 $224,000 +13% -5% 1,307 $171   $372,009,000 93
Mar 19, 2004 11 $400,000 +79% -20% 1,021 $392   $372,400,000 94
Mar 20, 2004 12 $598,062 +50% -34% 1,021 $586   $372,968,676 95
Mar 21, 2004 11 $390,881 -35% -38% 1,021 $383   $373,359,557 96
Mar 22, 2004 10 $122,000 -69% -42% 1,021 $119   $373,481,000 97
Mar 23, 2004 10 $122,000 n/c -47% 1,021 $119   $373,603,000 98
Mar 24, 2004 10 $118,000 -3% -41% 1,021 $116   $373,721,000 99
Mar 25, 2004 10 $131,000 +11% -42% 1,021 $128   $373,851,000 100
Jun 28, 2011 8 $818,580     521 $1,571   $377,845,905 2,751
Apr 13, 2023 2 $1,176,085     1,107 $1,062   $379,021,990 7,058

Weekly Box Office Performance

DateRankGross% ChangeTheatersPer TheaterTotal GrossWeek
Dec 12, 2003 1 $51,470,821   3,703 $13,900   $51,470,821 1
Dec 19, 2003 1 $120,199,783 +134% 3,703 $32,460   $171,670,604 2
Dec 26, 2003 1 $90,559,979 -25% 3,703 $24,456   $262,230,583 3
Jan 2, 2004 1 $35,881,255 -60% 3,703 $9,690   $298,111,838 4
Jan 9, 2004 1 $18,480,794 -48% 3,532 $5,232   $316,592,632 5
Jan 16, 2004 2 $14,439,610 -22% 3,003 $4,808   $331,032,242 6
Jan 23, 2004 3 $8,988,770 -38% 2,558 $3,514   $340,021,012 7
Jan 30, 2004 4 $6,818,660 -24% 2,256 $3,022   $346,839,672 8
Feb 6, 2004 7 $5,437,903 -20% 1,878 $2,896   $352,277,575 9
Feb 13, 2004 8 $5,990,904 +10% 1,663 $3,602   $358,268,479 10
Feb 20, 2004 11 $3,672,468 -39% 1,407 $2,610   $361,940,947 11
Feb 27, 2004 11 $3,231,401 -12% 1,112 $2,906   $365,172,348 12
Mar 5, 2004 7 $3,953,945 +22% 1,903 $2,078   $369,126,293 13
Mar 12, 2004 9 $2,882,516 -27% 1,307 $2,205   $372,008,809 14
Mar 19, 2004 11 $1,841,946 -36% 1,021 $1,804   $373,850,755 15
Mar 26, 2004 15 $979,892 -47% 661 $1,482   $374,830,647 16
Apr 2, 2004 21 $547,353 -44% 348 $1,573   $375,378,000 17
Apr 9, 2004 21 $453,230 -17% 338 $1,341   $375,831,230 18
Apr 16, 2004 26 $311,472 -31% 295 $1,056   $376,142,702 19
Apr 23, 2004 29 $259,250 -17% 268 $967   $376,401,952 20
Apr 30, 2004 36 $210,667 -19% 221 $953   $376,612,619 21
May 7, 2004 36 $147,812 -30% 190 $778   $376,760,431 22
May 14, 2004 41 $126,358 -15% 153 $826   $376,886,789 23
May 21, 2004 44 $100,980 -20% 135 $748   $376,987,769 24
Jun 24, 2011 16 $818,580   521 $1,571   $377,845,905 394
Apr 7, 2023 9 $1,176,085   1,107 $1,062   $379,021,990 1,009

Box Office Summary Per Territory

Territory Release
Date
Opening
Weekend
Opening
Weekend
Screens
Maximum
Screens
Theatrical
Engagements
Total
Box Office
Report
Date
Australia 12/26/2003 $9,455,957 453 453 1,827 $26,235,925 4/9/2021
China 5/14/2021 $3,410,000 22,725 22,725 24,212 $5,230,000 6/17/2021
Czech Republic 1/16/2004 $0 0 2 2 $3,761,887 1/1/2019
Finland 5/12/2023 $0 0 0 0 $77,836 6/26/2023
Italy 1/22/2004 $0 0 0 0 $27,268,919 10/20/2022
Japan 10/28/2022 $0000$0
Mexico 12/17/2003 $0 0 0 0 $59,518 4/14/2021
Netherlands 10/23/2020 $119,615 95 216 360 $276,930 11/13/2023
New Zealand 12/18/2003 $0 0 10 54 $8,747,212 11/6/2023
Russia (CIS) 1/22/2004 $0 0 444 444 $735,610 5/12/2021
South Korea 1/24/2017 $94,901 45 166 276 $4,185,654 4/7/2021
Spain 12/17/2003 $0 0 201 208 $217,980 12/7/2023
Turkey 12/19/2003 $0 0 133 228 $363,268 10/5/2023
United Kingdom 12/17/2003 $0 0 118 249 $46,041 6/11/2021
 
Rest of World $665,158,211
 
International Total$742,364,991 12/7/2023

International Cumulative Box Office Records


Worldwide Cumulative Box Office Records


Weekly US DVD Sales

DateRankUnits
this
Week
% ChangeTotal
Units
Spending
this
Week
Total
Spending
Weeks
in
Release
Sep 3, 20062549,069 49,069$921,295$921,29590
Dec 30, 20122852,469 1,488,926$329,558$23,476,661420

Weekly US Blu-ray Sales

DateRankUnits
this
Week
% ChangeTotal
Units
Spending
this
Week
Total
Spending
Weeks
in
Release
Sep 19, 2010155,913 5,913$94,542$94,542301
Nov 28, 20107128,401 154,917$2,053,128$2,477,107311
Dec 5, 20101438,336-70% 193,253$612,993$3,090,100312
Jan 6, 20131719,021 299,130$189,445$4,144,557421

Our DVD and Blu-ray sales estimates are based on weekly retail surveys, which we use to build a weekly market share estimate for each title we are tracking. The market share is converted into a weekly sales estimate based on industry reports on the overall size of the market, including reports published in Media Play News.

For example, if our weekly retail survey estimates that a particular title sold 1% of all units that week, and the industry reports sales of 1,500,000 units in total, we will estimate 15,000 units were sold of that title. The consumer spending estimate is based on the average sales price for the title in the retailers we survey.

We refine our estimates from week to week as more data becomes available. In particular, we adjust weekly sales figures for the quarter once the total market estimates are published by the Digital Entertainment Group. Figures will therefore fluctuate each week, and totals for individual titles can go up or down as we update our estimates.

Because sales figures are estimated based on sampling, they will be more accurate for higher-selling titles.

Full financial estimates for this film, including domestic and international box office, video sales, video rentals, TV and ancillary revenue are available through our research services. For more information, please contact us at research@the-numbers.com.

Leading Cast

Ian McKellen    Gandalf
Viggo Mortensen    Aragorn
Olando Bloom*    Legolas

Supporting Cast

Elijah Wood    Frodo Baggins
Liv Tyler    Arwen
Sean Astin    Sam
Cate Blanchett    Galadriel
John Rhys-Davies    Gimli
Bernard Hill    Theoden
Billy Boyd    Pippin
Dominic Monaghan    Meriadoc 'Merry' Brandybuck
Hugo Weaving    Elrond
Miranda Otto    Eowyn
David Wenham    Faramir
Karl Urban    Eomer
Andy Serkis    Gollum/Smeagol
John Noble    Denethor
Ian Holm    Bilbo
Sean Bean    Boromir
Lawrence Makoare    Witch King / Gothmog
Paul Norell    King of the Dead
Marton Csokas    Celeborn
John Bach    Madril
Sala Baker    Sauron

Cameos

Peter Jackson    Mercenary On Boat

For a description of the different acting role types we use to categorize acting perfomances, see our Glossary.

Production and Technical Credits

Peter Jackson    Director
Robert Shaye    Executive Producer
Michael Lynne    Executive Producer
Mark Ordesky    Executive Producer
Bob Weinstein    Executive Producer
Harvey Weinstein    Executive Producer
Barrie M. Osborne    Producer
Fran Walsh    Producer
Peter Jackson    Producer
Fran Walsh    Screenwriter
Philippa Boyens    Screenwriter
Peter Jackson    Screenwriter
J.R.R. Tolkien    Story Creator
Andrew Lesnie    Cinematographer
Grant Major    Production Designer
Jamie Selkirk    Editor
Howard Shore    Composer
Christopher Boyes    Re-recording Mixer

The bold credits above the line are the "above-the-line" credits, the other the "below-the-line" credits.

DVD and Blu-ray Releases for August 28th, 2012

August 28th, 2012

We are clearly in TV on DVD season on the home market as there are five TV on DVD releases among the top six selling releases, with Battleship being the only first run release to break up the TV on DVD dominance. There are many such releases that are contenders for Pick of the Week: Boardwalk Empire: Season Two on Blu-ray, Homeland: Season One on Blu-ray, Once Upon a Time: Season One on Blu-ray, and The Walking Dead: Season Two on Blu-ray. However, in the end I went with The Pirates! Band of Misfits on 3D Combo Pack as the Pick of the Week. Meanwhile, Monsieur Lazhar on DVD or Blu-ray earns a rarely awarded Puck of the Week. More...

Blu-ray Sales: Hugo's Huge in High Definition

March 14th, 2012

Hugo led a limited number of new releases on top of the Blu-ray sales chart. It sold 523,000 units while generating $14.37 million in sales. This is a good result compared to its theatrical run, but not great given the film's production budget. Its opening week Blu-ray share was 51%, which is fantastic for a family film, although this is not your typical family film. More...

2011 Holiday Gift Guide: Part I

November 23rd, 2011

This weekend is Thanksgiving and as always that means Black Friday and Cyber Monday plus 48 hours of shopping in-between. And as always, I've already done my Christmas shopping, for the most part. (I'm still waiting to see if the B.C.Lions win the Grey Cup. If not, I'll need to look for an alternative gift.) For everyone else who is still searching, we present the first part in our annual Holiday Gift Guide. As usual, the gift guide is divided into several sections, starting with Major Movie Releases. These are first run releases, franchise box sets, etc. However, before we get into the individual titles, we will start with an update on... More...

Blu-ray Sales: Holdovers Lord Above New Releases

July 20th, 2011

Lord of the Rings: Extended Edition Trilogy remained on top of the Blu-ray sales chart this week selling 104,000 units / $5.08 million for the week. It now has generated just over $30 million in sales in just two weeks, and even if you split that between the three movies, it's still an excellent run for a catalog title. More...

Blu-ray Sales: Ring Sucker Punches New Releases

July 12th, 2011

While it's not common for a box set to lead the way on the Blu-ray sales chart, it is also no real surprise that Lord of the Rings: Extended Edition Trilogy managed to do just that, as it was clearly the biggest new release of the week. It took top spot with sales of 336,000 units, and thanks to its premium pricing, it generated $25.21 million in opening week consumer spending. More...

DVD and Blu-ray Releases for June 28th, 2011

June 27th, 2011

It's a bit of a madhouse in terms of DVD and Blu-ray releases this week: Amazon.com has more than 400 listed. That said, a lot of them are catalogue titles that would barely warrant a mention during a slow week. The most intriguing first run release is Sucker Punch on Blu-ray / DVD / Digital Copy Combo Pack, but while I think it's worth picking up, it's appeal is limited enough that it is not worthy of the Pick of the Week honors. Fortunately, one of the catalogue titles is clearly Pick of the Week material. In fact, Lord of the Rings Trilogy: Extended Edition - Blu-ray is one of the most anticipated releases in the history of Blu-ray. More...

DVD Sales: Toys Retake Top Spot

December 7th, 2010

It was the Thanksgiving long weekend recently and the sales numbers this week include Black Friday. It should come as no surprise that there was an uptick in sales this week, with a number of older releases seeing a massive jump. This includes Toy Story 3, which shot into top spot with 1.27 million units / $21.19 million for the week and 6.78 million / $124.60 million after a month. It is now the third-best-selling DVD of the year. More...

