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Which Two Hollywood Movies Earned Both Box Office Billions & Oscars Gold?(Photo Credit –Facebook)

Hollywood has always known how to pair art with commerce, but rarely do the two walk hand in hand. Critical acclaim for most Oscar-winning films is wrapped in prestige, not box office milestones. Meanwhile, the world’s biggest blockbusters often lean into spectacle, driven more by fanfare than Academy favor. That’s why the intersection of a critical commercial blockbuster remains incredibly rare.

Winning an Oscar for Best Picture is Hollywood’s highest honor. Grossing over a billion dollars globally is one of its most remarkable financial feats. But doing both? That’s practically mythic territory. While many billion-dollar blockbusters, such as Avatar, Avengers: Endgame, The Dark Knight, and others, have earned nods at the Academy Awards, most have come up short where it counts the most. As of 2025, only two films have ever accomplished both.

Rejoice! On Sunday, April 20, 2025, you have multiple ways to fully mark the Easter holiday with some of history’s greatest epic films. TCM gets an early start with director William Wyler‘s Best Picture–winning religious saga Ben-Hur (1959). Starring Charlton Heston in the title role, which scored him the Best Actor Oscar, the story follows a freed Roman slave who becomes a chariot racer, meets Jesus, and converts to Christianity. The movie won a whopping 11 of the 12 Oscars for which it was nominated (a feat only later matched by 1997’s Titanic and 2003’s The Lord of the Rings: The Return of the King). But perhaps most impressive is its iconic chariot race, which ranks as one of the greatest action sequences ever filmed. TCM continues with more religious historical epics: 1954 drama The Silver Chalice (noon/11am c), led by Virginia Mayo and Paul Newman in his film debut; 1961’s Barabbas...

I’m a sucker for a good vampire film, whether it features a sexy vampire like Bram Stoker’s Dracula or a nasty one like 30 Days of Night. But one of my personal favorite tales about bloodsuckers is an underrated 2010 release by Michael Spierig and Peter Spierig titled Daybreakers. Boasting an all-star cast and an interesting twist on vampire lore, it didn’t make waves upon initial release. And yet, I still find myself banging the proverbial drum for this film, especially today, because the movie is now streaming for free on Vizio WatchFree+.

Daybreakers takes place in 2019 (ten years in the future upon the film’s initial release) where a plague has transformed a majority of the human population into vampires. But without any humans from which to feed, the vampires are now facing a food crisis. Ethan Hawke plays Edward Dalton, a hematologist working on creating a blood substitute to save humanity.

Elijah Wood says he wasn’t paid enough to retire for life for his role in Peter Jackson’s ‘The Lord of the Rings’ trilogy.The actor confirmed his earnings were not as substantial as the public think – despite leading the franchise as Frodo Baggins. Speaking at the 2025 Texas Film Awards, the 44-year-old actor said: “Because we weren’t making one movie and then renegotiating a contract for the next, it wasn’t the sort of lucrative scenario that you could sort of rest easy for the rest of your life.”Peter’s adaptation of J.R.R. Tolkien’s fantasy epic ‘LoTR’, released between 2001 and 2003, grossed nearly $3 billion worldwide and won a record-equalling 11 Oscars for its final instalment, ‘The Lord of the Rings: The Return of the King’. The films, shot back-to-back in New Zealand over an extended production period, have remained cultural touchstones. But the cast members have frequently commented...

Few would argue against the idea that Cate Blanchett is one of the great actresses of her generation. The sheer versatility she has displayed in her performances on film has especially made her one of the world’s most sought-after screen stars over the past three decades. For 2022, she received her eighth career Oscar nomination for "Tar."

In 2021, in the span of just a few weeks, she displayed her signature multi-talent: For Adam McKay’s “Don’t Look Up,” Blanchett turned herself into a cable news host in the vein of Megyn Kelly or Mika Brzezinski to score major laughs in the biting comedy; for Guillermo del Toro’s “Nightmare Alley,” Blanchett transformed into a 1940s femme fatale who gets one over on an overconfident con man (Bradley Cooper).

Blanchett has two Academy Awards wins for “The Aviator” (2004) and “Blue Jasmine” (2013), prevailing as a supporting actress the first time and then as a lead.

Quick LinksSam Did Not Want to Use the One Ring's PowerThe One Ring Tempted Sam With Power and GloryNot Even the One Ring Could Corrupt Sam's SpiritTolkien Imagined Sam as the "Chief Hero" of His StoryHobbits are Humbly Heroic In the World of The Lord of the Rings

Near the end of The Fellowship of the Ring from J. R. R. Tolkien's The Lord of the Rings, Frodo Baggins made the difficult decision to part ways with the rest of the Fellowship. The One Ring's corrupting influence had caused Boromir to attack him at Amon Hen, and he feared that it would do the same to his other companions. He thought it was safer for himself and Middle-earth if he carried out the rest of his quest alone. But try as he might, he could not leave his stalwart friend Samwise Gamgee behind. They traveled together for months during The Lord of the Rings,...

