E-Rock-23's Journal: LotR: Return of the Numbers

First of all, I should say that I'm going by the numbers as they appear on the Internet Movie Database World All-Time Box Office Charts. With that said, let's get down to business.
 
The final numbers are in on TTT, and guess what. They're astounding! TTT surpassed FotR by about $60,000,000. Not bad. And with RotK set to drop in a little over a month, I think it's safe to say that Peter Jackson, Wingnut Films and New Line Cinema have struck gold. Here are the numbers:
 
LotR - FotR: $860,200,000
LotR - TTT: $918,600,000
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Total To Date: $1,778,800,000
 
Not bad for two out of three movies that cost a grand total of about $300,000,000 to make. That gives us a total profit of $1,478,800,000. Damn, that's some serious cash.
 
Now, consider when RotK drops next month. The trend established by TTT just might continue. TTT outgrossed FotR, will RotK surpass TTT? Shake up your magic 8-ball and the result will most likely be "Signs Point To Yes." Here's the reasoning behind that.
 
FotR came along and proved that the LotR story could be sucessfully brought to life on the silver screen, something that even Tolkien himself said could probably never be done. Of course, he didn't live to see the era of CGI special effects, so what he said in context of time period was somewhat true. It grossed quite a bit of cash, and the world was introduced visually to the world of Middle-earth for the first time in a live-action film. People's jaws dropped (including my own), and the hype was layed for TTT before FotR could finish its theatrical run.
 
Thanks to FotR, people lined up in droves to see the story continue with TTT. Despite all the creative liberties taken by Jackson (example: the Ring was never taken to Osgiliath as it was in the film, probably just an excuse to show the ancient capitol of Gondor), it was a huge hit. Now we have Frodo and Sam ever closer to Mordor and thier goal, The Cracks of Doom. We have Aragorn ready to reclaim the high kingship of the Two Kingdoms (Arnor (what is now Eriador, including the Shire) and Gondor). We've seen the Battle of the Hornburg, only to know that it will most certainly be surpassed in scope by the Battle of the Pellanor Fields in RotK.
 
In short, we have even more hype building for RotK than did for TTT after FotR (sick of me using acronyms yet?)...
 
Hype led to TTT outgrossing FotR. Hype will most likely lead to RotK outgrossing both of its siblings. Even if it tanks and only makes half of what FotR made, LotR hits the two billion dollar mark, and that, my friends, isn't too damn shabby at all. Let's compare it to cinema's other heavy hitters:
 
The Star Wars Franchise: Total gross over 5 films - $3,474,900,000. Now, mind you, there are two factors making this figure so damn huge and unable to represent the true scope of the Star Wars series' total haul. First of all, Episodes IV, V and VI were released between 1977 and 1983, so the value of the dollar wasn't as much as it is now. Also, for it to hit $3.5 Billion, it took 5 films, two of which are universally known as over-hyped pieces of total crap. Seriously, fans of the old school Trilogy HATED the newer films, and that includes me. Honestly, I can't believe I wasted the money to go see Episode II. It was such shit. I should have stayed at the tattoo shop I worked at and made money instead. Chances are Star Wars fans will hold out hope for Episode III, but I doubt it'll be much better.
 
There are also rumors going around that good old Steven Spielberg may take the reigns of the franchise and produce the third Trilogy, which Lucas said he doesn't want to make...
 
The Jurassic Park Franchise: Total gross over 3 films - $1,896,900,000. The first movie rocked and was more or less true to the original Crichton novel. The second one sucked and took way too much creative liberty in bringing dinos stateside. The third one was total crap, evident by it's meager take compared to the first two. I hear rumors of a fourth film, but it probably won't help this series' financial status when compared to LotR. Also, in three films, it only beats LotR by about $100,000,000. That'll easily be smashed once RotK drops.
 
So, apart from the tremendous (yet undeserved, thanks to the two newest, crappy installments) success of the Star Wars series, it looks like LotR is destined to be one of the biggest franchises of all time.
 
Keep in mind, too, that there is a TON of material for more films to be made about the world of Arda (the Elvish name for Middle-earth and other parts of the world), including The Hobbit, The Silmarillion, and Unfinished Tales. Insane, isn't it? Frankly, I hope they do decide to make more Middle-earth flicks. Wouldn't you kill to see some of the epic battles from the War of Wrath? How would you envision the destruction of Beleriand? We all know how impressive Durin's Bane (the Balrog) was in FotR, would your mind explode to see seven of them going head to head with the Noldor in he Nierniath Armodiad? How about an expansion of the Dagor Bargolath (shown briefly in the opening scenes of FotR)? The Siege of Barad Dur? Or maybe you'ld prefer the downfall of Neumenor? The possibilities are endless...
 
You know where I'll be at Midnight on December 17th. I'll be contributing my hard-earned dough to the numbers above...