The Lord of the Rings trilogy locked in about $5 million from domestic presales two days ahead of its first 2026 showtimes, moving roughly 407,000 tickets in the process.
Fellowship of the Ring screens January 16, The Two Towers follows on the 17th, and Return of the King caps it January 18, all via Fathom Entertainment for the 25th anniversary bash.
That haul already beats the full domestic runs of two wide 2026 openers. Daisy Ridley’s zombie flick We Bury the Dead pulled $3.5 million across 1,172 screens, while Angel Studios’ Syria drama I Was a Stranger managed $1.3 million in 1,400 spots.
Nielsen counts wide releases at 600-plus theaters, so these stand as the year’s early benchmarks crushed by old-school fantasy.
Only two other new wide drops top the list so far, but LOTR’s pre-sales keep climbing as word spreads. Fathom reports a 65 percent jump over the 2024 re-run’s pace at this stage, when 246,000 tickets led to $8.2 million total.
Strong early signals point to weekend totals nearing $13.6 million if momentum holds, topping all four 2026 wide releases combined to date. Chains report sellouts in major markets like New York and Los Angeles, forcing extra IMAX and Dolby slots.
Fan Army Powers Theater Surge
Peter Jackson filmed fresh intros for each movie, sharing memories like Viggo Mortensen’s black eye from the Fellowship cave troll fight. These personal touches hook longtime viewers craving big-screen immersion after years of home streams.
Demand forced Fathom to ramp up locations, dates, and times fast. Social feeds light up with boasts of sold-out early birds and pleas for extra IMAX slots, turning casual rewatches into event nights.
The Lord of the Rings (Credit: Prime Video)
Reddit and X threads buzz over extended editions hitting select spots, with families and couples planning trilogy marathons. One fan noted snagging seats for all three in 4DX, betting the shakes during orc battles will top any new blockbuster gimmick.
Parents share stories of introducing kids to Middle-earth magic, while collectors hunt premium formats. DBOX seats add haptic thrills for Helm’s Deep clashes, boosting repeat visits.
Box Office Lessons from Middle-earth
The original run banked nearly $3 billion worldwide and 17 Oscars, proving its timeless pull in a superhero-saturated market. This presale smash signals to studios that nostalgia sells, especially when new fare stumbles on modest budgets and niche appeals.
If patterns hold, the trilogy could hit $13.6 million domestic, eclipsing every 2026 wide release to date. That projection stems from the 2024 re-release trajectory scaled up, putting pressure on upcoming tentpoles to match the hype.
Fathom’s CEO, Ray Nutt, hailed the turnout as a franchise milestone, crediting rabid fans for pushing classic reruns to new heights. Warner Bros. partners up, eyeing global legs as international dates roll out.
We Bury the Dead faced stiff holiday competition, dropping fast after a $10 million opening. I Was a Stranger drew church crowds but lacked crossover spark, highlighting risks of targeted marketing.
Evergreen Magic Trumps 2026 Hype Machines
Theatrical returns like this underline streaming’s limits; nothing beats shared gasps at Gollum’s screeches. Box Office Mojo tracks the originals still ranking high lifetime, with Return of the King at $1.14 billion globally.
Fans debate if the push crosses the $3 billion franchise total worldwide, fueled by overseas screens. One analyst pegs international potential at double the 2024 take, thanks to anniversary buzz.
Jackson’s commentaries tease untold production yarns, from weather woes in New Zealand to orc makeup marathons. These extras cement the event’s feel, drawing skeptics back for unfiltered spectacle.
New Line Cinema celebrates quietly, as the windfall bolsters sequel plans like The Hunt for Gollum. Meanwhile, theaters breathe easy with packed houses offsetting slow January slumps.
Veteran viewers recall 2001 lines wrapping blocks, now passing the torch digitally. Couples post date-night pics amid Balrog flames, proving epic quests age like fine ale.
Global trackers show early upticks in Europe and Asia, where Hobbit holdovers linger. This surge spotlights Tolkien’s grip across generations, outpacing CGI-heavy newcomers.
