Three ‘Rings’ to rule them all

They read the books, watched the movies, bought the DVDs and waited oh so patiently. On Tuesday night, “Lord of the Rings” fans finally got to see how it ended. And to relive what came before.

The most dedicated of Middle-earth loyalists gathered for New Line Cinema’s back-to-back marathon of all three “Lord of the Rings” films, dubbed “Trilogy Tuesday.” Beginning at 1:30 p.m. with a screening of the extended, 3 1/2-hour version of “Fellowship of the Ring,” the event culminated with one of the first public screenings of “The Return of the King,” finally finishing shortly before 2 a.m.

This was the kickoff for the release of “Return of the King,” the final film in the “Rings” series, which opened in 2,100 theaters at 12:01 a.m. Wednesday and on 7,205 prints in 3,700 theaters later in the morning.

Early Wednesday, New Line estimated the midnight screenings grossed about $8 million, which may be a record. Comparisons with other movies that debuted with midnight or late-evening previews are difficult, because studios usually roll those numbers into the official opening-day totals. “The Matrix Reloaded” grossed an estimated $5 million in previews in May of this year. “Star Wars Episode 1: The Phantom Menace” grossed an estimated $7.5 million in previews in May 1999.

New Line also opened the film simultaneously in 22 additional markets worldwide, partly to thwart pirates who might have flooded markets with bootleg copies that could have hurt the film’s overseas opening. Coupled with heightened security measures at pre-release screenings, the strategy appears to have worked. As of Wednesday morning, no pirated copies had turned up on the Internet, although that was expected to change before opening day was over. New Line will continue adding markets, with Japan being the final territory, where it will open in February.

The 850-seat Cinerama Dome auditorium at ArcLight Hollywood, one of 99 locations hosting the trilogy marathon nationwide, resembled one of the fantasy battlefields depicted on screen, as fans costumed as kings, warriors and elfin queens mingled with evil wizards and a nazgul -- shadowy creatures from the films.

Each heroic act on the screen received a healthy round of applause, and the simple excitement of the story was enough to keep viewers wired despite sitting through three three-hour-plus movies.

“It’s a rush of energy,” said Jacque Halley, 18. “Some people here brought Red Bull to stay awake,” he said, referring to the popular caffeinated energy drink, “but I don’t need that.”

Tina Fells spent the day wearing a sign that warned: “I’m spoiler free. Please be careful around me.” She didn’t read the final book and avoided Internet sites and magazine stories for weeks to make sure the fates of Frodo and his companions would come as a surprise.

“People have been pretty respectful” of the sign, she said, adding, “I don’t even want to speculate how it ends, but I brought tissues just in case.”

Surprise guest Sala Baker, the New Zealand actor who played ultimate bad-guy Sauron, took a microphone to introduce the final film at the Dome and thank fans for supporting the films. Fresh from the world premiere of “King” in Wellington, New Zealand, he came to watch all three films in one sitting, something he hadn’t done.

“It will be good to finally see all these films together at one time,” he said.

Demonstrating that the films have achieved a classic status of their own, many of the attendees said they had little familiarity with J.R.R. Tolkien’s novels before the release of the first film in 2001.

“I tried to read the books a long time ago and couldn’t finish them,” said Donna Harckerode, a pharmaceutical researcher from San Diego who booked a hotel room for the event. “I read all of Tolkien’s books after the first movie came out. The movie really brings it home.”

Harckerode is a member of the Web-based fan group Tolkien Forever, one of several fan organizations attending the marathon. Tolkien Forever president Kristi Fojtik, dressed as the villainous wizard Saruman with a homemade staff, said that 76 of the group’s members were able to get tickets.

The Nihon Herald, a Tokyo-based newspaper, purchased 20 tickets for a giveaway that involved a three-day trip to America to see the films.

Tickets for the event, which had a $40 face value, went on sale Oct. 8 and sold out in a matter of minutes. While the Dome has assigned seating, eliminating the need for fans to line up beforehand, that didn’t stop ticketless fans from showing up as early as 10:30 a.m. Tuesday hoping to snare an unused ticket.

One woman, a doctor who declined to be identified, closed down her clinic and arrived prepared to pay $100 for an extra ticket.

“It would be hard to explain to my patients that I’m taking the day off to go see some movies,” she said.

Although there were reports of scalping outside the theater, most of the ticket reselling took place on EBay, where Barbara Brennen said she sold seven tickets and made $1,800. David Linz, who got $470 for two extra tickets, said he wouldn’t have sold them for so much if he hadn’t had his car towed the week before for $300.

Because of the assigned seating, Linz knew he was seated next to the people who bought the tickets from him, although they had not spoken. “I’ll probably introduce myself before the end of the night,” he said minutes before the last film began.

For many, the marathon was an early Christmas or Hanukkah present. Eric Strom, 25, paid $205 for two tickets for himself and his mother, Marnie.

“I read the books 20 times in college,” she said. “Then I introduced them to my son. I was completely surprised when he gave me the ticket.”

The idea for the marathon came to New Line Cinema’s president of distribution, David Tuckerman, just three months before “King” was set to open.

“We were trying to think of something we could give to the fans,” he said. The marathon “was never conceived as something that was going to be profitable.”

Despite the difficulties in planning the multi-city event in a relatively short time, Tuckerman says seeing the crowd reaction to Elijah Wood, Sean Astin, Billy Boyd, Dominic Monaghan and Andy Serkis -- the four hobbits and Gollum -- as they surprised the audience at the New York Loews Cineplex 42nd St. E-Walk theater made all the hassle worthwhile.

As the credits rolled on the ending of the trilogy, fans stumbled out of the Dome with blood-shot eyes, triumphant but weary smiles and souvenir picture frames containing a strip of celluloid from the “Rings” films.

“It was intense,” said Tim Heideric of the third movie. “It lived up to everything it promised.”

Others were a little more impatient.

“The ending was too long,” said Charlie Soll, 12, of Newport Beach, echoing what some critics have noted even in favorable reviews.

“They kept talking and talking.”

Only in the bright lights of the lobby did some people finally begin to understand what they’d accomplished. Charlie’s older cousin, Stefanie Warren, a law student home for the holidays, suddenly turned to him and laughed with disbelief. “We’ve been here all day!”