2010 - Holiday Gift Guide - Part II

December 2nd, 2010

Christmas shopping season is in full swing and this week we have the second part of our Holiday Gift Guide. Last week, Part I talked about big first run releases, while this week we look at box sets and TV on DVD releases. When it comes to the latter, this list is limited to Full Series Megasets and the first season of shows that made their home market debut this year, mostly. This is because when it comes to full season sets from the middle of a show's run, they don't really make good gifts, unless the person is already collecting the series. "Here's season three of a great show. You'll have to buy the first two yourself and get caught up before watching this one." Anyhoo, there are still plenty of releases worth giving as gifts this season, starting with... More...

DVD Releases for December 14, 2004

December 13th, 2004

Every week films get a second chance at success from the home market; or, in some cases, a first chance at success. Here is a list of wide releases, limited releases and a few from the growing TV on DVD section, including the winners of the DVD Pick of the Week, Lord of the Rings: Return of the King - Platinum Series Special Extended Edition and Star Trek: The Original Series - The Complete Third Season - Buy from Amazon. More...

Spider-Man's Start's Slower, But Records Still Fall

July 2nd, 2004

Spider-man 2 earned a record breaking $40.4 million on Wednesday, and while that was up to my lofty expectations, it was still more than enough to break records. More...

How Many will be Caught in Spider-Man's Web

June 30th, 2004

It's not a question of whether Spider-man 2 will open big; we all know it will. It's not even a question of if records will fall; we all know that will happen as well. It's a question of how many records will Spider-man 2 break, and by what margin. More...

DVD Releases for May 25, 2004

May 25th, 2004

Every week films get a second chance at success from the home market; or, in some cases, a first chance at success. Here is a list of wide releases, limited releases and a few from the growing TV on DVD section including a surprise selection for my DVD pick of the week, Bubba Ho-Tep - Buy from Amazon. More...

Passion's Top Draw

April 6th, 2004

Another 7 openings helped keep The Passion of the Christ in top spot with $25.4 million. And the same pattern is holding true, the smaller the market the better the result. In Spain it opened to $3.2 million, about on par with Gothika's opening at the end of February. In South Korea it opened first with $2.3 million, significantly below the local productions that have been taking tops spot for most of the year. So far the film has earned just over $80 million internationally and over $400 million worldwide. More...

International Audiences do a Double Take

March 30th, 2004

With no new wider releases the top five international box office finished in the same order as last weekend. The Passion of the Christ again topped the week thanks to number one openings in many markets and even a few records. The biggest slice of its estimated $16 million take came from the U.K. where it finished first, sort of. Including previews its $3.6 was strong enough for first place; if you don't include previews then it drops to third place behind the debut of Dawn of the Dead and the second weekend of Starsky and Hutch. The film again had strong results in small markets breaking records in Argentina and Venezuela. Total international run now sits at $58.7 million in 36 markets, good, but certainly not comparable to its domestic total. More...

Passions Rise Internationally

March 23rd, 2004

The Passion of the Christ had mixed openings during its fourth weekend in international release. In Latin America is performed very well, where it made two thirds of its $15 million weekend take, breaking records in Chile and Central America along the way. On the flip side it could only manage a paltry $2.3 million in Germany, half of first place Brother Bear and on par with Gothika's opening earlier in the year. It would have been more impressive if the situation was reversed. After all, record breaking performances throughout Latin American won't earn as much as a blockbuster performance in Germany. Overall Passions has pulled in $32.3 million in 19, mostly smaller markets. More...

Polly Wants the Number One Position?

March 16th, 2004

Without an international breakout hit, the domestic slowdown is still affecting the international box-office. This week a single massive opening in a major market could have put a film in the top five. Unfortunately, that didn't happen. But a string of strong openings helped push Along Came Polly into first place with $12.4 million. It's still early in its international run, but with $40.2 million so far and with some big markets left it should beat its domestic total. More...

Box Office Woes extend Overseas

March 9th, 2004

The earlier domestic box office slow down is starting to affect the international box office as no movie could manage $10 million or more at the box office. Compare that to last week when three movies managed that feat. Even winning 11 Oscars didn't help Lord of the Rings: Return of the King's international box office as it dropped 15% to $9.4 million, although that was enough for it to reclaim the weekly crown. Overall its international total is now just shy of $680 million while its worldwide total is nearing $1.05 billion. More...

Oscars Boost Box Office of Several Films

March 8th, 2004

With its 11 Oscar wins and huge jump in theatre count, Lord of the Rings: Return of the King should have had the largest post-Oscar jump at the box office. And while in raw dollars it did, it was the lesser known The Barbarian Invasions that had the biggest percent jump. The Canadian film and winner of Best Foreign Language Film jumped more than 137% at the box office. Its per theatre average also jumped by nearly 40%, compared to the nearly 20% drop by Return of the King. More...

Can 2004 Take the Lead?

March 5th, 2004

We haven't seen two film open with strong prospects since the beginning of February. And with last week's winner still going strong, 2004 should pass 2003 at the box office. More...

Scary Finish at the International Box Office Race

March 2nd, 2004

When Scary Movie 3 was released domestically during the past fall, many analysts predicted it would fail to attract a sizeable audience. After all, there was a massive 55% drop-off between the first two installments. But the movie out-preformed expectations domestically, and now it's doing the same internationally. Scary Movie 3 earned $12.3 million and a first place finished this past weekend. Its international total is nearing $75 million and it should cross $200 million worldwide relatively soon. More...

King Sweeps and Other Oscar Reactions

March 1st, 2004

Perhaps the most surprising aspect of last nights Oscars was the lack of surprises. Even the sweep by Lord of the Rings: Return of the King wasn't that big of a shock. More...

Lording over the Oscars

February 29th, 2004

Lord of the Rings: Return of the King swept all the categories it was nominated for in winning a record-equaling 11 Oscars earlier this evening. Here is a list of the winners with reactions to be posted tomorrow. More...

Numbers Readers Predicting Return of the King Oscar Sweep

February 29th, 2004

The final results are in from our Predict the Academy Awards Competition, and Numbers readers are forecasting a Lord of the Rings sweep at the ceremony tonight.

A stunning 90% of voters are calling for Lord of the Rings to win Best Picture and Peter Jackson to win Best Director - some of the strongest predictions we've seen in the 7 years we've been running the poll. The movie is also projected to win in every other category in which its nominated.

With no Rings stars nominated for acting awards though, some of the other results are still ripe for speculation. More...

Oscar Prediction: Costume Design

February 28th, 2004

Just over 24 hours to go before the ceremony, and we're ready to call another result. This time the category is costume design - one that has thrown up some surprises in the past. More...

Oscar Prediction: Best Song

February 27th, 2004

Today's Oscar prediction is for one of the more minor categories, which are often harder to predict than the big awards. But this year, Numbers readers seem to be of one accord on the song destined to pick up the Oscar. More...

Oscar Prediction: Best Picture

February 26th, 2004

Having called the results for Best Animate Feature and Achievement in Directing over the past two days, we're ready to announce a projected winner for the big prize... Best Picture. Our projections are based on the entries in our Predict the Academy Awards competition. More...

Oscar Prediction: Directing

February 25th, 2004

Every day between now and the Academy Awards ceremony we're predicting the result of one of the categories based on votes in our Predict the Oscars competition. Yesterday we predicted a safe win for Finding Nemo as Best Animated Feature. Today we're calling the result for Directing. More...

Billion Dollar Box Office

February 24th, 2004

It took a couple days longer than expected, but Lord of the Rings: Return of the King crossed the $1 billion mark over the weekend. The weekend total of $13.9 million was also good enough for first place on the international charts. Internationally it is still in third place behind Harry Potter and the Philosopher's Stone, but that should change by the weekend. More...

SAG Celebrates a Decade of Excellence

February 23rd, 2004

The 10th Annual Screen Actor Guild Awards were handed out on Sunday, and there were a not a whole lost of surprises this year. At least not if you take the Golden Globe awards into consideration. More...

WGA Announces Winners over the Weekend

February 23rd, 2004

In amongst the more than a dozen awards handed out at the 56th Annual Writers Guild Awards on Saturday were two for theatrical releases. More...

Lord Returns to the Top

February 18th, 2004


Million Dollar Dates

February 18th, 2004

Mixed would be the best way to describe the weekend results. With the exception of the number one film, all movies beat Friday's predictions. However, the overall box office was again failed to match last year's pace. Valentine's Day and President's Day helped the 3-day total increase by more than 10% from last weekend, but it was down 14% from last year. The four-day total fared better, but by a barely noticeable margin dropping 13%. More...

Valentines Day / President's Day Double Shot

February 13th, 2004

With both Valentine's Day and President's Day occurring this weekend, there are twice as many reasons to see a movie. And with only one movie opening wide, it should open huge. Holdovers should also perform well given the extra day, but they will have a hard time living up to last year. More...

Lasting Reign

February 10th, 2004

After crossing $250 million international some time during the mid-week, The Last Samurai opened in another 10 markets pushing its weekend total to $17.7 million. Most impressive is the film's run in Japan; it was first in its 10th week of release and it crossed the $100 million mark in that nation. If Ken Watanabe wins the Oscar it should outperform its domestic run in Japan. It is very unusual for a Hollywood film to earn more in a single international market than it earned domestically. More...

DGA Crowns Jackson for Return of the King

February 9th, 2004

On Saturday, the Directors Guild of America celebrated their 56th annual awards. And while there were many winners only two awards were for theatrical releases. More...

January's Officially Over

February 6th, 2004

10 movies opened white in January, and only one movie earned overall postive reviews, (and that movie bombed at the theatres.) The first full weekend in February see three movies opening, two with positive reviews. But it will take a lot to help 2004, which is heading for the largest year-to-year box office drop-off in more than a decade. More...

Samurai and King Battle Lasts Another Week

February 3rd, 2004

Strong holdovers and a half a dozen smaller openings kept The Last Samurai in first place on the international scene for the third weekend in a row. This week it took in another $23.3 million to raise its total to nearly $250 million internationally. Ken Watanabe's Oscar nomination helped the film's Japanese take rise by 22% from last weekend, and is now just shy of $100 million in that nation. More...

Serving Notice

February 3rd, 2004

There was a surprise upset this weekend for top spot on the charts. But even with the number one film beating expectations by more than $12 million, the overall box office still couldn't meet expectations. Total box office was done 5.2% from last weekend, dropping below the $100 million mark. Year to date 2004 was already down 6% from last year and this weekend didn't help the cause; it dropped 18.4% from last year, but just 5.2% from last Superbowl weekend. More...

Yikes. Just yikes.

January 30th, 2004

It's been a while since the prospects for catching a good movie at the theatres was this bad. And it's not like there's lack of wide releases this week. There are three of them. Three wide releases with combined reviews of only 17% positive. In fact, the box office race for top spot should prove more interesting that any of the movies trying to get there. More...

Last Remains First as King Fails to Return to Top Spot

January 27th, 2004

The weekend take for The Last Samurai dropped less than expected, just 23% or $31.3 million, and that helped it maintain first place for the second weekend in a row. It also crossed $200 million internationally and $300 million worldwide. A mid-February opening in Russia is the last major opening for The Last Samurai, but strong legs in many markets could pull in another $100 million internationally. More...

King Oscar, Lord of the Nominations

January 27th, 2004

Nominations for the 76the Annual Academy Awards were announced today. As always, here is a list of the nominations, plus reactions below. More...

Effective Marketing

January 26th, 2004

There seems to be a pattern developing for 2004. The number one movie surprises, but the overall box office is lower than expected. This week was no different. The total box office was down from last weekend's 3-day total, which is not surprising as last weekend was a long weekend. But it dropped by a massive 24.7%. The performance compared to last year that is more troubling. Before the weekend 2004 was 7% behind 2003 and at first glance this weekend was almost flat compared to last year, down less than $200,000 or just 0.002%. But this weekend last year was Superbowl weekend, so the performance is really more equivalent to a 10% drop. More...

