The Lord of the Rings: The Return of the King is a 2003 epic fantasy adventure film directed by Peter Jackson, based on the third volume of J. R. R. Tolkien’s The Lord of the Rings. The film is the third and final instalment in The Lord of the Rings trilogy and was produced by Barrie M. Osborne, Jackson and Fran Walsh, and written by Walsh, Philippa Boyens and Jackson. The film features an ensemble cast including Elijah Wood, Ian McKellen, Liv Tyler, Viggo Mortensen, Sean Astin, Cate Blanchett, John Rhys-Davies, Bernard Hill, Billy Boyd, Dominic Monaghan, Orlando Bloom, Hugo Weaving, Miranda Otto, David Wenham, Karl Urban, John Noble, Andy Serkis, Ian Holm, and Sean Bean. It was preceded by The Fellowship of the Ring (2001) and The Two Towers (2002).

Continuing the plot of The Two Towers, Frodo, Sam and Gollum are making their final way toward Mount Doom in Mordor in order to destroy the One Ring, unaware of Gollum’s true intentions, while Gandalf, Aragorn, Legolas, Gimli and the rest are joining forces together against Sauron and his legions in Minas Tirith.

The Return of the King was financed and distributed by American studio New Line Cinema, but filmed and edited entirely in Jackson’s native New Zealand, concurrently with the other two parts of the trilogy. It premiered on 1 December 2003 at the Embassy Theatre in Wellington and was theatrically released on 17 December 2003 in the United States, and on 18 December 2003 in New Zealand. The film was highly acclaimed by critics and fans alike, who considered it to be a landmark in filmmaking and an achievement in the fantasy film genre. It grossed $1.142 billion worldwide, making it the highest-grossing film of 2003 and the second highest-grossing film of all time at the time of its release.

The Return of the King is widely regarded as one of the greatest and most influential fantasy films ever made. The film received numerous accolades; at the 76th Academy Awards it won all the eleven awards for which it was nominated: Best Picture, Best Director, Best Adapted Screenplay, Best Art Direction, Best Costume Design, Best Film Editing, Best Makeup, Best Original Score, Best Original Song for “Into the West“, Best Sound Mixing, and Best Visual Effects, therefore tying for the record for the most Academy Awards won by a single film and holding the record for the highest clean sweep at the Oscars.