Lord of The Rings Film Trilogy - Reception - Academy Awards

Academy Awards

See also: List of accolades received by The Lord of the Rings film series

The three films together were nominated for a total of 30 Academy Awards, of which they won 17, a record for any movie trilogy. The Return of the King won in every category in which it was nominated, an extremely rare feat; its Oscar for Best Picture was widely perceived as an award by proxy for the entire series. The Return of the King also tied a record for the total number of Academy Awards won, 11, with Ben-Hur and Titanic (though both of those films had additional nominations that they lost out on). No actors in any of the three films won Oscars, although Ian McKellen was nominated for his work in The Fellowship of the Ring.

• The Fellowship of the Ring — Nominations: 13, Wins: 4
• The Two Towers — Nominations: 6, Wins: 2
• The Return of the King — Nominations: 11, Wins: 11

Award	Awards Won
	The Fellowship of the Ring	The Two Towers	The Return of the King
Art Direction	Nominated	Nominated	Won
Cinematography	Won
Costume Design	Nominated		Won
Directing	Nominated		Won
Film Editing	Nominated	Nominated	Won
Makeup	Won		Won
Music (Original Score)	Won		Won
Music (Original Song)	Nominated ("May It Be")		Won ("Into the West")
Best Picture	Nominated	Nominated	Won
Sound Editing		Won
Sound Mixing	Nominated	Nominated	Won
Supporting Actor	Nominated (Ian McKellen)
Visual Effects	Won	Won	Won
Adapted Screenplay	Nominated		Won

As well as Academy Awards, each film in the series won the Hugo Award for Best Dramatic Presentation, the MTV Movie Award for Best Movie, and the Saturn Award for Best Fantasy Film. The first and third films also won the BAFTA Award for Best Film. The soundtrack for The Two Towers did not receive a nomination because of a rule prohibiting a soundtrack including music from a previous soundtrack to be eligible for nomination. This rule was overturned in time for The Return of the King to receive the Oscar for Best Music Score. The New York Film Critics Circle awarded The Return of the King its Best Picture Award at the 2003 Awards Ceremony, hosted by Andrew Johnston, chair of the organisation at that time, who called it "a masterful piece of filmmaking."