The 25th Anniversary of LOTR (extended) celebration in theaters vs. the 25th celebration fans deserve

In 2001, a film many thought would ruin a movie studio — a big budget fantasy film based on books by J.R.R. Tolkien — hit theaters on Dec. 19. It blew even the highest opening weekend predictions completely out of the water and went on to make and change cinema history. Next year the 25th Anniversary of the the LORD OF THE RINGS film trilogy will start with the extended editions returning to theaters.

That's great but it isn't the 25th Anniversary version or celebration of the films Peter Jackson and company wanted and it isn't the 25th celebration that fans deserve. In this edition of The Tolkien Podcast, we will examine the long hoped for  Ultimate Edition of the film trilogy AND how that relates to the ongoing battle to buy Warner Bros., and therefore the LOTR films.

"I'd love to do an ultimate edition, a final, definitive version when the time is right. There's still a lot of great material that hasn't been seen." - Peter Jackson, 2004

"There's so much more we could do. The amount of material we have is staggering. It's just a matter of finding the right time and format to release it." - Michael Pellerin, 2006

"Fans have been clamoring for an ultimate edition of the films for years, and both Jackson and Pellerin have hinted that it's something they'd like to do when the timing is right." - Larry D. Curtis, TheOneRing.net, 2009

Transcript

It may be hard for some to believe now, but if you were there, you remember on Dec. 19, 2001, the Lord of the Rings The Fellowship of the ring was released in theaters, with many people anticipating that a big budget fantasy film, was doomed to failure.

And this particular fantasy film was double or triple doomed. Because three films had been shot at once, putting at risk New Line Cinema for bankruptcy and leaving its owners, AOL/Time Warner, with two films to release in the next two years, that would immediately be dead on arrival.

Things sounded especially grim in the spring and summer of that year, when ruin was the prediction, as the movie release date drew nearer. There were some signs that there was some real enthusiasm for this movie. The predictors of box office totals thought that the film might open that weekend between $10 million and $25 million box office dollars.

My perception and my experience was vastly different. I knew a community of people who were hanging on every word written by the press, were delighted by every promotional photo that they could get their hands on.

People who were at the record store when the DVD of the soundtrack was released a month early, so they could listen to all of the themes and figure out what was the what. People, including yours truly, had figured out when tickets went on sale had banded together collectively and bought out theaters for opening night.

I knew lots of people who were so excited that when Pearl Harbor came out, people went and bought tickets for its first showing, because it would have the first official trailer of the Fellowship of the ring. And they watched and then they left.

So when the dust settled after that first weekend of the Lord of the Rings Fellowship of the ring, it had grossed $47.5 million, nearly double what the prognosticators predicted it might do at its highest performance.

And here we are, 25 years later, and it's been announced that the films will play again in their extended edition and an event sponsored in January by Fathom Entertainment. But of course, January is just the beginning of the 25th anniversary, so maybe we'll have other celebrations all year long. But that is far from the biggest news in the token realm right now. Warner Brothers, that owns New Line, is being purchased by Netflix — unless it's purchased by Paramount.

And whoever wins that bidding war will own these films. They will own “The Lord of the Rings The Fellowship of the Ring.” They will own “The Two Towers,” and they will own “The Return of the King,” and they will own the extended editions. And they will make determinations about when and where and how they are released or streamed or seen or packaged to you.

And they will make another decision. They will make a decision if the long requested, long hoped for long fabled Ultimate Edition of The Return of the King, The Two Towers and The Fellowship Of The Ring will ever see the light of day.

Even if you've never heard of it or if you don't remember it, I assure you, Peter Jackson does. That's what we're talking about. So we are getting to see a 25th anniversary edition of The Fellowship Of The Ring in theaters. Hooray! And the Two Towers and Return of the King. Hooray! And it's the extended edition for all three. Hooray! That's the 25th anniversary we're getting. But it is not the 25th anniversary edition we deserve.

My name is Larry, and you are listening to The Tolkien Podcast.

If you live in an area that has deep box theaters, you will be able to see The Fellowship of the ring on Jan. 16, The Two Towers on Jan. 17 and The Return of the King on Jan. 18. If you don’t you can watch the following Friday, Saturday and Sunday, Jan. 23 through the 25th. of 2026.

Some of you may not be aware of what or who Fathom Events is, but they do events, single events in theaters, all over the place, in all kinds of genres.