The Lord of the Rings: The Return of the King

2003 · directed by Peter Jackson · 201 min

28,288 feet · Prominence

6th of 24,106 films scored

Not coveredThe 6th highest film on the mountain, and The Rewatchables has never done it.

How this film scores

Draw88

Lifetime worldwide gross $1.12bn, re-releases included; about $2.01bn in 2026 money.

Rank19 of 11,051In 20031 of 227

How Draw works

Inflation-adjusted worldwide box office, on one global curve, and nothing else. It does not know whether a film was good.

Praise97

Awards claim half the headroom above the critics' score.

Critics94 baseAwards98 signal → +3 lift

Oscars11 won Picture, Director, Adapted Screenplay, Original Song, Costume Design, Production Design, Film Editing, Visual Effects, Makeup and Hairstyling, Original Score, Sound

Golden Globes4 won Motion Picture, Director, Screenplay, Original Score

BAFTAs4 won Film, Adapted Screenplay, Cinematography, Craft and other3 nominated Directing, Supporting acting, Craft and other

How Praise works

Critics set the score; a tiered award record, Picture and Directing carrying the most weight, claims half the headroom above it. Praise is the verdict at the time; Legacy is the verdict since.

Legacy89

Judged directly: Epic finale, sweeping Oscars, enduring fandom.

Verdict89 of 100IMDb9 from 2.2mWikipedia73k views a monthAge23 years

Scored beside it · 27 of 4,039 films judged

90The Terminator (1984)

90Monty Python and the Holy Grail (1975)

90Scarface (1983)

89Terminator 2: Judgment Day (1991)

89Annie Hall (1977)

89The Lord of the Rings: The Return of the King (2003)

88The Exorcist (1973)

If it does not belong in this company, the number is wrong.

How Legacy works

Legacy is a judgment, not a formula. A film can be adored by critics and culturally quiet, or lightly reviewed and permanently lodged in the culture, and no arithmetic over IMDb numbers tells the difference. Every signal behind it keeps updating.

draw 88 praise 97 legacy 89averages 91, placing it at28,288 ft

How the three become one number

Added, not multiplied, so a film transcendent on one pillar and weak on another is not zeroed out. A compression curve then squeezes the top, because the seven greatest films ever made should not be four thousand feet apart.

Whose apex this is

▲ Viggo Mortensen ▲ Sean Astin

In these careers — elevation for this film

Viggo Mortensen20,456 ft Sean Astin20,321 ft Ian McKellen20,150 ft Elijah Wood19,964 ft Andy Serkis19,444 ft Cate Blanchett17,684 ft Hugo Weaving17,681 ft Ian Holm17,678 ft Sean Bean17,677 ft Orlando Bloom17,674 ft Liv Tyler17,673 ft Karl Urban17,670 ft John Rhys-Davies17,658 ft Marton Csokas17,656 ft David Wenham17,652 ft Miranda Otto17,646 ft