Oscars set to make 'King' all-time No 1

By JO-MARIE BROWN

The final instalment of The Lord of the Rings trilogy may not be king at New Zealand's box office this week, but after winning 11 Oscars, it looks set to become our most popular movie.

Mel Gibson's The Passion of the Christ now holds the number one spot in theatres across the country, but the executive director of the Motion Picture Distributors' Association, Bill Hood, said The Return of the King would no doubt make a strong comeback.

"I believe that, with the news of the Oscars, those that have seen it once will go and see it again, and those that haven't, will be intrigued and want to go. I'd be very surprised if The Return of the King doesn't eventually overtake the total box office earnings of The Fellowship of the Ring and become our all-time number one movie."

Video rentals of the trilogy's first two parts were expected to rise since the Oscars, said Mr Hood, and Peter Jackson's earlier films such as Bad Taste and Braindead could also find a whole new audience.

"If there is an interest in Jackson, and clearly there is now, you'd want to go back and see his earlier work, wouldn't you?"

Meanwhile, an 11-minute prequel to King Kong made by an Auckland actor trying to get Jackson's attention is proving popular on the internet.

Eden Phillips said his short film was an adaptation of a screenplay written in 1996 by Jackson and Fran Walsh which was then posted on-line.

"It started just as an audition reel for me because I wanted to get into Peter Jackson's King Kong film, but so many other people became interested in it, it became this whole other thing."

The film's website, www.kongmovie.com, has had 1.5 million hits since its launch three weeks ago.

HIGHEST GROSSING MOVIES IN NZ


1. LOTR - Fellowship of the Ring ($14.5 million)

2. Titanic ($13 million)

3. LOTR - Return of the King ($12.5 million so far)

4. LOTR - The Two Towers ($12 million)

5. Harry Potter & the Philosopher's Stone ($7.7 million)

6. Forrest Gump ($7.5 million)


Herald Feature: Lord of the Rings