Hugh Jackman steps into Sherwood Forest shadows as an aging Robin Hood, battered and haunted after decades of banditry and killing. The film pulls from a 17th-century ballad where the folk hero meets his end, wounded from battle and tended by a cryptic healer who forces him to confront his bloody ledger.
Unlike the merry archer kids know from cartoons or Errol Flynn’s swashbuckling 1938 classic, this version paints him as a monstrous brigand, wrestling salvation amid gore-soaked flashbacks.
The MPAA slapped it with an R for strong bloody violence, a stark break from the PG-13 pack that defined big-screen Robins like Russell Crowe’s 2010 epic or Taron Egerton’s 2018 flop.
Only niche efforts like The Siege of Robin Hood dared that territory before, but none packed A24’s pedigree or Jackman’s draw. Production wrapped in Northern Ireland on 35mm last spring, with trailers already teasing mud-caked brawls and Jackman’s gravelly confession of uncountable murders.
Director Michael Sarnoski, fresh off A Quiet Place: Day One, crafts a thriller over adventure, spotlighting regret over robbery. Jackman himself called the script a raw probe of power’s dual edges, good and evil, in chats with outlets like Entertainment Weekly.
Bill Skarsgård muscles up as Little John, Jodie Comer lurks as the enigmatic nurse, while Noah Jupe and Murray Bartlett round out a cast primed for moral murk.
Rare Bloodbath Rating Riles Up Robin’s Reel History
Robin Hood tales hit screens over 50 times, from Disney’s G-rated fox in 1973 to PG-13 spectacles chasing family dollars, yet R-rated outliers stayed sidelined. Crowe’s Ridley Scott cut toned down carnage to snag that milder tag, pulling $321 million worldwide despite mixed buzz at 43% on Rotten Tomatoes.
Egerton’s modernised take tanked harder, scraping $86 million against a $100 million budget with a dismal 14% score.
This A24 entry flips the script, leaning into brutal stabs and impalings that trailers flaunt without mercy. MPA parents’ guides flag the intensity, marking a pivot for a character long sanitized for broad appeal.
The Death of Robin Hood (Credit: A24)
Low-budget horrors like Robin Hood: Ghosts of Sherwood grabbed R stamps too, but lacked star power or distributor muscle. A24’s track record with bold swings like Hereditary or Midsommar signals they chase prestige over popcorn crowds.
Recent TV fare, like MGM+’s Sean Bean-led series at 77% approval, hints audiences crave grittier takes, though there’s no season two yet.
Jackman’s post-trailer fan reactions split online, some cheering the “evil” anti-hero vibe, others mourning the merry man’s makeover. Reddit threads buzz with bets on the box office, eyeing if R walls off younger viewers who fueled past hits.
Trailer Buzz Signals A24’s Bloody Box Office Bet
First-look images dropped Jackman was rugged, with wild hair and a tangled beard, far from Lincoln-green polish.
Trailers hit in early January 2026, racking up views with stark mud fields, savage clashes, and lines like “The legend was a lie” that gut-punch the myth. Outlets like Bloody Disgusting hailed the “strong bloody violence” as a fresh gut-spill for folklore.
A24 snagged U.S. rights at Cannes in 2024, beating rivals, with producers like Aaron Ryder banking on Sarnoski’s intimate grit. No firm date locks yet beyond 2026, but whispers point to summer slots against lighter superhero fare.
Jackman’s post-Wolverine phase, mixing stage returns and indies, positions this as a passion play, echoing his praise for the “beautifully human” depth.
Social waves crash with hype: YouTube reactions dub it “he’s evil?!?” while sites like ScreenRant flag the rating as the rarest yet. Critics ponder if gore overload risks alienating casual fans, but cast prestige and the A24 aura fuel optimism.
For Jackman loyalists, it promises another shape-shift, from claws to quiver, in a forest where heroes bleed first. One fan site captured the split: the brutal promise thrills genre hounds, but purists fear it strays too far from the hood’s heart.
