The King Returns To Rule The Box Office

For immediate release
Friday 19 December 2003

The King Returns To Rule The Box Office

In a scene reminiscent of Middle-earth’s legions, New Zealanders packed out cinemas yesterday to be among the first to experience Peter Jackson’s THE LORD OF THE RINGS: THE RETURN OF THE KING.

The final installment in The Lord Of The Rings trilogy has claimed the opening day record with an astounding $919,500, easily surpassing the previous national record of $757,887 held by its predecessor The Lord Of The Rings: The Two Towers.

Roadshow Film Distributors General Manager Lisa Hubbard said “The New Zealand public have turned out to see both an extraordinary film and to acknowledge the end of a remarkable chapter in New Zealand cinematic history.”

Support for the film was swift from the outset. After the 12.01am opening, the initial figures for The Lord Of The Rings: The Return Of The King were sitting at $250,000 as compared to $180,000 taken by The Lord Of The Rings: The Two Towers.

The opening day result comes hot on the heals of today’s announcement of the 2004 Golden Globe nominations, with THE LORD OF THE RINGS: THE RETURN OF THE KING nominated for:

Best Motion Picture – Drama
Best Director – Motion Picture
Best Original Score – Motion Picture
Best Original Song – Motion Picture

THE LORD OF THE RINGS: THE RETURN OF THE KING released throughout New Zealand yesterday in 75 cinema locations on 114 screens.

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