Quick LinksTolkien and Faramir Had Some of the Same PassionsTolkien Used Faramir to Communicate His Beliefs About WarFaramir's Role in The Lord of the Rings Came as a Surprise to Tolkien

J. R. R. Tolkien was adamant that The Lord of the Rings was not an allegory, but this did not preclude him from drawing upon his life experiences when writing his fantasy epics; he made a distinction between taking inspiration from the real world and directly copying it. Many of the characters in The Lord of the Rings and the rest of Tolkien's legendarium were inspired by people whom he personally knew. For example, Arwen and her ancestor, Lúthien, were modeled after Tolkien's wife, Edith. Like her, they had fair skin, gray eyes, and dark hair, and Tolkien wrote that Lúthien was the most beautiful of all Elves. Another example was Treebeard, whose booming voice was inspired by that...

Quick LinksMerry and Pippin Were Not Granted Access to the Undying LandsMerry and Pippin Grew Attached to Middle-earth

At the end of Peter Jackson's The Lord of the Rings: The Return of the King, Frodo, and Bilbo Baggins join Gandalf and the Elves on their voyage to the Undying Lands, a beautiful utopia where they can live out the rest of their days in peace. It was a well-deserved respite after all that they had gone through. J. R. R. Tolkien’s The Lord of the Rings novel revealed that Samwise Gamgee eventually went to the Undying Lands as well; once his children grew up and his wife, Rosie Cotton, passed away, he joined Frodo and Bilbo on the other side of the Great Sea.

Yet the reunion was not complete, for The Lord of the Rings’ other main hobbits, Meriadoc Brandybuck and Peregrin Took never made the journey.

Quick LinksÉowyn's Conversation With Aragorn Was Going to Occur Later in the FilmÉowyn's Conversation With Aragorn Deviated From the Novel

When creating The Lord of the Rings: The Two Towers, Peter Jackson, and his team had the difficult task of introducing the Rohirrim and getting the audience invested in their stories while simultaneously continuing the plot from The Lord of the Rings: The Fellowship of the Ring. It was crucial that the newly introduced characters had scenes to establish their motivations and personalities. Jackson clearly did an excellent job, as King Théoden, Éomer, and Éowyn quickly became fan favorites. One of how the film got viewers to care about the Rohirrim was by setting up character arcs that would not be paid off until the trilogy's final installment, The Lord of the Rings: The Return of the King. For example, The Two Towers showcased Théoden's reluctance to work together with Gondor,...

When you think of The Lord of the Rings movies, you probably remember the big players, Frodo, Aragorn, Legolas dramatically flipping onto a horse, and, of course, Gollum arguing with himself. However, with a story as massive as Middle-earth, not everyone got the spotlight. Some characters showed up, did something kind of important, and then vanished into the background like they were never there.

Peter Jackson’s trilogy had over 11 hours of runtime, but even with all that time, some characters got the short end of the stick. Maybe they were meant to be more important but got their roles trimmed down, or maybe they were just there to move the plot along before being completely forgotten. You might remember a cool fight scene, a cryptic line, or a side character looking vaguely familiar, but can you name them? Probably not.

Elijah Wood and Ian McKellen in The Lord of the Rings: The Fellowship of the Ring...

Earning more than one Academy Award during a career is a surprising rarity for actors. Katharine Hepburn holds the record of four Oscars, while the rare feat of winning three rests with Jack Nicholson, Daniel Day-Lewis, Walter Brennan, Meryl Streep, Ingrid Bergman, and Frances McDormand. For filmmakers themselves, it is a bit of a different metric, as the ones behind the camera push all aspects of the production. A win for a film is often attributed, in part, to their work.

Steven Spielberg's work has been monumental in defining the modern face of cinema, and the success of his films at the Academy Awards reflects this unparalleled career over five decades, starting when Jaws became his first film to win an Oscar. Fifty years of excellence seem challenging to beat, yet one director's films won more Oscars within four decades: William Wyler. Let's compare the impressive records of the two cinema titans.

While a perfect film is almost unheard of, this isn’t the case when it comes to perfect sequels, and Peter Jackson’s Lord of the Rings trilogy is arguably one of the best to ever do it. Not only the sequel, The Two Towers, was seen as a step above the already impeccable The Fellowship of the Ring, but the threequel also transcended the bar set by its predecessors.

The Lord of the Rings: The Return of the King | Credit: New Line Cinema

However, despite being a perfect sequel and a great conclusion to the Middle Earth saga, just like any other artwork the medium has to offer, Return of the King isn’t immune to flaws, especially when it comes to Gandalf.

Peter Jackson’s Return of the King didn’t do Gandalf justice

Although magic and wizards in Tolkien’s works don’t embody our typical understanding of wizardry in media,...