2004 WGA Nominations Announced

January 26th, 2004

While the Writers' Guild of America hand out more than a dozen awards each year, only two apply to theatrical releases, Best Original Screenplay, and Best Adapted Screenplay. Here are the nominations in each of those categories. More...

And the Golden Globe goes to ...

January 26th, 2004

Recapping last nights Golden Globes ceremony, here are the winners with a brief reaction below. More...

2004 Golden Globe Awards are being Handed out Tonight

January 25th, 2004

With the awards ceremony only hours away, here's one last look at the theatrical nominations for tonight's 61st annual Golden Globes awards. More...

That 70s Showdown

January 23rd, 2004

Two movies staring That '70s Show alumnus open this weekend, and while neither of them will be recognized with any major awards, they probably won't light up the box office either. In fact, next weekend isn't looking that spectacular either. The box office should pick up again in February. More...

Last in First

January 21st, 2004

The second round of openings for The Last Samurai in as many weeks helped push it to top spot on the international charts. It more than doubled the number of markets it's playing in while adding almost 70% more screens, but only managed to increase its box office by roughly 25%. The weekend figure of $40.6 million pushed its international total to $157.6 million and its worldwide total to over $250 million. But without many major openings left, its weekly numbers may have peaked. More...

Polly Wants a Number One Spot

January 21st, 2004

The Martin Luther King Jr. holiday is usually celebrated by the movie industry by dumping movies that the studios have little faith in, in hopes that the holiday crowds will give it an undeserved boost. This year two of the three new releases beat expectations (at least for the 3-day weekend) and the one that didn't had the best reviews for the week. (I really must stop basing my prediction on quality.) The 3-day total box office was 7% above last weekend, but down 8% from last year. The 4-day yearly decline was about the same. More...

PGA Names Return of the King Top Movie

January 20th, 2004

On Saturday, The Producers Guild of America held their 15th Annual awards giving the top award to The Lord of the Rings: The Return of the King. More...

2003 SAG Nominations Announced

January 18th, 2004

On Thursday the 10th annual Screen Actors Guild Awards(R) Nominations were announced. Here is a list of all the nominations in theatrical categories as well as a brief reaction to them. More...

Along Comes a New Number One

January 16th, 2004

With three new movies opening wide this weekend, we should finally have a new number one at the box office. But don't expect it to be number one in the minds of the critics. With Martin Luther King Jr. Day on Monday we should see a sizeable increase at the box office. More...

Last Weekend on Top for King?

January 13th, 2004

For the first time since it was released, Lord of the Rings: Return of the King had some stiff competition for top spot on the charts. It did still take first place for the fourth weekend in a row with $35.3 million in 51 markets. Including wins in head-to-head competition with second place The Last Samurai. For instance, Return of the King's fourth weekend easily won in the U.K. $6.7 million to Samurai's $4.9 million. It was a closer contest in Germany, but King remained number one $5.5 million to $4.9 million. But with only a couple of mid-level openings this week in Indonesia and the Czech Republic it could drop out of first place next weekend. Its international total $455 million, second for the year surpassing The Matrix Reloaded by less than $1 million and putting it in a virtual tie with The Lion King for 10th all-time. Worldwide it hit $767, which is also second for the year but 13th all-time. More...

King too Big for Competition

January 12th, 2004

None of the wide releases were able to mount much of an attack on last weekend's top five. And with the exception of a limited release going wide there was little change. The lack of a dominate opener helped push the total box office lower by more than 25% from last week and 6% from last year. So much for last weekend's strong start to 2004. More...

January Dumping Grounds Begin

January 9th, 2004

January is usually the time when studios dump movies that looked like a good idea on paper, but didn't pan out. This year looks like no exception as the two new movies are getting destroyed by the critics. In fact, the only film that looks capable of challenging Lord of the Rings: Return of the King for the lead is the wide expansion of Big Fish. More...

King still on Top While Nemo Breaks another Record

January 6th, 2004

As it has since it was first released, Lord of the Rings: Return of the King had a commanding win at the international box office. This weekend's numbers were $58.7 million from 8,826 screens in 45 territories, more than double Finding Nemo in second place. Highlights include $2.3 million opening in Poland and just shy of $1 million opening in Argentina, as well as $13.7 million in the U.K. and $10 million in Germany. Totals for Return of the King now sit at $390.4 million outside the US (3rd for the year, 13th all-time) and $680.8 million worldwide (3rd for the year, and 15th all-time). By next week it should be the highest grossing film for the year. More...

A Very Happy New Year

January 5th, 2004

2004 started off with a bang as all movies in the top five beat expectations, although mostly by just a million or two. Lord of the Rings: Return of the King continues to lead and may yet have one more win up its sleeve for next week. This allowed 2004 to get an early jump improving upon last year's pace by more than 9%. There was a considerable drop from last week, but this was not surprising given the return to work / school on Monday. A drop of just 24% was the best week to week drop-off to start the year since 2000 when the box office dropped a mere 14%. More...

Will it be Three in a Row for the Trilogy?

January 2nd, 2004

This week there are no new wide openings, so the top five should look a lot like last weekend. This includes another winning weekend for Lord of the Rings: Return of the King. The lack of new releases is not uncommon for this time of the year, nor is the number of potential $100 million movies. Of the top five, one has already crossed $100 million and three more could follow. More...

Monster Opening

December 30th, 2003

Three of the four movies that broke $10,000 per theatre last week also accomplished that feat this week. However, it was a new comer that took top spot. Monster earned over $100,000 since it opened on Christmas day and it had a weekend average of $21,708, which was more than $5000 above its nearest competitor. More...

King's International Reign Continues

December 30th, 2003

In just a dozen days of release, Lord of the Rings: Return of the King has already accumulated nearly half a billion dollars. And it is still going strong. This week it commanded $84 million from 38 markets, including $12.5 million from both the U.K. and Germany. It already has more than half the total box office of both its predecessors, and it has yet to open in major markets like Japan and Italy. Internationally, Return of the King has pulled in $268 million, just behind fourth place The Matrix Revolutions for the year and 33rd all time. Worldwide, it has $490 million and that's good enough for fourth for the year and 32nd place all-time. By next week, it will be in the top 20 in both. More...

Returning as King

December 29th, 2003

No one was surprised that Lord of the Ring: Return of the King remained on top for the second weekend in a row, but most of the new entries did surprise at the box office. It is also not surprising that the box office shot up from last week by over 30%, but the yearly increase was a much more modest 4%. That is less than the average increase in ticket prices. More...

Lord Will Remain King over Christmas

December 24th, 2003

There's really no doubt Lord of the Rings: Return of the King will remain number one over Christmas / the weekend. The only real question is how much of last weekend's record breaking performance will it maintain and how well will the other movies fare. More...

Fish Remains Big on the Per Theatre Charts

December 23rd, 2003

Taking top spot on the Per Theatre Charts in consecutive weeks is not an easy task, but that's just what Big Fish did this week. And it did it by keeping nearly 80% of its premiere audience landing at $27,440 per theatre. Add in a few awards / nominations and an early January wide release and it could add up to box office hit. More...

A Quarter Billion for the King

December 23rd, 2003

As expected, Lord of the Rings: Return of the King dominated the international markets this week, setting many records along the way. It played in 28 countries on 7,403 screens earning $125.9 million, which is a record for international weekend. The film also broke individual market records for Wednesday openings in 15 countries, out of 17 Wednesday openings. It also broke weekend records in more than half a dozen other countries, including major markets like the U.K. and Germany. Worldwide totals for Return of the King are already at $250 million, (another record) putting it in 168th place on the all-time chart in just 5 days. Even with this success, it is unlike to unseat Titanic as the number one movie of all time, but it should become only the second film to earn $1 billion worldwide. More...

Records Fall to the Might of the King

December 22nd, 2003

Expectations for Lord of the Rings: Return of the King were huge, but unlike so many other movies with huge expectations that opened this year Return of the King didn't disappoint. A record-breaking performance lead to a huge 59% jump in the box office from last week. But the major letdown in other films led to a 2.3% drop from last year. More...

Return of the King Opens with Estimated $73.6 million

December 21st, 2003

New Line announced today an estimated debut weekend total of $73.6 million for Lord of the Rings: The Return of the King - the 7th biggest single Friday-Sunday performance in history. The trilogy finale also scores a host of other records. More...

Revised Weekend Predictions for the King

December 19th, 2003

Thursday's box office for Lord of the Rings: Return of the King was a little lower than expected at $17 million. That's a drop of just over 50% compared to the little more than 47% predicted. So what does this mean for the weekend prediction? $75 million will still be obtainable, just not as likely. But anything more than $70 million would mean it is still on pace to match earlier predictions. More...

Will it be a Record Weekend for the King?

December 19th, 2003

While there are two major and a few smaller releases, only one movie is getting talked about this weekend. Lord of the Rings: Return of the King will crush all competition, but there still is some question if records can be broken and how well the other competition will fare. More...

Movie Websites Launches for December 12 - December 18

December 18th, 2003

During the past week promotional websites for several movies were launched and some older ones added additional content. Here is a list of highlights, (including this week's winner Lord of the Rings: Return of the King - Official Site plus one last look at websites for films opening this week. If you know of any new movie websites not on this list feel free to e-mail me with the details. More...

Lord of Wednesday

December 18th, 2003

Anther day and another record for Lord of the Ring: Return of the King. It is now the largest Wednesday opening of any film, surpassing Star Wars: The Phantom Menace by more than $5 million. It also topped last year's opening of The Two Towers by nearly $8 million. Any fears that the long running time would hurt the box office too much are now alleviated. More...

It's Good to be the King!

December 17th, 2003

The first figures for Lord of the Ring: Return of the King are in, and they are record breaking. The film earned an amazing $8 million from 2100 midnight showings. That surpasses the previous record of $5 million The Matrix Reloaded took in, however, The Matrix Reloaded needed more than 600 more theatres to do so. More...

Return of the Box Office King

December 16th, 2003

It's after midnight eastern time and the doors have opened to packed houses for the opening of Lord of the Ring: Return of the King. If there's ever been a guaranteed box office hit, this is it. More...

The Rings Returns to Rule Them All

December 16th, 2003

New Line rolls out The Lord of the Rings: The Return of the King today with an unprecedented day-long event. "Trilogy Tuesday" will pack 126 theaters nationwide for back-to-back-to-back showings of all three movies in the series, including the extended editions of The Fellowship of the Ring and The Two Towers. More...

They Can't Blame the Snow This Time

December 15th, 2003

While the weekend after Thanksgiving is usually soft, the weekend after that usually sees a bit of a rebound. Last year, for instance, we saw a nearly 20% week-to-week increase at the box office. This year we weren't so lucky. No movie in the top five beat box office expectations, while a couple did place higher on the charts due to weaker than expected competition. This led to a drop of nearly 9% from last week and 13% from last year. More...

Two Way Race for Top Spot

December 12th, 2003

It's a two-way race for top spot this weekend with Something's Gotta Give targeting a mature audience while Stuck on You goes for the decidedly immature. A third movie, Love Don't Cost a Thing is also opening wide but it might have trouble just making the top five. More...

Movie Websites Launches for December 5 - December 11

December 11th, 2003


Blame it on the Tryptophan

December 9th, 2003

The post Thanksgivings weekend was even tougher on the movie industry than predicted with only one movie in the top five living up to expectations. Some analysts are blaming it on the storm in the Northeast, but the internal multiplier doesn't really support that. And while the box office did drop 40% from last week, it was well ahead of last year to the tune of almost 20%. Year-to-date 2003 is still more than $100 million behind 2002 and with only one movie left that is a sure bet to make that much, catching up is not expected. More...

Movie Websites Launches for November 29 - December 5

December 4th, 2003

During the past week promotional websites for several movies were launched and some older ones added additional content. Here's a list of highlights, plus one last look at websites for films opening this week.More...

