'Return Of The King' Coming To DVD May 25!

[Monday, March 8th, 2004]
Return of the King DVDThe King makes his return in filmmaker Peter Jackson’s stunning conclusion to The Lord of the Rings Trilogy, arriving on DVD and VHS on May 25, 2004. The home video debut of The Lord of the Rings: The Return of the King will follow the groundbreaking success of the multi-tiered platform releases of both The Fellowship of the Ring and The Two Towers, and will be available on a two-disc DVD and VHS for $29.95 and $24.97, respectively. A special extended edition of The Return of the King will follow as planned in time for the holidays.

Based on J.R.R. Tolkien’s epic adventure of good versus evil, The Lord of the Rings: The Return of the King will be released separately in both widescreen and fullscreen versions, each including a second disc offering hours of additional content. Disc Two will feature behind-the-scenes specials, featurettes, theatrical trailers, TV spots, The Lord of the Rings Trilogy supertrailer, a preview of the upcoming The Lord of the Rings based video game from Electronic Arts and a link to exclusive online content about the motion picture trilogy.

“The Lord of the Rings: The Return of the King is the crowning glory of a truly unparalleled filmmaking achievement,” said Stephen Einhorn, president and chief operating officer of New Line Home Entertainment. “The two-DVD edition includes the award-winning theatrical epic as well as hours of behind-the-scenes bonus materials.”

With current domestic and worldwide box office receipts at more than $364.1 million and $1 billion and rising, The Lord of the Rings: The Return of the King is the most successful box office film of the trilogy. Arriving on 7,205 North American screens and 7,403 screens in 28 territories internationally on December 17, 2003, The Return of the King set numerous box office records, achieving the all-time biggest openings in the United Kingdom, Austria, Germany, Scandinavia, Spain, Switzerland and New Zealand. A global phenomenon, The Return of the King smashed the international five-day box office record, earning more than $250 million during its opening weekend. The film, moreover, currently ranks as the second highest-grossing worldwide theatrical release of all time, becoming the second film ever to earn more than $1 billion and the first to hit this mark in only ten weeks.

Domestically, The Lord of the Rings: The Return of the King set box office records for the biggest December opening ($72.6 million, Friday-Sunday) and the highest Wednesday opening ($34.5 million) of all time. In addition, it took in $100 million in just four days, $200 million in 11 days and broke the $300 million barrier in just 24 days. The Lord of the Rings: The Return of the King currently ranks sixth on the list of all-time biggest domestic motion picture box office hits.

DVD Fact Sheet

DISC 1 (AVAILABLE IN BOTH WIDESCREEN OR FULLSCREEN EDITIONS)

WIDESCREEN
FEATURE (200 minutes)

o Widescreen version of the film
o Dolby Digital EX 5.1 Surround Sound
o Stereo Surround Sound
o English subtitles and closed captions
o Spanish subtitles

DVD ROM MATERIAL:

o Link to Exclusive on-line content
o Link to lordoftherings.net

FULLSCREEN
FEATURE (200 minutes)

o Fullscreen version of the film
o Dolby Digital EX 5.1 Surround Sound
o Stereo Surround Sound
o English subtitles and closed captions
o Spanish subtitles

DVD ROM MATERIAL:

o Link to Exclusive on-line content
o Link to lordoftherings.net

DISC 2 (WITH BOTH WIDESCREEN AND FULLSCREEN EDITIONS)

SPECIAL FEATURES (More than 2 hours of added value material):

o Animated Menus
o English Subtitles and Closed Captions
o Spanish Subtitles

IN-DEPTH PROGRAMS

o The Quest Fulfilled: A Director’s Vision
o A Filmmaker's Journey: Making THE RETURN OF THE KING
o National Geographic Special – THE LORD OF THE RINGS: THE RETURN OF THE KING

FEATURETTES

Created for lordoftherings.net:

o “Aragorn’s Destiny”
o “Minas Tirith: Capital of Gondor”
o “The Battle of Pelennor Fields”
o “Samwise the Brave”
o “Éowyn: White Lady of Rohan”
o “Digital Horse Doubles”

TRAILERS

o The Lord of the Rings Trilogy Supertrailer
o Two Theatrical Trailers

TV SPOTS

o “Heart/Frodo”
o “Every Path”
o “Test”
o “Aragorn”
o “Time”
o “Every Step”
o “Sword”
o “Decided”
o “Time Review”
o “Decided Review”
o “Step Golden Globes”
o “Globe Noms”
o “New Epic Globe”

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