Quick LinksÉowyn Felt Hopeless in The Lord of the RingsÉowyn's Dream Was a Vision of Númenor's DestructionJ. R. R. Tolkien Was Obsessed With the Great Wave

Among fans of Peter Jackson's The Lord of the Rings trilogy, the extended editions are typically seen as the definitive way to experience the films. None of the scenes that were removed from the theatrical cuts of the trilogy were necessary to advance the plot, but many of them still made meaningful contributions to the narrative. Often, these scenes were quieter moments that further developed the characters' personalities and their dynamics with one another. In the extended editions of The Lord of the Rings: The Two Towers and The Lord of the Rings: The Return of the King, there were several additional scenes devoted to exploring the relationship between Aragorn and Éowyn. Though viewers familiar with the source material knew that Aragorn and...

Quick LinksThe Lord of the Rings' Most Important Characters Lost FingersThe Loss of Fingers Had Symbolic Meaning in Middle-earthCelebrimbor Was Not the First Elf to Escape Unbreakable Chains

Much of the second season of Prime Video's The Lord of the Rings: The Rings of Power revolved around Sauron's manipulation of the Elven smith, Celebrimbor. Under the fair guise of Annatar, he convinced Celebrimbor to create more Rings of Power. Even as war descended upon Eregion, Sauron used illusions to alter Celebrimbor's perception of time and keep him unaware of the impending danger. Celebrimbor began to slip into madness as his work consumed his entire life. Celebrimbor eventually learned the truth about Sauron, but that mattered little to the Dark Lord; he simply resorted to threats of violence. He promised to spare Eregion only if Celebrimbor forged the Nine Rings for the race of Men, and he chained Celebrimbor to...

The Academy Awards are the industry's greatest acknowledgment for movies. For almost a hundred years, the Academy of Motion Pictures Arts and Sciences has rewarded the best in cinema with the Oscar statuette. Indeed, many classic movies like Gone with the Wind, Casablanca, The Godfather, The Silence of the Lambs, Titanic, and The Lord of the Rings: The Return of the King have claimed the ceremony's most prestigious award: Best Picture.

It goes without saying that The Lord of the Ringstrilogy changed the lives of everyone involved. Director Peter Jackson went on to direct and produce some of the biggest blockbusters of the 2010s. Stars like Orlando Bloom went to equally big things, like the Pirates of the Caribbean trilogy: the second-most popular film trilogy of the 2000s after Jackson's adaptation of J.R.R. Tolkien's fantasy epic. Others, like Viggo Mortensen, starred in smaller but much darker films.

To be more specific, the actor who an entire generation associates with the heroic and noble Aragorn took on the role of a brutal gangster in Eastern Promises four years after The Lord of the Rings: The Return of the King brought the battle of Middle-Earth to an end. While Eastern Promises was far from Mortensen's first dark and violent role, it was one of the first times he led such a film.

Quick LinksPippin Lit the Beacons of Gondor Against Denethor's WishesThe Beacons of Gondor Did Not Summon the Rohirrim in the NovelPeter Jackson's Film Combined the Beacons of Gondor With the Red Arrow

One of the most visually exciting moments in Peter Jackson's The Lord of the Rings: The Return of the King film was the lighting of the beacons of Gondor. These beacons were massive bonfires stationed along the peaks of the White Mountains, which separated the kingdoms of Gondor and Rohan. The first was located just outside the Gondorian capital of Minas Tirith, and the last was located just outside the Rohirrim capital of Edoras. Guards stationed at the beacons of Gondor would look out for the adjacent beacons to be lit and light their own in response, creating a signal that stretched for hundreds of miles. Gondor and Rohan used the beacons in case of emergency...

Did You Know Anora & The Brutalist’s Numbers Took Over A Major Christopher Nolan Thriller At The Bo? ( Photo Credit – Instagram )

As Anora director Sean Baker wrapped the 97th Academy Awards ceremony, seizing his record fourth statuette of the night, he roared, “Long live independent cinema” — a mantra that couldn’t have resounded better outside a ceremony exalting indie films over studio juggernauts and streaming titans.

Anora clinched five wins, The Brutalist nabbed three, and A Real Pain, Flow, and others—all original films without the tag of sequel, remake, biography, or adaptation attached to them—galvanized the evening with one award each. Their victories now incite a box office rush, unlike anything the majors could muster.

Even months after its digital release, Anora and The Brutalist saw theater admissions soar post-Oscar night. Anora’s Monday take vaulted over 400% from the prior week, Tuesday’s surge past 350%, pushing its domestic...

The 2025 Oscars delivered several memorable moments as one of the biggest nights of Hollywood. However, despite the massive award ceremony, the Academy failed significantly when it came to the ‘In Memoriam,’ which excluded several notable late actors, including Bernard Hill, who passed away nearly a year ago.

Bernard Hill in Titanic | Credit: Paramount Pictures

Hill made a lasting impact as an integral part of three Best Picture Oscar-winning movies. However, despite an illustrious career and contributions to some of cinema’s most celebrated films, his absence from the tribute has been a glaring omission.