Movie Websites Launches for November 21 - November 28

November 27th, 2003

During the past week promotional websites for several movies were launched and some older ones added additional content. Here's a list of highlights, plus one last look at websites for films opening this week. If you know of any new movie websites not on this list feel free to e-mail me with the details. More...

Movie Websites Launches for October 31 - November 6

November 6th, 2003


Matrix Finale Opens Worldwide Tonight

November 5th, 2003


Movie Websites Launches for October 24 - October 30

October 30th, 2003


Movie Websites Launches for October 10 - October 16

October 16th, 2003


Higher Education or Timely Thriller

October 3rd, 2003


Movie Websites Launches for September 25 - October 1

October 2nd, 2003


Box Office Runs Out of Gas

September 29th, 2003


Running Over the Competition

September 26th, 2003


It's International Talk Like a Pirate Day, Arr!

September 19th, 2003


Arnie and Pirates are The Numbers' Biggest Draws in August

September 2nd, 2003


Nemo Watch and Other Milestones

August 22nd, 2003


Return of the King Becomes Return of the Rings

August 22nd, 2003


News Test

May 23rd, 2003


Horta's View from the Stalls: Digital Overkill in a Digital World - Visual Effects in the Movies

April 25th, 2003


Garfield Pushed Back

April 19th, 2003



  1. Summary
  2. News
  3. Box Office
  4. International
  5. Video Sales
  6. Full Financials
  7. Cast & Crew
  8. Trailer

Metrics

Opening Weekend:$72,629,713 (19.2% of total gross)
Legs:5.22 (domestic box office/biggest weekend)
Domestic Share:33.8% (domestic box office/worldwide)
Production Budget:$94,000,000 (worldwide box office is 11.9 times production budget)
Theater counts:3,703 opening theaters/3,703 max. theaters, 9.6 weeks average run per theater
Infl. Adj. Dom. BO $656,270,541

Latest Ranking on Cumulative Box Office Lists

RecordRankAmount
All Time Domestic Box Office 53 $379,021,990
All Time International Box Office 34 $742,364,991
All Time Worldwide Box Office 32 $1,121,386,981

See the Box Office tab (Domestic) and International tab (International and Worldwide) for more Cumulative Box Office Records.


Watch Now On

Amazon VOD:Amazon
Google Play:Google Play
Netflix:Netflix, Netflix, Netflix
Hulu:Hulu

Movie Details

Domestic Releases: December 17th, 2003 (Wide) by New Line
June 28th, 2011 (Special Engagement) by Warner Bros.
February 12th, 2021 (IMAX) by Warner Bros.
April 13th, 2023 (Wide) by Fathom Events (20th Anniversary Extended Edition)
International Releases: December 17th, 2003 (Wide), released as El Señor De Los Anillos: El Retorno del Rey (Mexico)
December 17th, 2003 (Wide), released as El Señor de los Anillos: El Retorno del Rey (Spain)
December 17th, 2003 (Wide) (United Kingdom)
December 18th, 2003 (Wide) (New Zealand)
December 19th, 2003 (Wide), released as Yüzüklerin Efendisi: Kral'ın Dönüşü (Turkey)
... Show all releases
Video Release: December 14th, 2004 by New Line Home Video, released as Lord of the Rings, The: The Return of the King
MPAA Rating: PG-13 for intense epic battle sequences and frightening images
Running Time: 201 minutes
Franchise: Peter Jackson's Lord of the Rings
Comparisons: Best Picture Oscar Winners
Eragon
vs. Night at the Museum: Secret of the Tomb
Create your own comparison chart…
Keywords: Lord of the Rings, Visual Effects, Oscars Best Picture Winner, Character's Journey Shown on Map, Motion Capture Performance, Filmed in Hobbiton Movie Set, Matamata, New Zealand, Filmed in Matamata, New Zealand, Filmed in New Zealand, Filmed in Stone Street Studios, Wellington, New Zealand, Filmed in Wellington, New Zealand, Filmed in Rangipo Desert, New Zealand, Filmed in Mount Ruapehu, New Zealand, Filmed in Pūtangirua Pinnacles, New Zealand, Filmed in Twizel, New Zealand, Heroic Adventure, 2004 Oscars Best Picture Nominee
Source:Based on Fiction Book/Short Story
Genre:Adventure
Production Method:Animation/Live Action
Creative Type:Fantasy
Production/Financing Companies: Wingnut Films, New Line Cinema
Production Countries: New Zealand, United States
Languages: English

Ranking on other Records and Milestones

RecordRankAmountChart
Date
Days In
Release
Biggest Domestic 13th Weekend 100 $2,021,501 Mar 12, 2004 89
Biggest Domestic 12th Weekend 68 $3,037,822 Mar 5, 2004 82
Biggest 10th Thursday 96 $198,000 Feb 26, 2004 72
Biggest 10th Sunday 59 $896,887 Feb 22, 2004 68
Biggest 10th Saturday 63 $1,299,866 Feb 21, 2004 67
Biggest 10th Friday 91 $600,000 Feb 20, 2004 66
Biggest 9th Thursday 88 $293,000 Feb 19, 2004 65
Biggest 9th Wednesday 86 $298,000 Feb 18, 2004 64
Biggest 9th Monday 29 $903,281 Feb 16, 2004 62
Biggest 9th Sunday 41 $1,429,675 Feb 15, 2004 61
Biggest Domestic 9th Weekend 94 $4,187,000 Feb 13, 2004 61
Washington's Birthday (All Movies, 3-Day, Inflation Adjusted) 318 $7,618,856 Feb 13, 2004 61
Washington's Birthday (All Movies, 4-Day, Fri-Mon) 203 $5,090,281 Feb 13, 2004 61
Washington's Birthday (All Movies, 4-Day, Fri-Mon, Inflation Adjusted) 187 $9,262,508 Feb 13, 2004 61
Biggest 9th Saturday 49 $1,957,907 Feb 14, 2004 60
Biggest 9th Friday 99 $800,000 Feb 13, 2004 59
Biggest 8th Sunday 75 $1,370,995 Feb 8, 2004 54
Fastest to $350m 54 $351,133,343 Feb 6, 2004 54
Biggest 8th Saturday 80 $2,014,866 Feb 7, 2004 53
Super Bowl (All Movies, 3-Day) 153 $5,310,803 Jan 30, 2004 47
Super Bowl (All Movies, 3-Day, Inflation Adjusted) 163 $9,663,783 Jan 30, 2004 47
Biggest 7th Saturday 86 $2,739,574 Jan 31, 2004 46
Biggest 5th Monday 47 $2,228,291 Jan 19, 2004 34
Biggest 5th Sunday 91 $3,229,017 Jan 18, 2004 33
Martin Luther King (All Movies, 3-Day) 116 $10,219,470 Jan 16, 2004 33
Martin Luther King (All Movies, 3-Day, Inflation Adjusted) 121 $18,595,811 Jan 16, 2004 33
Martin Luther King (All Movies, 4-Day, Fri-Mon) 105 $12,447,761 Jan 16, 2004 33
Martin Luther King (All Movies, 4-Day, Fri-Mon, Inflation Adjusted) 86 $22,650,511 Jan 16, 2004 33
Biggest 5th Saturday 91 $4,614,194 Jan 17, 2004 32
Fastest to $300m 52 $301,700,000 Jan 9, 2004 24
Biggest Domestic 3rd Weekend 79 $28,180,378 Jan 2, 2004 19
Biggest Domestic January Weekend 49 $28,180,378 Jan 2, 2004 19
New Year's Day (All Movies, 3-Day) 19 $28,180,378 Jan 2, 2004 19
New Year's Day (All Movies, 3-Day, Inflation Adjusted) 14 $51,278,304 Jan 2, 2004 19
Biggest 3rd Saturday 87 $10,563,221 Jan 3, 2004 18
Biggest 3rd Friday 39 $10,602,130 Jan 2, 2004 17
Biggest 2nd Thursday 7 $11,950,000 Jan 1, 2004 16
Biggest Domestic January Day 86 $11,950,000 Jan 1, 2004 16
Fastest to $250m 52 $261,350,000 Jan 1, 2004 16
Biggest 2nd Wednesday 28 $7,500,000 Dec 31, 2003 15
Biggest 2nd Tuesday 27 $9,615,000 Dec 30, 2003 14
Biggest 2nd Monday 27 $10,490,000 Dec 29, 2003 13
Biggest 2nd Sunday 75 $14,196,641 Dec 28, 2003 12
Biggest Domestic 2nd Weekend 69 $50,598,104 Dec 26, 2003 12
Christmas (All Movies, 3-Day) 10 $50,598,104 Dec 26, 2003 12
Christmas (All Movies, 3-Day, Inflation Adjusted) 5 $94,819,001 Dec 26, 2003 12
Biggest 2nd Saturday 100 $17,249,267 Dec 27, 2003 11
Fastest to $150m 79 $208,072,067 Dec 26, 2003 11
Fastest to $200m 76 $208,072,067 Dec 26, 2003 11
Biggest 2nd Friday 37 $19,152,196 Dec 26, 2003 10
Biggest 1st Thursday 23 $13,986,220 Dec 25, 2003 9
Biggest 1st Tuesday 57 $12,476,242 Dec 23, 2003 7
Biggest Domestic Tuesday 79 $12,476,242 Dec 23, 2003 7
Biggest 1st Monday 60 $13,563,208 Dec 22, 2003 6
Biggest Domestic Monday 81 $13,563,208 Dec 22, 2003 6
Biggest Domestic December Weekend 14 $72,629,713 Dec 19, 2003 5
Top Adventure Weekend Domestic 56 $72,629,713 Dec 19, 2003 5
Top Animation/Live Action Weekend Domestic 64 $72,629,713 Dec 19, 2003 5
Top Based on Fiction Book/Short Story Weekend Domestic 31 $72,629,713 Dec 19, 2003 5
Top Fantasy Weekend Domestic 21 $72,629,713 Dec 19, 2003 5
Top New Line Weekend Domestic 2 $72,629,713 Dec 19, 2003 5
Top 2003 Theater Average 26 $19,614 Dec 19, 2003 5
Fastest to $100m 98 $100,774,423 Dec 19, 2003 4
Biggest Domestic Thursday 31 $17,019,987 Dec 18, 2003 2
Fastest to $50m 146 $51,470,821 Dec 18, 2003 2
Top Adventure Day Domestic 82 $34,450,834 Dec 17, 2003 1
Top Based on Fiction Book/Short Story Day Domestic 46 $34,450,834 Dec 17, 2003 1
Top Fantasy Day Domestic 27 $34,450,834 Dec 17, 2003 1
Top New Line Day Domestic 1 $34,450,834 Dec 17, 2003 1
Biggest Domestic December Day 27 $34,450,834 Dec 17, 2003 1
Biggest Domestic Wednesday 9 $34,450,834 Dec 17, 2003 1

Leading Cast

Ian McKellen    Gandalf
Viggo Mortensen    Aragorn
Olando Bloom*    Legolas

Supporting Cast

Elijah Wood    Frodo Baggins
Liv Tyler    Arwen
Sean Astin    Sam
Cate Blanchett    Galadriel
John Rhys-Davies    Gimli
Bernard Hill    Theoden
Billy Boyd    Pippin
Dominic Monaghan    Meriadoc 'Merry' Brandybuck
Hugo Weaving    Elrond
Miranda Otto    Eowyn
David Wenham    Faramir
Karl Urban    Eomer
Andy Serkis    Gollum/Smeagol
John Noble    Denethor
Ian Holm    Bilbo
Sean Bean    Boromir
Lawrence Makoare    Witch King / Gothmog
Paul Norell    King of the Dead
Marton Csokas    Celeborn
John Bach    Madril
Sala Baker    Sauron

Cameos

Peter Jackson    Mercenary On Boat

For a description of the different acting role types we use to categorize acting perfomances, see our Glossary.

