Following its screenings of The Fellowship of the Ring in January and The Two Towers last February, SM Cinema is rounding up its celebration of the 25th anniversary of The Fellowship of the Ring, with one final weekend of screenings. As of this writing, the extended edition of The Return of the King is set to hit select SM Cinema locations nationwide on March 20.
Completing the epic trilogy, The Return of the King will follow Frodo (Elijah Wood) and Sam (Sean Astin) on the final leg of their journey to Mount Doom to destroy the One Ring. Meanwhile, Gandalf (Sir Ian McKellen) and Aragorn (Viggo Mortensen) must lead the World of Men and their allies against Sauron’s army for one final battle.
The extended edition of The Return of the King will run for roughly four hours and 12 minutes, as opposed to the original version’s three hours and 21 minutes.
The Return of the King won 11 Academy Awards in 2004, including Best Picture and Best Director.
As of writing, no specific cinema locations have been listed.
Frequently Asked Questions
The extended edition of The Return of the King is set to hit select SM Cinema nationwide locations on March 20, 2026.
The extended cut runs for approximately 4 hours and 12 minutes (252 minutes), featuring roughly 51 minutes of additional footage compared to the 3-hour and 21-minute theatrical version.
SM Cinema is hosting the screenings as part of its celebration of the 25th anniversary of The Fellowship of the Ring, concluding a three-month theatrical re-release event.
The Lord of the Rings: The Return of the King won 11 Academy Awards in 2004, sweeping all categories in which it was nominated, including Best Picture and Best Director for Peter Jackson.
The film stars Elijah Wood (Frodo Baggins), Sean Astin (Samwise Gamgee), Sir Ian McKellen (Gandalf), Viggo Mortensen (Aragorn), Orlando Bloom (Legolas), and Andy Serkis (Gollum).
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