The Oscars 2025 snubbed Bernard Hill from the In Memoriam segment

After presenting the night’s awards at the 2025 Oscars, the ceremony transitioned to the ‘In Memoriam’ segment, honoring several industry legends who passed away over the past year.

Among the honored names were Gene Hackman, James Earl Jones, David Lynch, Donald Sutherland, and Maggie Smith. However,...

One year after Oppenheimer became one of the highest-grossing Best Picture of all time, the Academy bestowed its top prize on Anora, one of the lowest-grossing winners in the modern era.

With $15.6 million in domestic ticket sales and just over $40 million worldwide, Anora is the lowest-grossing Best Picture winner since The Hurt Lucker, except the pandemic-impacted Nomadland ($39 million) and the streaming film Coda.

The only Best Picture winners to gross less than $50 million worldwide since 1990 are The Hurt Locker, Nomadland, Coda, and Anora.

However, despite the low gross, Anora was an unqualified success for filmmaker Sean Baker and distributor Neon even before it won five Oscars on Sunday night, including a record four individual awards for Baker (he’s the first person to ever win four Oscars for the same film in one night).

Anora was reportedly produced for roughly $6 million and funded independently, as Baker has said several times...

For the second consecutive year, the Best Picture Oscar has been all in the family.

Husband and wife Sean Baker and Samantha Quan have earned statuettes for producing the comedy-drama “Anora,” one year after spouses Christopher Nolan and Emma Thomas won the same award for “Oppenheimer.”

Baker and Quan, who shared the award with producer Alex Coco, are the fourth — or fifth, technically; see the “Lord of the Rings” team below — romantic partners to score the Oscar’s most coveted prize.

Julia Phillips was the first female producer to ever win Best Picture, 51 years ago, for the 1973 mystery drama “The Sting,” which she produced alongside Tony Bill and her then-husband Michael Phillips. They divorced the same year as their Oscar win, but continued to work together, producing “Taxi Driver” and “Close Encounters of the Third Kind.”

Phillips wrote the brutal, blistering and best-selling memoir “You’ll Never Eat Lunch in This Town Again,...

The 2025 Oscar nominations were announced on Jan. 23, with Emilia Pérez leading the way with 13 total bids. Next in line were The Brutalist (10), Wicked (10), A Complete Unknown (eight), Conclave (eight), Anora (six), Dune: Part Two (five), The Substance (five), and Nosferatu (four).

In the lead-up to the 97th Academy Awards ceremony on Sunday, March 2, thousands of Gold Derby users will be making and updating their predictions in all 23 categories, from picture and acting, to the three short film contests, and everything in between.

The following Oscar odds are derived from the combined forecasts of four unique groups: experts we’ve polled from major media outlets, editors who cover awards year-round for this website, top 24 users who had the best accuracy scores last year, and the mass of users who make up our biggest predictions bloc.

AMPAS members will vote for the winners between Feb. 11 and Feb. 18, and the results will then...

The 2025 Academy Awards are right around the corner, and it has already started making noise among fans and critics alike. Featuring genre-bending films and celebrating innovative acting, this year’s lineup shows an incredible range of modern cinema.

With an emphasis on diversity, bold storytelling, and creative cinematography, the Academy has nominated a wide range of films that have quite different approaches to cinema than traditional films.

A still from the movie Emelia Pérez | Credits: Netflix

Despite the diversity and bold genres being selected, this year’s nominations have not outrun controversies. The Apprentice’s lead actor Sebastian Stan received a nomination for Best Actor for a Leading Role, while actors like Daniel Craig did not get listed despite his solid performance in a critically acclaimed film like Queer. Another film dominating conversations is Emilia Pérez.

The Jacques Audiard-directed film has taken center stage with its record-breaking thirteen nominations.

Films With the Most Oscar Wins (Photo Credit – Instagram)

Oscars 2025: The 97th Academy Awards will be held in a few hours, and we are waiting with bated breath to see this year’s winners. We have already made our picks for the six main categories, but we will know the rest once the event occurs. But this article will reveal the movies with the most Oscars. Titanic and The Lord of the Rings: The Return of the King are among the top films, while Oppenheimer took home seven significant awards last year, but some movies have won more than that. Scroll below for more.

This year, Emilia Perez is leading with the most nominations, followed by The Brutalist and Wicked. Zoe Saldana’s movie has 13 nods, while the other two movies are tied with 10 nominations. This year, the list has a diverse mix of genres, with fresh talent meeting established actors,...

In the 21st century, 25 films have so far won Best Picture. A lot has changed over the past 25 years around the world and within the Academy. That evolution is partly reflected in this century’s list of Best Picture winners, which contains films that are both beloved and oft-derided. In the case of some, their Best Picture wins have even directly strengthened or worsened their reputations.

Now, ahead of the 2025 Oscars, here is where you can currently stream all of the Best Picture winners of the 21st century so far.

“American Beauty” (DreamWorks Pictures) “American Beauty” (1999)

The Best Picture winner at the 2000 Oscars, “American Beauty” is director Sam Mendes’ divisive drama about a white suburban American family slowly coming apart at the seams. It is available to stream now for free on Pluto TV.