Production and Technical Credits

Peter Jackson    Director
Robert Shaye    Executive Producer
Michael Lynne    Executive Producer
Mark Ordesky    Executive Producer
Bob Weinstein    Executive Producer
Harvey Weinstein    Executive Producer
Barrie M. Osborne    Producer
Fran Walsh    Producer
Peter Jackson    Producer
Fran Walsh    Screenwriter
Philippa Boyens    Screenwriter
Peter Jackson    Screenwriter
J.R.R. Tolkien    Story Creator
Andrew Lesnie    Cinematographer
Grant Major    Production Designer
Jamie Selkirk    Editor
Howard Shore    Composer
Christopher Boyes    Re-recording Mixer

The bold credits above the line are the "above-the-line" credits, the other the "below-the-line" credits.

DVD and Blu-ray Releases for August 28th, 2012

August 28th, 2012

We are clearly in TV on DVD season on the home market as there are five TV on DVD releases among the top six selling releases, with Battleship being the only first run release to break up the TV on DVD dominance. There are many such releases that are contenders for Pick of the Week: Boardwalk Empire: Season Two on Blu-ray, Homeland: Season One on Blu-ray, Once Upon a Time: Season One on Blu-ray, and The Walking Dead: Season Two on Blu-ray. However, in the end I went with The Pirates! Band of Misfits on 3D Combo Pack as the Pick of the Week. Meanwhile, Monsieur Lazhar on DVD or Blu-ray earns a rarely awarded Puck of the Week. More...

Blu-ray Sales: Hugo's Huge in High Definition

March 14th, 2012

Hugo led a limited number of new releases on top of the Blu-ray sales chart. It sold 523,000 units while generating $14.37 million in sales. This is a good result compared to its theatrical run, but not great given the film's production budget. Its opening week Blu-ray share was 51%, which is fantastic for a family film, although this is not your typical family film. More...

2011 Holiday Gift Guide: Part I

November 23rd, 2011

This weekend is Thanksgiving and as always that means Black Friday and Cyber Monday plus 48 hours of shopping in-between. And as always, I've already done my Christmas shopping, for the most part. (I'm still waiting to see if the B.C.Lions win the Grey Cup. If not, I'll need to look for an alternative gift.) For everyone else who is still searching, we present the first part in our annual Holiday Gift Guide. As usual, the gift guide is divided into several sections, starting with Major Movie Releases. These are first run releases, franchise box sets, etc. However, before we get into the individual titles, we will start with an update on... More...

Blu-ray Sales: Holdovers Lord Above New Releases

July 20th, 2011

Lord of the Rings: Extended Edition Trilogy remained on top of the Blu-ray sales chart this week selling 104,000 units / $5.08 million for the week. It now has generated just over $30 million in sales in just two weeks, and even if you split that between the three movies, it's still an excellent run for a catalog title. More...

Blu-ray Sales: Ring Sucker Punches New Releases

July 12th, 2011

While it's not common for a box set to lead the way on the Blu-ray sales chart, it is also no real surprise that Lord of the Rings: Extended Edition Trilogy managed to do just that, as it was clearly the biggest new release of the week. It took top spot with sales of 336,000 units, and thanks to its premium pricing, it generated $25.21 million in opening week consumer spending. More...

DVD and Blu-ray Releases for June 28th, 2011

June 27th, 2011

It's a bit of a madhouse in terms of DVD and Blu-ray releases this week: Amazon.com has more than 400 listed. That said, a lot of them are catalogue titles that would barely warrant a mention during a slow week. The most intriguing first run release is Sucker Punch on Blu-ray / DVD / Digital Copy Combo Pack, but while I think it's worth picking up, it's appeal is limited enough that it is not worthy of the Pick of the Week honors. Fortunately, one of the catalogue titles is clearly Pick of the Week material. In fact, Lord of the Rings Trilogy: Extended Edition - Blu-ray is one of the most anticipated releases in the history of Blu-ray. More...

DVD Sales: Toys Retake Top Spot

December 7th, 2010

It was the Thanksgiving long weekend recently and the sales numbers this week include Black Friday. It should come as no surprise that there was an uptick in sales this week, with a number of older releases seeing a massive jump. This includes Toy Story 3, which shot into top spot with 1.27 million units / $21.19 million for the week and 6.78 million / $124.60 million after a month. It is now the third-best-selling DVD of the year. More...

2010 - Holiday Gift Guide - Part II

December 2nd, 2010

Christmas shopping season is in full swing and this week we have the second part of our Holiday Gift Guide. Last week, Part I talked about big first run releases, while this week we look at box sets and TV on DVD releases. When it comes to the latter, this list is limited to Full Series Megasets and the first season of shows that made their home market debut this year, mostly. This is because when it comes to full season sets from the middle of a show's run, they don't really make good gifts, unless the person is already collecting the series. "Here's season three of a great show. You'll have to buy the first two yourself and get caught up before watching this one." Anyhoo, there are still plenty of releases worth giving as gifts this season, starting with... More...

DVD Releases for December 14, 2004

December 13th, 2004

Every week films get a second chance at success from the home market; or, in some cases, a first chance at success. Here is a list of wide releases, limited releases and a few from the growing TV on DVD section, including the winners of the DVD Pick of the Week, Lord of the Rings: Return of the King - Platinum Series Special Extended Edition and Star Trek: The Original Series - The Complete Third Season - Buy from Amazon. More...

Spider-Man's Start's Slower, But Records Still Fall

July 2nd, 2004

Spider-man 2 earned a record breaking $40.4 million on Wednesday, and while that was up to my lofty expectations, it was still more than enough to break records. More...

How Many will be Caught in Spider-Man's Web

June 30th, 2004

It's not a question of whether Spider-man 2 will open big; we all know it will. It's not even a question of if records will fall; we all know that will happen as well. It's a question of how many records will Spider-man 2 break, and by what margin. More...

DVD Releases for May 25, 2004

May 25th, 2004

Every week films get a second chance at success from the home market; or, in some cases, a first chance at success. Here is a list of wide releases, limited releases and a few from the growing TV on DVD section including a surprise selection for my DVD pick of the week, Bubba Ho-Tep - Buy from Amazon. More...

Passion's Top Draw

April 6th, 2004

Another 7 openings helped keep The Passion of the Christ in top spot with $25.4 million. And the same pattern is holding true, the smaller the market the better the result. In Spain it opened to $3.2 million, about on par with Gothika's opening at the end of February. In South Korea it opened first with $2.3 million, significantly below the local productions that have been taking tops spot for most of the year. So far the film has earned just over $80 million internationally and over $400 million worldwide. More...

International Audiences do a Double Take

March 30th, 2004

With no new wider releases the top five international box office finished in the same order as last weekend. The Passion of the Christ again topped the week thanks to number one openings in many markets and even a few records. The biggest slice of its estimated $16 million take came from the U.K. where it finished first, sort of. Including previews its $3.6 was strong enough for first place; if you don't include previews then it drops to third place behind the debut of Dawn of the Dead and the second weekend of Starsky and Hutch. The film again had strong results in small markets breaking records in Argentina and Venezuela. Total international run now sits at $58.7 million in 36 markets, good, but certainly not comparable to its domestic total. More...

Passions Rise Internationally

March 23rd, 2004

The Passion of the Christ had mixed openings during its fourth weekend in international release. In Latin America is performed very well, where it made two thirds of its $15 million weekend take, breaking records in Chile and Central America along the way. On the flip side it could only manage a paltry $2.3 million in Germany, half of first place Brother Bear and on par with Gothika's opening earlier in the year. It would have been more impressive if the situation was reversed. After all, record breaking performances throughout Latin American won't earn as much as a blockbuster performance in Germany. Overall Passions has pulled in $32.3 million in 19, mostly smaller markets. More...

Polly Wants the Number One Position?

March 16th, 2004

Without an international breakout hit, the domestic slowdown is still affecting the international box-office. This week a single massive opening in a major market could have put a film in the top five. Unfortunately, that didn't happen. But a string of strong openings helped push Along Came Polly into first place with $12.4 million. It's still early in its international run, but with $40.2 million so far and with some big markets left it should beat its domestic total. More...

Box Office Woes extend Overseas

March 9th, 2004

The earlier domestic box office slow down is starting to affect the international box office as no movie could manage $10 million or more at the box office. Compare that to last week when three movies managed that feat. Even winning 11 Oscars didn't help Lord of the Rings: Return of the King's international box office as it dropped 15% to $9.4 million, although that was enough for it to reclaim the weekly crown. Overall its international total is now just shy of $680 million while its worldwide total is nearing $1.05 billion. More...

Oscars Boost Box Office of Several Films

March 8th, 2004

With its 11 Oscar wins and huge jump in theatre count, Lord of the Rings: Return of the King should have had the largest post-Oscar jump at the box office. And while in raw dollars it did, it was the lesser known The Barbarian Invasions that had the biggest percent jump. The Canadian film and winner of Best Foreign Language Film jumped more than 137% at the box office. Its per theatre average also jumped by nearly 40%, compared to the nearly 20% drop by Return of the King. More...

Can 2004 Take the Lead?

March 5th, 2004

We haven't seen two film open with strong prospects since the beginning of February. And with last week's winner still going strong, 2004 should pass 2003 at the box office. More...

Scary Finish at the International Box Office Race

March 2nd, 2004

When Scary Movie 3 was released domestically during the past fall, many analysts predicted it would fail to attract a sizeable audience. After all, there was a massive 55% drop-off between the first two installments. But the movie out-preformed expectations domestically, and now it's doing the same internationally. Scary Movie 3 earned $12.3 million and a first place finished this past weekend. Its international total is nearing $75 million and it should cross $200 million worldwide relatively soon. More...

King Sweeps and Other Oscar Reactions

March 1st, 2004

Perhaps the most surprising aspect of last nights Oscars was the lack of surprises. Even the sweep by Lord of the Rings: Return of the King wasn't that big of a shock. More...

Lording over the Oscars

February 29th, 2004

Lord of the Rings: Return of the King swept all the categories it was nominated for in winning a record-equaling 11 Oscars earlier this evening. Here is a list of the winners with reactions to be posted tomorrow. More...

Numbers Readers Predicting Return of the King Oscar Sweep

February 29th, 2004

The final results are in from our Predict the Academy Awards Competition, and Numbers readers are forecasting a Lord of the Rings sweep at the ceremony tonight.

A stunning 90% of voters are calling for Lord of the Rings to win Best Picture and Peter Jackson to win Best Director - some of the strongest predictions we've seen in the 7 years we've been running the poll. The movie is also projected to win in every other category in which its nominated.

With no Rings stars nominated for acting awards though, some of the other results are still ripe for speculation. More...

Oscar Prediction: Costume Design

February 28th, 2004

Just over 24 hours to go before the ceremony, and we're ready to call another result. This time the category is costume design - one that has thrown up some surprises in the past. More...

Oscar Prediction: Best Song

February 27th, 2004

Today's Oscar prediction is for one of the more minor categories, which are often harder to predict than the big awards. But this year, Numbers readers seem to be of one accord on the song destined to pick up the Oscar. More...

Oscar Prediction: Best Picture

February 26th, 2004

Having called the results for Best Animate Feature and Achievement in Directing over the past two days, we're ready to announce a projected winner for the big prize... Best Picture. Our projections are based on the entries in our Predict the Academy Awards competition. More...

Oscar Prediction: Directing

February 25th, 2004

Every day between now and the Academy Awards ceremony we're predicting the result of one of the categories based on votes in our Predict the Oscars competition. Yesterday we predicted a safe win for Finding Nemo as Best Animated Feature. Today we're calling the result for Directing. More...

Billion Dollar Box Office

February 24th, 2004

It took a couple days longer than expected, but Lord of the Rings: Return of the King crossed the $1 billion mark over the weekend. The weekend total of $13.9 million was also good enough for first place on the international charts. Internationally it is still in third place behind Harry Potter and the Philosopher's Stone, but that should change by the weekend. More...

SAG Celebrates a Decade of Excellence

February 23rd, 2004

The 10th Annual Screen Actor Guild Awards were handed out on Sunday, and there were a not a whole lost of surprises this year. At least not if you take the Golden Globe awards into consideration. More...

