Lord of the Rings: Return of the King

Packed with spectacular computer-generated effects, Lord of the Rings: The Return of the King is the culmination of the Fellowship's battle for Middle Earth. Filmed at the same time as the first two Lord of the Rings installments, The Return of the King picks up where The Two Towers left off. Frodo and Sam continue their push into Mordor, to destroy the One Ring. Meanwhile, the warrior Aragorn is revealed to be the lost King of Gondor. He travels to Minas Tirith with an army of undead soldiers and the remaining members of the fellowship to rescue the ancient city from Lord Sauron's grasp.

Release date: December 17, 2003

Why It'll Win: After three consecutive Best Picture nominations, the consensus is that Lord of the Rings' time has finally come. The last installment of the trilogy may be the draggiest of the bunch, but with a Golden Globe for Best Picture Drama and Best Director under its belt, it seems LOTR's momentum is unstoppable.

Why It Won't: Even with no acting nominations - practically a Best Picture requirement in most years - it seems like nothing will stop this flick from being crowned king.

Total nominations: 11
Best Picture
Directing
Writing (adapted screenplay)
Art Direction
Costume Design
Film Editing
Makeup
Music (score)
Music (song)
Sound
Visual Effects

Other major awards/nominations:

BAFTA: (nominated) Best Achievement in Special Visual Effects; Best Cinematography; Best Costume Design; Best Editing; Best Film; Best Make Up/Hair; Best Performance by an Actor in a Supporting Role (Ian McKellen); Best Production Design; Best Screenplay (Adapted); Best Sound; Anthony Asquith Award for Film Music; David Lean Award for Direction (awards to be handed out Feb. 15).

Directors Guild of America: (nominated) Outstanding Directorial Achievement in Motion Pictures (awards to be handed out Feb. 7).

Golden Globes: (won) Best Director - Motion Picture; Best Motion Picture - Drama; Best Original Score - Motion Picture; Best Original Song - Motion Picture.

Screen Actors Guild Awards: (nominated) Outstanding Performance by a Cast in a Motion Picture (awards to be handed out Feb. 22).

Official site: http://www.lordoftherings.net/