“Gladiator” (Universal Pictures) “Gladiator” (2000)

This crowd-pleasing epic about a Roman general (Russell Crowe) who is forced...

This Sunday, the 97th Academy Awards air on ABC (and stream on Hulu). The premiere category is always Best Picture. Here are the nominees:

AnoraThe BrutalistConclaveA Complete UnknownDune: Part TwoEmilia PérezI'm Still HereNickel BoysThe SubstanceWicked

The Oscars have a history of rewarding smaller, more intimate movies over big Hollywood blockbusters, and are especially loathe to give awards to big franchise movies in the sci-fi/fantasy space. By my count, the only time it's happened was in 2003, when Academy voters gave the Best Picture Oscar to The Lord of the Rings: The Return of the King, an acknowledgement of the remarkable work director Peter Jackson, his cast and crew did on that trilogy.

But other than that, the Academy stays away from franchises. The only Marvel movie to ever be nominated for Best Picture was Black Panther. The only Star Wars movie to be nominated was the original 1977 film, and both lost.

Quick LinksRhûn Was an Important But Rarely Explored Portion of Middle-earthSome Fascinating The Lord of the Rings Characters Had Ties to RhûnA Spin-off Set in Rhûn Would Look Unlike Any Other The Lord of the Rings Film

My favorite films of all time are those that comprise Peter Jackson's The Lord of the Rings trilogy, and I am far from alone in that opinion. They dominated the box office in the early 2000s, even beating out the Star Wars prequel trilogy, and earned an astounding 17 Academy Awards. That is why it comes as no surprise that Warner Bros. wants to return to Jackson's version of Middle-earth. 2024 saw the release of Kenji Kamiyama's animated film The Lord of the Rings: The War of the Rohirrim, and that was only the beginning of Warner Bros.' plans for The Lord of the Rings spin-off films. In the realm of live action,...

Warner Bros. Pictures has released the final trailer for A Minecraft Movie, which will open in theaters on April 4. Tickets are now on sale for the big-screen adaptation.

As you’ll see in the trailer, each character’s journey in the film reflects how Minecraft players all around the globe develop personal stories and build their universes within the game because, as you know, anything is possible in the Overworld!

Warner Bros. has also announced a Minecraft game add-on for fans of the game. For a limited time, starting on February 27, fans in the US who purchase tickets to A Minecraft Movie through Fandango will receive access to an exclusive in-game jetpack add-on for Minecraft: Bedrock Edition.

From Warner Bros. Pictures and Legendary Pictures and starring Jason Momoa and Jack Black, A Minecraft Movie, directed by Jared Hess, is the first-ever big-screen, live-action adaptation of Minecraft, the best-selling video game of all time.

A film getting unexpectedly delayed or moved back is part and parcel of the film industry, and more often than not, every other film goes through this delay. While the film industry might have grown accustomed to this delay, fans certainly have not and are quick to display their anger. Recently, an upcoming Lotr film has become the subject of fans’ anger.

The Lord of the Rings: The Return of the King | Credits: New Line Cinema

Directed by and starring Andy Serkis, The Hunt for Gollum has been delayed for over a year, as per recent reports. While most fans have already labeled the film as ‘pointless’ due to its subject matter, many are, nonetheless, upset about the delay.

Andy Serkis’ Lotr spin-off, The Hunt for Gollum, delayed Gollum in The Lord of the Rings | Credits: New Line Cinema

Last year in May, Andy Serkis had revealed that he would...

Quick LinksThe Great Beasts Carried the Orcs' Most Devastating WeaponThe Great Beasts Had Many Designs and Many Origins

The Battle of the Pelennor Fields from Peter Jackson's The Lord of the Rings: The Return of the King showcased some of the fantasy animals employed by Sauron's army. Most notable were the oliphaunts, or mûmakil as they were known in their native land of Harad. They were similar to elephants, but they were far larger and sported two additional pairs of tusks. Haradrim warriors rode atop the oliphaunts, using them both to trample their enemies and to provide high ground for archers.

Just as significant as the physical threat they posed was the fear and confusion that they instilled in the Gondorians and Rohirrim, who had never seen such massive creatures before. The oliphaunts were more extreme versions of the war elephants used in real-world historical combat. Though oliphaunts received the most attention,...

Conclave won Best Ensemble at the Screen Actors Guild Awards on Sunday night, becoming the first movie to defeat Anora at one of the top industry guilds.

The win allows the Oscars Best Picture race to keep some intrigue heading into next weekend. Anora had previously won top honors at the Producers Guild Awards, Directors Guild Awards, and Writers Guild Awards. Since the SAG Awards started giving out its film ensemble honor, only five movies have swept the top industry guilds: American Beauty, Slumdog Millionaire, No Country for Old Men, Argo, and Everything Everywhere All at Once. All five movies won Best Picture.