WGA Announces Winners over the Weekend

February 23rd, 2004

In amongst the more than a dozen awards handed out at the 56th Annual Writers Guild Awards on Saturday were two for theatrical releases. More...

Lord Returns to the Top

February 18th, 2004


Million Dollar Dates

February 18th, 2004

Mixed would be the best way to describe the weekend results. With the exception of the number one film, all movies beat Friday's predictions. However, the overall box office was again failed to match last year's pace. Valentine's Day and President's Day helped the 3-day total increase by more than 10% from last weekend, but it was down 14% from last year. The four-day total fared better, but by a barely noticeable margin dropping 13%. More...

Valentines Day / President's Day Double Shot

February 13th, 2004

With both Valentine's Day and President's Day occurring this weekend, there are twice as many reasons to see a movie. And with only one movie opening wide, it should open huge. Holdovers should also perform well given the extra day, but they will have a hard time living up to last year. More...

Lasting Reign

February 10th, 2004

After crossing $250 million international some time during the mid-week, The Last Samurai opened in another 10 markets pushing its weekend total to $17.7 million. Most impressive is the film's run in Japan; it was first in its 10th week of release and it crossed the $100 million mark in that nation. If Ken Watanabe wins the Oscar it should outperform its domestic run in Japan. It is very unusual for a Hollywood film to earn more in a single international market than it earned domestically. More...

DGA Crowns Jackson for Return of the King

February 9th, 2004

On Saturday, the Directors Guild of America celebrated their 56th annual awards. And while there were many winners only two awards were for theatrical releases. More...

January's Officially Over

February 6th, 2004

10 movies opened white in January, and only one movie earned overall postive reviews, (and that movie bombed at the theatres.) The first full weekend in February see three movies opening, two with positive reviews. But it will take a lot to help 2004, which is heading for the largest year-to-year box office drop-off in more than a decade. More...

Samurai and King Battle Lasts Another Week

February 3rd, 2004

Strong holdovers and a half a dozen smaller openings kept The Last Samurai in first place on the international scene for the third weekend in a row. This week it took in another $23.3 million to raise its total to nearly $250 million internationally. Ken Watanabe's Oscar nomination helped the film's Japanese take rise by 22% from last weekend, and is now just shy of $100 million in that nation. More...

Serving Notice

February 3rd, 2004

There was a surprise upset this weekend for top spot on the charts. But even with the number one film beating expectations by more than $12 million, the overall box office still couldn't meet expectations. Total box office was done 5.2% from last weekend, dropping below the $100 million mark. Year to date 2004 was already down 6% from last year and this weekend didn't help the cause; it dropped 18.4% from last year, but just 5.2% from last Superbowl weekend. More...

Yikes. Just yikes.

January 30th, 2004

It's been a while since the prospects for catching a good movie at the theatres was this bad. And it's not like there's lack of wide releases this week. There are three of them. Three wide releases with combined reviews of only 17% positive. In fact, the box office race for top spot should prove more interesting that any of the movies trying to get there. More...

Last Remains First as King Fails to Return to Top Spot

January 27th, 2004

The weekend take for The Last Samurai dropped less than expected, just 23% or $31.3 million, and that helped it maintain first place for the second weekend in a row. It also crossed $200 million internationally and $300 million worldwide. A mid-February opening in Russia is the last major opening for The Last Samurai, but strong legs in many markets could pull in another $100 million internationally. More...

King Oscar, Lord of the Nominations

January 27th, 2004

Nominations for the 76the Annual Academy Awards were announced today. As always, here is a list of the nominations, plus reactions below. More...

Effective Marketing

January 26th, 2004

There seems to be a pattern developing for 2004. The number one movie surprises, but the overall box office is lower than expected. This week was no different. The total box office was down from last weekend's 3-day total, which is not surprising as last weekend was a long weekend. But it dropped by a massive 24.7%. The performance compared to last year that is more troubling. Before the weekend 2004 was 7% behind 2003 and at first glance this weekend was almost flat compared to last year, down less than $200,000 or just 0.002%. But this weekend last year was Superbowl weekend, so the performance is really more equivalent to a 10% drop. More...

2004 WGA Nominations Announced

January 26th, 2004

While the Writers' Guild of America hand out more than a dozen awards each year, only two apply to theatrical releases, Best Original Screenplay, and Best Adapted Screenplay. Here are the nominations in each of those categories. More...

And the Golden Globe goes to ...

January 26th, 2004

Recapping last nights Golden Globes ceremony, here are the winners with a brief reaction below. More...

2004 Golden Globe Awards are being Handed out Tonight

January 25th, 2004

With the awards ceremony only hours away, here's one last look at the theatrical nominations for tonight's 61st annual Golden Globes awards. More...

That 70s Showdown

January 23rd, 2004

Two movies staring That '70s Show alumnus open this weekend, and while neither of them will be recognized with any major awards, they probably won't light up the box office either. In fact, next weekend isn't looking that spectacular either. The box office should pick up again in February. More...

Last in First

January 21st, 2004

The second round of openings for The Last Samurai in as many weeks helped push it to top spot on the international charts. It more than doubled the number of markets it's playing in while adding almost 70% more screens, but only managed to increase its box office by roughly 25%. The weekend figure of $40.6 million pushed its international total to $157.6 million and its worldwide total to over $250 million. But without many major openings left, its weekly numbers may have peaked. More...

Polly Wants a Number One Spot

January 21st, 2004

The Martin Luther King Jr. holiday is usually celebrated by the movie industry by dumping movies that the studios have little faith in, in hopes that the holiday crowds will give it an undeserved boost. This year two of the three new releases beat expectations (at least for the 3-day weekend) and the one that didn't had the best reviews for the week. (I really must stop basing my prediction on quality.) The 3-day total box office was 7% above last weekend, but down 8% from last year. The 4-day yearly decline was about the same. More...

PGA Names Return of the King Top Movie

January 20th, 2004

On Saturday, The Producers Guild of America held their 15th Annual awards giving the top award to The Lord of the Rings: The Return of the King. More...

2003 SAG Nominations Announced

January 18th, 2004

On Thursday the 10th annual Screen Actors Guild Awards(R) Nominations were announced. Here is a list of all the nominations in theatrical categories as well as a brief reaction to them. More...

Along Comes a New Number One

January 16th, 2004

With three new movies opening wide this weekend, we should finally have a new number one at the box office. But don't expect it to be number one in the minds of the critics. With Martin Luther King Jr. Day on Monday we should see a sizeable increase at the box office. More...

Last Weekend on Top for King?

January 13th, 2004

For the first time since it was released, Lord of the Rings: Return of the King had some stiff competition for top spot on the charts. It did still take first place for the fourth weekend in a row with $35.3 million in 51 markets. Including wins in head-to-head competition with second place The Last Samurai. For instance, Return of the King's fourth weekend easily won in the U.K. $6.7 million to Samurai's $4.9 million. It was a closer contest in Germany, but King remained number one $5.5 million to $4.9 million. But with only a couple of mid-level openings this week in Indonesia and the Czech Republic it could drop out of first place next weekend. Its international total $455 million, second for the year surpassing The Matrix Reloaded by less than $1 million and putting it in a virtual tie with The Lion King for 10th all-time. Worldwide it hit $767, which is also second for the year but 13th all-time. More...

King too Big for Competition

January 12th, 2004

None of the wide releases were able to mount much of an attack on last weekend's top five. And with the exception of a limited release going wide there was little change. The lack of a dominate opener helped push the total box office lower by more than 25% from last week and 6% from last year. So much for last weekend's strong start to 2004. More...

January Dumping Grounds Begin

January 9th, 2004

January is usually the time when studios dump movies that looked like a good idea on paper, but didn't pan out. This year looks like no exception as the two new movies are getting destroyed by the critics. In fact, the only film that looks capable of challenging Lord of the Rings: Return of the King for the lead is the wide expansion of Big Fish. More...

King still on Top While Nemo Breaks another Record

January 6th, 2004

As it has since it was first released, Lord of the Rings: Return of the King had a commanding win at the international box office. This weekend's numbers were $58.7 million from 8,826 screens in 45 territories, more than double Finding Nemo in second place. Highlights include $2.3 million opening in Poland and just shy of $1 million opening in Argentina, as well as $13.7 million in the U.K. and $10 million in Germany. Totals for Return of the King now sit at $390.4 million outside the US (3rd for the year, 13th all-time) and $680.8 million worldwide (3rd for the year, and 15th all-time). By next week it should be the highest grossing film for the year. More...

A Very Happy New Year

January 5th, 2004

2004 started off with a bang as all movies in the top five beat expectations, although mostly by just a million or two. Lord of the Rings: Return of the King continues to lead and may yet have one more win up its sleeve for next week. This allowed 2004 to get an early jump improving upon last year's pace by more than 9%. There was a considerable drop from last week, but this was not surprising given the return to work / school on Monday. A drop of just 24% was the best week to week drop-off to start the year since 2000 when the box office dropped a mere 14%. More...

Will it be Three in a Row for the Trilogy?

January 2nd, 2004

This week there are no new wide openings, so the top five should look a lot like last weekend. This includes another winning weekend for Lord of the Rings: Return of the King. The lack of new releases is not uncommon for this time of the year, nor is the number of potential $100 million movies. Of the top five, one has already crossed $100 million and three more could follow. More...

Monster Opening

December 30th, 2003

Three of the four movies that broke $10,000 per theatre last week also accomplished that feat this week. However, it was a new comer that took top spot. Monster earned over $100,000 since it opened on Christmas day and it had a weekend average of $21,708, which was more than $5000 above its nearest competitor. More...

King's International Reign Continues

December 30th, 2003

In just a dozen days of release, Lord of the Rings: Return of the King has already accumulated nearly half a billion dollars. And it is still going strong. This week it commanded $84 million from 38 markets, including $12.5 million from both the U.K. and Germany. It already has more than half the total box office of both its predecessors, and it has yet to open in major markets like Japan and Italy. Internationally, Return of the King has pulled in $268 million, just behind fourth place The Matrix Revolutions for the year and 33rd all time. Worldwide, it has $490 million and that's good enough for fourth for the year and 32nd place all-time. By next week, it will be in the top 20 in both. More...

Returning as King

December 29th, 2003

No one was surprised that Lord of the Ring: Return of the King remained on top for the second weekend in a row, but most of the new entries did surprise at the box office. It is also not surprising that the box office shot up from last week by over 30%, but the yearly increase was a much more modest 4%. That is less than the average increase in ticket prices. More...

Lord Will Remain King over Christmas

December 24th, 2003

There's really no doubt Lord of the Rings: Return of the King will remain number one over Christmas / the weekend. The only real question is how much of last weekend's record breaking performance will it maintain and how well will the other movies fare. More...

Fish Remains Big on the Per Theatre Charts

December 23rd, 2003

Taking top spot on the Per Theatre Charts in consecutive weeks is not an easy task, but that's just what Big Fish did this week. And it did it by keeping nearly 80% of its premiere audience landing at $27,440 per theatre. Add in a few awards / nominations and an early January wide release and it could add up to box office hit. More...

A Quarter Billion for the King

December 23rd, 2003

As expected, Lord of the Rings: Return of the King dominated the international markets this week, setting many records along the way. It played in 28 countries on 7,403 screens earning $125.9 million, which is a record for international weekend. The film also broke individual market records for Wednesday openings in 15 countries, out of 17 Wednesday openings. It also broke weekend records in more than half a dozen other countries, including major markets like the U.K. and Germany. Worldwide totals for Return of the King are already at $250 million, (another record) putting it in 168th place on the all-time chart in just 5 days. Even with this success, it is unlike to unseat Titanic as the number one movie of all time, but it should become only the second film to earn $1 billion worldwide. More...

Records Fall to the Might of the King

December 22nd, 2003

Expectations for Lord of the Rings: Return of the King were huge, but unlike so many other movies with huge expectations that opened this year Return of the King didn't disappoint. A record-breaking performance lead to a huge 59% jump in the box office from last week. But the major letdown in other films led to a 2.3% drop from last year. More...

