Variety is reporting that two weeks before the debut of the final chapter in Peter Jackson's epic version of the LOTR trilogy, The Return Of the King on December 17, New Line Cinema will premiere a limited re-release of the first two films in the series, which will be exhibited at between 10-15 screens in each of the top 10 U.S. markets and at one theater in most of the other U.S. cities.  Fellowship of the Ring will debut in its extended form (208 minutes) on December 5, while and expanded The Two Towers (214 minutes) will follow on December 12.  On December 16 these same theaters will hold a 3 pm screening of Fellowship, followed by a 7 pm showing of The Two Towers, and an 11 pm premier of The Return Of The King.  Advance tickets will go on sale in late September on various online movie ticket sites.

 

While all the new material included in the expanded editions of Fellowship of the Ring and The Two Towers will be available on DVD editions well before the December theatrical reissues, New Line is betting that hardcore fans will want to see all three films on the big screen in close temporal proximity.  Given the limited number of venues and the $10 to $15 million cost of striking the new expanded prints, the theatrical reissue is more of a promotional thank you to fans than any sort of grand money making scheme.  New Line's marketing of the LOTR trilogy, which began with a massive Internet campaign that mobilized hardcore fans, has been nothing less than masterful -- and there is little doubt that The Return of the King will be one of the major cinematic events of the winter of '03-'04.