Now, this is a race. Conclave heads into the Oscars next week with some significant wind at its back, having also won Best Film honors at the BAFTA Awards last week. It is also heavily favored to win Best Adapted Screenplay and Best Editing. If Conclave pulls off the Best Picture upset,...

Quick LinksGollum Was His Own Worst Enemy in The Lord of the RingsGollum Overcame His Inner Demons -- But Not For LongGollum's Conversation With Himself Highlighted the Strengths of His Character

Peter Jackson and his team had extensive plans going into The Lord of the Rings film trilogy. Pre-production began several years before cameras started rolling, giving them time to iron out the script, create elaborate sets and props, and plan out the cinematography. This was one of the crew's greatest strengths, and it kept production of The Lord of the Rings running relatively smoothly. Jackson's later The Hobbit trilogy was far more rushed, which led to countless struggles behind the scenes. However, even during the production of The Lord of the Rings, Jackson could not account for everything, so he sometimes needed to improvise. In an interview with Stephen Colbert, Jackson discussed some of his favorite scenes from the trilogy,...

Quick LinksTreebeard Rarely Spoke Entish in The Lord of the RingsThe Lord of the Rings' Ents Valued Clarity and PrecisionMost of The Lord of the Rings' Characters Did Not Have Time For Entish

J. R. R. Tolkien, the author of The Lord of the Rings, was obsessed with languages both real and fictional. He constructed several languages for the various cultures of his Middle-earth stories, most famously the Elvish languages of Sindarin and Quenya. They were as deep and complex as real-world languages, and he even charted their fictional evolution over history as the groups that spoke them splintered apart and diverged from one another. There are entire books and websites dedicated to documenting the extensive vocabulary and grammar of Tolkien's Elvish languages. However, some of Middle-earth's languages were far more obscure than those spoken by the Elves. For example, The Lord of the Rings did not feature much of...

The Lord of the Rings has become a timeless tale with characters that are as iconic as the story itself. But what if the characters we know and love were actually very different in their early drafts? J.R.R. Tolkien’s process of shaping the story was an evolving one, and many key characters underwent major changes before becoming the figures we recognize today.

From Aragorn’s humble beginnings to Boromir’s betrayal taking a much darker turn, the early drafts of The Lord of the Rings were full of surprises.

The Lord of the Rings: The Return of the King | Credits: New Line Cinema

Even Treebeard, a central figure in the story, almost ended up as an enemy instead of the wise Ent we admire. These shifts played a major role in shaping the epic saga we now treasure.

How different would The Lord of the Rings be if J.

Since its advent, cinema has occasionally treated us to masterpieces that tanked at the box office because box office success is not a measure of quality. Some of those that flopped are essential movies such as It’s A Wonderful Life andhave since aged gracefully.Others are, well, let's just say everyone saw them nosediving from afar, like Timur Bekmambetov'sBen-Hur with its spectacular failure to fill the large shoes of its 1959 original. The 2016 remake was unrealistically ambitious to unseat William Wyler's Ben-Hur, whichreceived overwhelming critical acclaim and positive audience reception that made it just one of only three movies to receive 11 Oscars to date (the others being Titanicand The Lord of the Rings: The Return of the King).

The papal drama “Conclave” has been named the best film of 2024 at the Ee BAFTA Film Awards, which took place on Sunday in London.

Voters from the British Academy of Film and Television Arts spread the wealth, giving “Conclave” and “The Brutalist” four awards each and giving two to “Dune: Part Two,” “Wicked,” “Emilia Perez,” “A Real Pain,” “Anora” and “Wallace & Gromit: Vengeance Most Fowl.”

The win for “Conclave” is the most significant for the film in a season in which “Anora” has been winning most of the major awards. It also gave director Edward Berger two BAFTA Best Film wins in the last three years, following his first for “All Quiet on the Western Front” two years ago.

The only other directors to have two films win the top BAFTA award in a span of three years are Mike Nichols (“Who’s Afraid of Virginia Woolf?” and “The Graduate...

With the much-anticipated Oscars night quickly approaching, it's only natural to look back on some significant winners from the past. Since the esteemed ceremony's inception in 1929, plenty of filmmakers, actors, and movies have set several long-standing records. The most awards won by a single film is a three-way tie between Ben-Hur, Titanic, and The Lord of the Rings: The Return of the King — each earning a remarkable 11 wins. Katharine Hepburn set the record for Best Actress with four Oscars, Parasite was the first non-English film to win Best Picture, and cinematographer Emmanuel Lubezki has taken home three consecutive awards for his work in Gravity, Birdman or (The Unexpected Virtue of Ignorance), and The Revenant.

While these artists and their films are undoubtedly award-worthy, there are some winners audiences may not realize have maintained their records for decades. One of those Oscar-recipients is Batman v. Superman actor Ben Affleck. In 1997, alongside co-writer and actor Matt Damon,...