Return of the King Opens with Estimated $73.6 million

December 21st, 2003

New Line announced today an estimated debut weekend total of $73.6 million for Lord of the Rings: The Return of the King - the 7th biggest single Friday-Sunday performance in history. The trilogy finale also scores a host of other records. More...

Revised Weekend Predictions for the King

December 19th, 2003

Thursday's box office for Lord of the Rings: Return of the King was a little lower than expected at $17 million. That's a drop of just over 50% compared to the little more than 47% predicted. So what does this mean for the weekend prediction? $75 million will still be obtainable, just not as likely. But anything more than $70 million would mean it is still on pace to match earlier predictions. More...

Will it be a Record Weekend for the King?

December 19th, 2003

While there are two major and a few smaller releases, only one movie is getting talked about this weekend. Lord of the Rings: Return of the King will crush all competition, but there still is some question if records can be broken and how well the other competition will fare. More...

Movie Websites Launches for December 12 - December 18

December 18th, 2003

During the past week promotional websites for several movies were launched and some older ones added additional content. Here is a list of highlights, (including this week's winner Lord of the Rings: Return of the King - Official Site plus one last look at websites for films opening this week. If you know of any new movie websites not on this list feel free to e-mail me with the details. More...

Lord of Wednesday

December 18th, 2003

Anther day and another record for Lord of the Ring: Return of the King. It is now the largest Wednesday opening of any film, surpassing Star Wars: The Phantom Menace by more than $5 million. It also topped last year's opening of The Two Towers by nearly $8 million. Any fears that the long running time would hurt the box office too much are now alleviated. More...

It's Good to be the King!

December 17th, 2003

The first figures for Lord of the Ring: Return of the King are in, and they are record breaking. The film earned an amazing $8 million from 2100 midnight showings. That surpasses the previous record of $5 million The Matrix Reloaded took in, however, The Matrix Reloaded needed more than 600 more theatres to do so. More...

Return of the Box Office King

December 16th, 2003

It's after midnight eastern time and the doors have opened to packed houses for the opening of Lord of the Ring: Return of the King. If there's ever been a guaranteed box office hit, this is it. More...

The Rings Returns to Rule Them All

December 16th, 2003

New Line rolls out The Lord of the Rings: The Return of the King today with an unprecedented day-long event. "Trilogy Tuesday" will pack 126 theaters nationwide for back-to-back-to-back showings of all three movies in the series, including the extended editions of The Fellowship of the Ring and The Two Towers. More...

They Can't Blame the Snow This Time

December 15th, 2003

While the weekend after Thanksgiving is usually soft, the weekend after that usually sees a bit of a rebound. Last year, for instance, we saw a nearly 20% week-to-week increase at the box office. This year we weren't so lucky. No movie in the top five beat box office expectations, while a couple did place higher on the charts due to weaker than expected competition. This led to a drop of nearly 9% from last week and 13% from last year. More...

Two Way Race for Top Spot

December 12th, 2003

It's a two-way race for top spot this weekend with Something's Gotta Give targeting a mature audience while Stuck on You goes for the decidedly immature. A third movie, Love Don't Cost a Thing is also opening wide but it might have trouble just making the top five. More...

Movie Websites Launches for December 5 - December 11

December 11th, 2003


Blame it on the Tryptophan

December 9th, 2003

The post Thanksgivings weekend was even tougher on the movie industry than predicted with only one movie in the top five living up to expectations. Some analysts are blaming it on the storm in the Northeast, but the internal multiplier doesn't really support that. And while the box office did drop 40% from last week, it was well ahead of last year to the tune of almost 20%. Year-to-date 2003 is still more than $100 million behind 2002 and with only one movie left that is a sure bet to make that much, catching up is not expected. More...

Movie Websites Launches for November 29 - December 5

December 4th, 2003

During the past week promotional websites for several movies were launched and some older ones added additional content. Here's a list of highlights, plus one last look at websites for films opening this week.More...

Movie Websites Launches for November 21 - November 28

November 27th, 2003

During the past week promotional websites for several movies were launched and some older ones added additional content. Here's a list of highlights, plus one last look at websites for films opening this week. If you know of any new movie websites not on this list feel free to e-mail me with the details. More...

Movie Websites Launches for October 31 - November 6

November 6th, 2003


Matrix Finale Opens Worldwide Tonight

November 5th, 2003


Movie Websites Launches for October 24 - October 30

October 30th, 2003


Movie Websites Launches for October 10 - October 16

October 16th, 2003


Higher Education or Timely Thriller

October 3rd, 2003


Movie Websites Launches for September 25 - October 1

October 2nd, 2003


Box Office Runs Out of Gas

September 29th, 2003


Running Over the Competition

September 26th, 2003


It's International Talk Like a Pirate Day, Arr!

September 19th, 2003


Arnie and Pirates are The Numbers' Biggest Draws in August

September 2nd, 2003


Nemo Watch and Other Milestones

August 22nd, 2003


Return of the King Becomes Return of the Rings

August 22nd, 2003


News Test

May 23rd, 2003


Horta's View from the Stalls: Digital Overkill in a Digital World - Visual Effects in the Movies

April 25th, 2003


Garfield Pushed Back

April 19th, 2003


Compare this performance with other movies…

Domestic Cumulative Box Office Records

Weekend Box Office Performance

DateRankGross% ChangeTheatersPer TheaterTotal GrossWeek
Dec 19, 2003 1 $72,629,713   3,703 $19,614   $124,100,534 1
Dec 26, 2003 1 $50,598,104 -30% 3,703 $13,664   $222,268,708 2
Jan 2, 2004 1 $28,180,378 -44% 3,703 $7,610   $290,410,961 3
Jan 9, 2004 1 $14,209,098 -50% 3,532 $4,023   $312,320,936 4
Jan 16, 2004 3 $10,219,470 -28% 3,003 $3,403   $326,812,102 5
Jan 23, 2004 5 $6,785,756 -34% 2,558 $2,653   $337,817,998 6
Jan 30, 2004 4 $5,310,803 -22% 2,256 $2,354   $345,331,815 7
Feb 6, 2004 7 $4,293,671 -19% 1,878 $2,286   $351,133,343 8
Feb 13, 2004 8 $4,187,000 -2% 1,663 $2,518   $356,464,575 9
Feb 20, 2004 10 $2,850,455 -32% 1,407 $2,026   $361,118,934 10
Feb 27, 2004 11 $2,174,665 -24% 1,112 $1,956   $364,115,612 11
Mar 5, 2004 7 $3,037,822 +40% 1,903 $1,596   $368,210,170 12
Mar 12, 2004 9 $2,021,501 -33% 1,307 $1,547   $371,147,794 13
Mar 19, 2004 11 $1,350,748 -33% 1,021 $1,323   $373,359,557 14
Mar 26, 2004 15 $705,817 -48% 661 $1,068   $374,556,572 15
Apr 2, 2004 19 $373,903 -47% 348 $1,074   $375,204,550 16
Apr 9, 2004 21 $289,233 -23% 338 $856   $375,667,233 17
Apr 16, 2004 27 $227,321 -21% 295 $771   $376,058,551 18
Apr 23, 2004 27 $194,730 -14% 268 $727   $376,337,432 19
Apr 30, 2004 35 $154,631 -21% 221 $700   $376,556,583 20
May 7, 2004 35 $103,709 -33% 190 $546   $376,716,328 21
May 14, 2004 40 $92,571 -11% 153 $605   $376,853,002 22
May 21, 2004 43 $72,176 -22% 135 $535   $376,958,965 23
May 28, 2004 73 $25,304 -65% 61 $415   $377,013,073 24

