FOTR becomes the second-highest grossing film in Canadian history
Xoanon @ 1:07 pm EST

Lord of the Rings: The Fellowship of the Ring becomes the second-highest grossing film in Canadian history

ALLIANCE ATLANTIS' theatrical release of THE LORD OF THE RINGS: FELLOWSHIP OF THE RING records $50.2 million dollars of box office sales in Canada to date

TORONTO, March 22 /CNW/ - The Lord of the Rings: The Fellowship of the Ring has grossed $50.2 million in theatres across Canada since its debut on December 19th, making it the second-highest grossing film of all time in Canada surpassed only by Titanic, confirmed Alliance Atlantis's Motion Picture Distribution Group.

"The Canadian box office results represent an astounding 17% of the cumulative North American box office to date. Not only is it the most successful film ever distributed by Alliance Atlantis, it's also a significant endorsement of the marketing and distribution strategy we deployed that was tailored to the Canadian market," noted Victor Loewy, CEO of the Company's Motion Picture Distribution Group.

The success of the theatrical release of The Lord of the Rings is especially gratifying because it bodes well for the anticipated results of the remaining two segments of the trilogy (The Two Towers and The Return of the King), set to be released December 2002 and 2003 respectively. This impressive box office performance also speaks to a strong release for video and DVD products beginning this fall, Loewy added. "Overall, we are well positioned to sustain this momentum well into 2004."

New footage in theatres

The filmmakers have also added three-minutes of footage from The Two Towers to the last reel of The Fellowship of the Ring. This never-before-seen footage will be released in theatres on March 29th and should whet fans' appetites for more while intensifying anticipation for The Two Towers, set for a December 18, 2002 release.