Quick LinksGandalf Missed a Chance to Meet Aragorn During The HobbitGandalf Provided Aragorn With Wisdom and Guidance

Many members of The Lord of the Rings' Fellowship met for the first time during the Council of Elrond, but some had established relationships long before their quest to destroy the One Ring began. That included the Fellowship's leaders, Gandalf the Gray and Aragorn. Gandalf placed a great amount of trust in Aragorn, even telling him about Frodo's secret mission to destroy the One Ring; this is why Aragorn recognized the hobbits in Bree and escorted them to the Elven realm of Rivendell. But how did the Wizard and the Ranger come to know each other? J. R. R. Tolkien answered this in the novel version of The Lord of the Rings. One might expect that they met during Aragorn's youth in Rivendell, but that was not the case.

After the death...

When Clint Eastwood became a familiar face to U.S. television viewers via his portrayal of ramrod Rowdy Yates in the CBS Western drama "Rawhide," no one save for maybe his mother saw his handsome mug on their television screen and said, "This man is going to be a transformational figure in motion pictures." No one could've predicted that he'd fly to Spain during his 1964 hiatus from "Rawhide" and make a one-of-a-kind Western with an upstart Italian director named Sergio Leone, thus launching an entire subgenre that would turn him into an international movie star. They certainly couldn't have guessed that he'd also redefine the cop film as a due-process-flouting hardass named Harry Callahan. And then to become a celebrated filmmaker in his own right? Crazy talk.

Clint Eastwood has defied expectations and categorization. At the moment that he was riding high on Westerns and his Dirty Harry persona, he...

Quick LinksLegolas Accomplished Great Things in The Lord of the Rings and The HobbitThe Lord of the Rings' Elves Were Closely Associated With the Natural World

In Peter Jackson's The Lord of the Rings and The Hobbit films, the Elves displayed a wide array of impressive magical abilities; they could summon floods, heal Morgul-wounds inflicted by the Nazgûl's poisonous blades, communicate telepathically, glimpse into the future, and even change their own appearance, such as Galadriel taking on a terrifying form or Thranduil hiding the scars he received from dragon fire. However, one of the Elves' most useful traits was far subtler. They were supernaturally nimble and acrobatic, allowing them to achieve athletic feats far beyond the scope of Middle-earth's other races.

Jackson mainly showcased this quality of the Elves through the Fellowship's only Elven member, Legolas, as portrayed by Orlando Bloom. Though Legolas never cast any spells, he made...

One of the most interesting debates in The Lord of the Rings lore is about who gets to go to the Undying Lands, especially after the end of The Lord of the Rings: The Return of the King. Bilbo (Ian Holm), Frodo (Elijah Wood), and Sam (Sean Astin) all get to go with Gandalf (Ian McKellen), followed by Legolas (Orlando Bloom) and Gimli (John Rhys-Davies) later on, but Merry (Dominic Monaghan), Pippin (Billy Boyd), and Aragorn (Viggo Mortensen) are never allowed to sail into the West. Especially in Aragorn's case, this seems a little unfair, given his crucial role in the Fellowship of the Ring, but it actually makes a lot of sense in his story that he stays in Middle-earth.

The epic genre was at its peak back in the 1950s and 1960s, but by no means were they the only decades during which lengthy movies thrived. The Godfather Part II might've been the greatest film of the 1970s with such a runtime, 1997’s Titanic was immensely successful, and then The Lord of the Rings: The Return of the King – which had a theatrical version that exceeded three hours – was also monumental.

The U.K. and Ireland box office kicked off 2025 with a robust £94.1 million ($116.6 million) in January, marking a 10% increase from January 2024’s £85.2 million ($105.6 million) and a 12% rise from January 2023, according to numbers from Comscore.

Robert Eggers’ “Nosferatu” led the month’s releases, haunting its way to $15.6 million, establishing itself as the sixth-highest-grossing horror film of all time in the region. The reimagining of the classic vampire tale surpassed “A Quiet Place” ($15.1 million) and is closing in on “The Final Destination” ($15.9 million).

Disney maintained its market dominance with a 30.8% share in January, claiming the next two spots on the chart. “Mufasa: The Lion King” roared to second place with $15 million for the month, bringing its total to $36.7 million, surpassing “The Little Mermaid’s” lifetime gross of $34 million.

James Mangold’s Bob Dylan biopic “A Complete Unknown” struck a chord at No. 3 with $11.3 million, becoming the director’s sixth-highest-grossing film in the territory,...

Filmmakers faced unique challenges in how to make individual parts of a singular vision work on their own. And now both are competing for Best Picture.

Something unusual’s going on in this year’s list of Academy Award Best Picture nominees. Namely that one of the films aired its first installment in theaters mid-2021 pandemic… and another hasn’t even released its second half yet. Those films? Dune: Part 2 and Wicked. Should either overcome long odds — Wicked is tied for fifth in the Gold Derby ranking, while Dune is ninth in the 10-film race — it would be the first time that one half of a two-parter took home the biggest prize of the film season.

“History could be made,” chuckles Tanya Lapointe, one of the producers from Denis Villeneuve‘s Dune 2. “It’s a fascinating year.”