Daily Box Office Performance

DateRankGross%YD%LWTheatersPer TheaterTotal GrossDays
Dec 17, 2003 1 $34,450,834     3,703 $9,303   $34,450,834 1
Dec 18, 2003 1 $17,019,987 -51%   3,703 $4,596   $51,470,821 2
Dec 19, 2003 1 $21,811,549 +28%   3,703 $5,890   $73,282,370 3
Dec 20, 2003 1 $27,492,053 +26%   3,703 $7,424   $100,774,423 4
Dec 21, 2003 1 $23,326,111 -15%   3,703 $6,299   $124,100,534 5
Dec 22, 2003 1 $13,563,208 -42%   3,703 $3,663   $137,663,742 6
Dec 23, 2003 1 $12,476,242 -8%   3,703 $3,369   $150,139,984 7
Dec 24, 2003 1 $7,544,400 -40% -78% 3,703 $2,037   $157,684,384 8
Dec 25, 2003 1 $13,986,220 +85% -18% 3,703 $3,777   $171,670,604 9
Dec 26, 2003 1 $19,152,196 +37% -12% 3,703 $5,172   $190,822,800 10
Dec 27, 2003 1 $17,249,267 -10% -37% 3,703 $4,658   $208,072,067 11
Dec 28, 2003 1 $14,196,641 -18% -39% 3,703 $3,834   $222,268,708 12
Dec 29, 2003 1 $10,490,000 -26% -23% 3,703 $2,833   $232,759,000 13
Dec 30, 2003 1 $9,615,000 -8% -23% 3,703 $2,597   $241,937,000 14
Dec 31, 2003 1 $7,500,000 -22% -1% 3,703 $2,025   $249,400,000 15
Jan 1, 2004 1 $11,950,000 +59% -15% 3,703 $3,227   $261,350,000 16
Jan 2, 2004 1 $10,602,130 -11% -45% 3,703 $2,863   $272,832,713 17
Jan 3, 2004 1 $10,563,221 n/c -39% 3,703 $2,853   $283,395,934 18
Jan 4, 2004 1 $7,015,027 -34% -51% 3,703 $1,894   $290,410,961 19
Jan 5, 2004 1 $2,382,000 -66% -77% 3,703 $643   $292,793,000 20
Jan 6, 2004 1 $2,180,000 -8% -77% 3,703 $589   $294,972,000 21
Jan 7, 2004 1 $1,921,000 -12% -74% 3,703 $519   $296,894,000 22
Jan 8, 2004 1 $1,652,000 -14% -86% 3,703 $446   $298,112,000 23
Jan 9, 2004 2 $3,600,000 +118% -66% 3,532 $1,019   $301,700,000 24
Jan 10, 2004 1 $6,439,410 +79% -39% 3,532 $1,823   $308,228,208 25
Jan 11, 2004 1 $4,092,728 -36% -42% 3,532 $1,159   $312,320,936 26
Jan 12, 2004 1 $1,177,000 -71% -51% 3,532 $333   $313,497,000 27
Jan 13, 2004 1 $1,218,000 +3% -44% 3,532 $345   $314,716,000 28
Jan 14, 2004 1 $1,057,000 -13% -45% 3,532 $299   $315,773,000 29
Jan 15, 2004 1 $1,036,000 -2% -37% 3,532 $293   $316,593,000 30
Jan 16, 2004 4 $2,376,259 +129% -34% 3,003 $791   $318,968,891 31
Jan 17, 2004 2 $4,614,194 +94% -28% 3,003 $1,537   $323,583,085 32
Jan 18, 2004 2 $3,229,017 -30% -21% 3,003 $1,075   $326,812,102 33
Jan 19, 2004 3 $2,228,291 -31% +89% 3,003 $742   $329,040,393 34
Jan 20, 2004 2 $762,000 -66% -37% 3,003 $254   $329,802,000 35
Jan 21, 2004 2 $599,000 -21% -43% 3,003 $199   $330,401,000 36
Jan 22, 2004 3 $642,000 +7% -38% 3,003 $214   $331,032,000 37
Jan 23, 2004 6 $1,500,000 +134% -37% 2,558 $586   $332,500,000 38
Jan 24, 2004 6 $3,158,167 +111% -32% 2,558 $1,235   $335,700,055 39
Jan 25, 2004 3 $2,117,943 -33% -34% 2,558 $828   $337,817,998 40
Jan 26, 2004 3 $536,000 -75% -76% 2,558 $210   $338,354,000 41
Jan 27, 2004 3 $556,000 +4% -27% 2,558 $217   $338,910,000 42
Jan 28, 2004 3 $590,000 +6% -2% 2,558 $231   $339,500,000 43
Jan 29, 2004 3 $552,000 -6% -14% 2,558 $216   $340,021,000 44
Jan 30, 2004 7 $1,400,000 +154% -7% 2,256 $621   $341,400,000 45
Jan 31, 2004 4 $2,739,574 +96% -13% 2,256 $1,214   $344,131,995 46
Feb 1, 2004 4 $1,199,820 -56% -43% 2,256 $532   $345,331,815 47
Feb 2, 2004 4 $403,000 -66% -25% 2,256 $179   $345,735,000 48
Feb 3, 2004 4 $416,000 +3% -25% 2,256 $184   $346,151,000 49
Feb 4, 2004 4 $381,000 -8% -35% 2,256 $169   $346,532,000 50
Feb 5, 2004 4 $352,000 -8% -36% 2,256 $156   $346,840,000 51
Feb 6, 2004 9 $900,000 +156% -36% 1,878 $479   $347,700,000 52
Feb 7, 2004 7 $2,014,866 +124% -26% 1,878 $1,073   $349,762,348 53
Feb 8, 2004 7 $1,370,995 -32% +14% 1,878 $730   $351,133,343 54
Feb 9, 2004 7 $308,000 -78% -24% 1,878 $164   $351,441,343 55
Feb 10, 2004 6 $286,000 -7% -31% 1,878 $152   $351,727,000 56
Feb 11, 2004 6 $267,000 -7% -30% 1,878 $142   $351,994,000 57
Feb 12, 2004 5 $303,000 +13% -14% 1,878 $161   $352,278,000 58
Feb 13, 2004 8 $800,000 +164% -11% 1,663 $481   $353,100,000 59
Feb 14, 2004 7 $1,957,907 +145% -3% 1,663 $1,177   $355,035,095 60
Feb 15, 2004 7 $1,429,675 -27% +4% 1,663 $860   $356,464,770 61
Feb 16, 2004 6 $903,281 -37% +193% 1,663 $543   $357,367,856 62
Feb 17, 2004 7 $335,000 -63% +17% 1,663 $201   $357,702,000 63
Feb 18, 2004 7 $298,000 -11% +12% 1,663 $179   $358,001,000 64
Feb 19, 2004 6 $293,000 -2% -3% 1,663 $176   $358,268,000 65
Feb 20, 2004 12 $600,000 +105% -25% 1,407 $426   $358,900,000 66
Feb 21, 2004 10 $1,299,866 +117% -34% 1,407 $924   $360,222,047 67
Feb 22, 2004 7 $896,887 -31% -37% 1,407 $637   $361,118,934 68
Feb 23, 2004 11 $207,000 -77% -77% 1,407 $147   $361,326,000 69
Feb 24, 2004 10 $215,000 +4% -36% 1,407 $153   $361,541,000 70
Feb 25, 2004 11 $188,000 -13% -37% 1,407 $134   $361,742,000 71
Feb 26, 2004 11 $198,000 +5% -32% 1,407 $141   $361,941,000 72
Feb 27, 2004 11 $500,000 +153% -17% 1,112 $450   $362,400,000 73
Feb 28, 2004 11 $1,000,000 +100% -23% 1,112 $899   $363,400,000 74
Feb 29, 2004 11 $700,000 -30% -22% 1,112 $629   $364,115,612 75
Mar 1, 2004 7 $276,000 -61% +33% 1,112 $248   $364,392,000 76
Mar 2, 2004 7 $278,000 +1% +29% 1,112 $250   $364,670,000 77
Mar 3, 2004 7 $242,000 -13% +29% 1,112 $218   $364,913,000 78
Mar 4, 2004 7 $252,000 +4% +27% 1,112 $227   $365,172,348 79
Mar 5, 2004 8 $800,000 +217% +60% 1,903 $420   $366,000,000 80
Mar 6, 2004 7 $1,433,740 +79% +43% 1,903 $753   $367,326,659 81
Mar 7, 2004 7 $883,511 -38% +26% 1,903 $464   $368,210,170 82
Mar 8, 2004 6 $222,000 -75% -20% 1,903 $117   $368,432,000 83
Mar 9, 2004 7 $229,000 +3% -18% 1,903 $120   $368,661,000 84
Mar 10, 2004 7 $211,000 -8% -13% 1,903 $111   $368,873,000 85
Mar 11, 2004 6 $236,000 +12% -6% 1,903 $124   $369,126,000 86
Mar 12, 2004 10 $500,000 +112% -38% 1,307 $383   $369,600,000 87
Mar 13, 2004 9 $908,040 +82% -37% 1,307 $695   $370,521,028 88
Mar 14, 2004 9 $626,766 -31% -29% 1,307 $480   $371,147,794 89
Mar 15, 2004 9 $211,000 -66% -5% 1,307 $161   $371,359,000 90
Mar 16, 2004 9 $231,000 +9% +1% 1,307 $177   $371,590,000 91
Mar 17, 2004 9 $199,000 -14% -6% 1,307 $152   $371,790,000 92
Mar 18, 2004 9 $224,000 +13% -5% 1,307 $171   $372,009,000 93
Mar 19, 2004 11 $400,000 +79% -20% 1,021 $392   $372,400,000 94
Mar 20, 2004 12 $598,062 +50% -34% 1,021 $586   $372,968,676 95
Mar 21, 2004 11 $390,881 -35% -38% 1,021 $383   $373,359,557 96
Mar 22, 2004 10 $122,000 -69% -42% 1,021 $119   $373,481,000 97
Mar 23, 2004 10 $122,000 n/c -47% 1,021 $119   $373,603,000 98
Mar 24, 2004 10 $118,000 -3% -41% 1,021 $116   $373,721,000 99
Mar 25, 2004 10 $131,000 +11% -42% 1,021 $128   $373,851,000 100
Jun 28, 2011 8 $818,580     521 $1,571   $377,845,905 2,751
Apr 13, 2023 2 $1,176,085     1,107 $1,062   $379,021,990 7,058

Weekly Box Office Performance

DateRankGross% ChangeTheatersPer TheaterTotal GrossWeek
Dec 12, 2003 1 $51,470,821   3,703 $13,900   $51,470,821 1
Dec 19, 2003 1 $120,199,783 +134% 3,703 $32,460   $171,670,604 2
Dec 26, 2003 1 $90,559,979 -25% 3,703 $24,456   $262,230,583 3
Jan 2, 2004 1 $35,881,255 -60% 3,703 $9,690   $298,111,838 4
Jan 9, 2004 1 $18,480,794 -48% 3,532 $5,232   $316,592,632 5
Jan 16, 2004 2 $14,439,610 -22% 3,003 $4,808   $331,032,242 6
Jan 23, 2004 3 $8,988,770 -38% 2,558 $3,514   $340,021,012 7
Jan 30, 2004 4 $6,818,660 -24% 2,256 $3,022   $346,839,672 8
Feb 6, 2004 7 $5,437,903 -20% 1,878 $2,896   $352,277,575 9
Feb 13, 2004 8 $5,990,904 +10% 1,663 $3,602   $358,268,479 10
Feb 20, 2004 11 $3,672,468 -39% 1,407 $2,610   $361,940,947 11
Feb 27, 2004 11 $3,231,401 -12% 1,112 $2,906   $365,172,348 12
Mar 5, 2004 7 $3,953,945 +22% 1,903 $2,078   $369,126,293 13
Mar 12, 2004 9 $2,882,516 -27% 1,307 $2,205   $372,008,809 14
Mar 19, 2004 11 $1,841,946 -36% 1,021 $1,804   $373,850,755 15
Mar 26, 2004 15 $979,892 -47% 661 $1,482   $374,830,647 16
Apr 2, 2004 21 $547,353 -44% 348 $1,573   $375,378,000 17
Apr 9, 2004 21 $453,230 -17% 338 $1,341   $375,831,230 18
Apr 16, 2004 26 $311,472 -31% 295 $1,056   $376,142,702 19
Apr 23, 2004 29 $259,250 -17% 268 $967   $376,401,952 20
Apr 30, 2004 36 $210,667 -19% 221 $953   $376,612,619 21
May 7, 2004 36 $147,812 -30% 190 $778   $376,760,431 22
May 14, 2004 41 $126,358 -15% 153 $826   $376,886,789 23
May 21, 2004 44 $100,980 -20% 135 $748   $376,987,769 24
Jun 24, 2011 16 $818,580   521 $1,571   $377,845,905 394
Apr 7, 2023 9 $1,176,085   1,107 $1,062   $379,021,990 1,009

Box Office Summary Per Territory

Territory Release
Date
Opening
Weekend
Opening
Weekend
Screens
Maximum
Screens
Theatrical
Engagements
Total
Box Office
Report
Date
Australia 12/26/2003 $9,455,957 453 453 1,827 $26,235,925 4/9/2021
China 5/14/2021 $3,410,000 22,725 22,725 24,212 $5,230,000 6/17/2021
Czech Republic 1/16/2004 $0 0 2 2 $3,761,887 1/1/2019
Finland 5/12/2023 $0 0 0 0 $77,836 6/26/2023
Italy 1/22/2004 $0 0 0 0 $27,268,919 10/20/2022
Japan 10/28/2022 $0000$0
Mexico 12/17/2003 $0 0 0 0 $59,518 4/14/2021
Netherlands 10/23/2020 $119,615 95 216 360 $276,930 11/13/2023
New Zealand 12/18/2003 $0 0 10 54 $8,747,212 11/6/2023
Russia (CIS) 1/22/2004 $0 0 444 444 $735,610 5/12/2021
South Korea 1/24/2017 $94,901 45 166 276 $4,185,654 4/7/2021
Spain 12/17/2003 $0 0 201 208 $217,980 12/7/2023
Turkey 12/19/2003 $0 0 133 228 $363,268 10/5/2023
United Kingdom 12/17/2003 $0 0 118 249 $46,041 6/11/2021
 
Rest of World $665,158,211
 
International Total$742,364,991 12/7/2023

International Cumulative Box Office Records


Worldwide Cumulative Box Office Records


Weekly US DVD Sales

DateRankUnits
this
Week
% ChangeTotal
Units
Spending
this
Week
Total
Spending
Weeks
in
Release
Sep 3, 20062549,069 49,069$921,295$921,29590
Dec 30, 20122852,469 1,488,926$329,558$23,476,661420

Weekly US Blu-ray Sales

DateRankUnits
this
Week
% ChangeTotal
Units
Spending
this
Week
Total
Spending
Weeks
in
Release
Sep 19, 2010155,913 5,913$94,542$94,542301
Nov 28, 20107128,401 154,917$2,053,128$2,477,107311
Dec 5, 20101438,336-70% 193,253$612,993$3,090,100312
Jan 6, 20131719,021 299,130$189,445$4,144,557421

Our DVD and Blu-ray sales estimates are based on weekly retail surveys, which we use to build a weekly market share estimate for each title we are tracking. The market share is converted into a weekly sales estimate based on industry reports on the overall size of the market, including reports published in Media Play News.

For example, if our weekly retail survey estimates that a particular title sold 1% of all units that week, and the industry reports sales of 1,500,000 units in total, we will estimate 15,000 units were sold of that title. The consumer spending estimate is based on the average sales price for the title in the retailers we survey.

We refine our estimates from week to week as more data becomes available. In particular, we adjust weekly sales figures for the quarter once the total market estimates are published by the Digital Entertainment Group. Figures will therefore fluctuate each week, and totals for individual titles can go up or down as we update our estimates.

Because sales figures are estimated based on sampling, they will be more accurate for higher-selling titles.

Full financial estimates for this film, including domestic and international box office, video sales, video rentals, TV and ancillary revenue are available through our research services. For more information, please contact us at research@the-numbers.com.