Following its mammoth opening day, The Lord of the Rings: The Return of the King collected another $17,019,987 on Thursday, according to official figures released by New Line Cinema, to bring its two-day haul to $51,470,821. The drop of 50.6% from the first day was understandable when compared to Wednesday-to-Thursday declines for the previous films in the trilogy. The Fellowship of the Ring fell 45% in its second day while The Two Towers dropped 47%. King enjoyed a much stronger opening day so the slightly larger decline seemed in line with expectations as seeing the films on opening day has become a priority for a growing number of people each year. King's $17M Thursday was up a healthy 22% from the $13.9M that Towers claimed in its first Thursday.

With more upfront demand, The Return of the King continues to perform at a somewhat more accelerated pace than the previous films. Fellowship entered its opening Friday morning with $27.9M in the bank representing 37% of its eventual five-day gross of $75.1M. Towers had banked $40M in its first two days accounting for 39% of its five-day bow of $102M. At a slightly quicker pace, The Return of the King still looks to find itself with a towering total of $120-130M by the end of the weekend.

For a review of LOTR: The Return of the King visit The Chief Report.

Be sure to check back each day for continuing coverage of the opening of The Return of the King.

Last Updated: December 19, 2003 at 3:45PM EST

Written by Gitesh Pandya