To put it mildly. Audiences and voters have been used to literal...

The trailer for A Minecraft Movie showcases the video game adaptation to be a family-friendly adventure, but with Jack Black and Jason Momoa in the cast, it is surely set to lean the film into some light irreverent humor. The ratings bulletin from the MPA has recently announced that A Minecraft Movie will be an edgier family film with a PG rating for violence/action, language, suggestive/rude humor and some scary images.

From Warner Bros. Pictures and Legendary Pictures and starring Jason Momoa and Jack Black, A Minecraft Movie, directed by Jared Hess, is the first-ever big-screen, live-action adaptation of Minecraft, the best-selling video game of all time. The film also stars Emma Myers (Wednesday), Oscar nominee Danielle Brooks (The Color Purple), Sebastian Eugene Hansen, with Jennifer Coolidge.

Welcome to the world of Minecraft, where creativity doesn’t just help you craft, it’s essential to one’s survival!

Quick LinksThe Lord of the Rings Used Lighting to Change the Mood of its ScenesWhy Are Modern Films and Television Shows So Dark?Care and Attention Was Put Into Every Aspect of The Lord of the Rings

The DVD releases of Peter Jackson's The Lord of the Rings films included commentary tracks both by the screenwriters and by the stars of the trilogy. In the cast commentary for The Lord of the Rings: The Return of the King, Samwise Gamgee actor Sean Astin recounted an amusing anecdote from his time filming. During the scene in which Sam rescued Frodo Baggins from the Tower of Cirith Ungol, the set was well-lit even though it was meant to be a dark, confined room at the top of the tower. Astin asked cinematographer Andrew Lesnie where the light in the scene was coming from, and Lesnie replied, "The same place as the music.

From Middle-earth to Gotham, this is why Max is a must for action fans.

When done right, action movies deliver some of the most thrilling movie-watching experiences out there. Whether it’s superheroes saving the day, heart-pounding car chases, or jaw-dropping martial arts showdowns, these films know how to keep you hooked. And it’s not all about gunfights - there’s just as much excitement in machetes, improvised weapons, and gritty, close-quarters combat. Throw in some unforgettable one-liners from the 80s and 90s, and you’ve got a genre that keeps the adrenaline pumping. If you’re wondering which streamer has the best selection of action movies, for me, it’s an easy pick: Max. Here’s why it’s my go-to for action movie fans.

Everything you need to know about the best streamer for action movies:

What action movies can you watch on Max?

What superhero action...

Quick LinksElfhelm Lent Aid to King Théoden's SonErkenbrand Was Key to The Lord of the Rings' Greatest BattlesElfhelm and Erkenbrand Served Éomer Long After the War of the Ring

Peter Jackson's The Lord of the Rings: The Two Towers introduced the kingdom of Rohan and its inhabitants. The Rohirrim were once the Gondorians' closest allies, but in the film, their relationship had been strained by the War of the Ring. Saruman's army of Uruk-hai and Dunlendings wreaked havoc in Rohan, and many of the Rohirrim blamed the Gondorians for ignoring their plight. Aragorn, Legolas, Gimli, and Gandalf were able to turn Rohan's fortune around, which started with freeing King Théoden from Saruman's curse and expelling the traitorous Gríma Wormtongue. They then helped the Rohirrim defeat Saruman's forces in the Battle of Helm's Deep, and in the following film, The Lord of the Rings: The Return of the King, they...

Every solid fan of The Lord of the Rings will know that the most significant event that never made it to the screen adaptation was the Scouring of the Shire. This was purposely excluded by director Peter Jackson for a very simple reason: to have a happy ending. No one likes the scouring part, anyway.

The Lord of the Rings: The Return of the King / Credits: New Line Cinema

Truth be told, this dreaded scene is the real ending of the story, and it takes place after Sauron’s defeat. It’s a small battle, but it carries so much weight, and for Jackson, it only gives an anticlimactic effect to an otherwise peaceful conclusion.

Why Peter Jackson removed the Scouring of the Shire

The ending we saw in The Lord of the Rings: The Return of the King was what we all expected to witness from a fantasy movie.

Quick Links Violent Individuals Were More Greatly Affected by the One Ring Gollum Was Crucial to the Success of Frodo's Quest Frodo and Sam Had No Time to Lose

Both in J. R. R. Tolkien’s The Lord of the Rings novel and in Peter Jackson’s trilogy of film adaptations, Gollum was a pivotal character. He stalked the members of the Fellowship as they traveled through the Mines of Moria, Lothlórien, and Emyn Muil, waiting for a chance to take the One Ring from Frodo Baggins. After the Breaking of the Fellowship, Frodo and Samwise Gamgee set out on their own, and Gollum ambushed them in the night. The hobbits were able to foil his attack, at which point Frodo convinced Gollum to be their guide to Mordor. Throughout the rest of the story, Gollum frequently shifts between an ally and an enemy. He provided the two adventuring hobbits with some invaluable help,...