Peter Jackson’s The Lord of the Rings and The Hobbit movies present an impressive joint runtime. They lend themselves well to leisurely movie marathons with well-stocked snacks. Peter Jackson movie marathons are a favorite of households worldwide, preventing families and friends from having to move for hours. And that’s not to mention adding in the extended editions. But examining how long it would actually take to watch all The Lord of the Rings and Hobbit movies reveals that the perfect marathon may take some planning, as one does not simply watch them all in one go.
With The Lord of the Rings: The Rings of Power out on Amazon Prime Video and The Rings of Power season 2 around the corner, it’s a good time to be brushing up on The Lord of the Rings world. The Rings of Power is set before Jackson’s films, in the Second Age, so watching the world-renowned movies before the series makes sense, but then one has to look at the movies as a sequel to the series. The events of both The Lord of the Rings and The Hobbit take place in J.R.R. Tolkien’s Third Age, the last age he discusses in detail in his books.
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How Long Watching Peter Jackson’s Theatrical LOTR & Hobbit Movies Would Take
Marathons can be amplified by incorporating other upcoming releases
Combining the runtimes of The Lord of the Rings and The Hobbit movies reveals a massive marathon that would take the better part of a day. Viewers can cherry-pick from watching some or all of the movies, depending on the time available for their movie marathon. With the time taken to watch all of The Lord Of The Rings movies alone, a sizeable nine hours and 18 minutes is needed. This is based on the theatrical editions of the movies – the ones released first and shown in theaters.
The Lord Of The Rings Film | Runtime | Total Runtime |
|---|---|---|
The Hobbit: An Unexpected Journey | 2 hours 49 minutes | 2 hours 49 minutes |
The Hobbit: The Desolation of Smaug | 2 hours 41 minutes | 5 hours 30 minutes |
The Hobbit: The Battle Of The Five Armies | 2 hours 24 minutes | 7 hours 54 minutes |
The Lord Of The Rings: The Fellowship Of The Ring | 2 hours 58 minutes | 10 hours 52 minutes |
The Lord Of The Rings: The Two Towers | 2 hours 59 minutes | 13 hours 51 minutes |
The Lord Of The Rings: The Return Of The King | 3 hours 21 minutes | 17 hours 12 minutes |
Adding The Hobbit to the mix creates a movie marathon best split in two, at 17 hours and 12 minutes. To add in The Rings of Power, a Tolkien raconteur may factor in an extra hour per episode, though this is a movie marathon best done in multiple parts. With its release in December 2024, a great add-on for the perfect movie marathon could require adding on two hours 10 minutes to incorporate Lord of the Rings: War of the Rohirrim. This addition to the franchise is an anime film about the horse lords of Rohan.
How Long Watching The Lord Of The Rings Movies Takes With Extended Editions
Factoring in extended editions lengthens movie marathons significantly
To get the full experience, the extended versions of Jackson’s The Lord of the Rings trilogy are required, which alone total 11 hours and 22 minutes of runtime. To add extended editions of The Hobbit to this timeframe results in a blistering total runtime of 20 hours and 58 minutes. A happy medium may be a marathon of extended editions of The Hobbit on one day and The Lord of the Rings on the next (or vice versa).
The Lord Of The Rings Extended Edition | Runtime | Total Runtime |
|---|---|---|
The Hobbit: An Unexpected Journey | 3 hours 2 minutes | 3 hours 2 minutes |
The Hobbit: the Desolation of Smaug | 3 hours 6 minutes | 6 hours 8 minutes |
The Hobbit: The Battle of the Five Armies | 2 hours 44 minutes | 8 hours 52 minutes |
The Lord of the Rings: The Fellowship of the Ring | 3 hours 48 minutes | 12 hours 40 minutes |
The Lord of the Rings: The Two Towers | 3 hours 55 minutes | 16 hours 35 minutes |
The Lord of the Rings: The Return of the King | 4 hours 23 minutes | 20 hours 58 minutes |
Adding The Rings of Power and Lord of the Rings: War of the Rohirrim to a Lord of the Rings movie marathon is ambitious, but a great idea. When a new Warner Brothers Lord of the Rings movie centered on Gollum was announced, an opportunity for an even longer franchise marathon presented itself. Directed by Andy Serkis, The Lord of the Rings: The Hunt for Gollum may be another great addition to a Lord of the Rings movie marathon, bringing Serkis’ iconic take on Gollum to the forefront of the story.
What Order Should You Watch The Lord Of The Rings & Hobbit Movies In
There are different options for the order of play
As for possible viewing orders, one way to watch The Lord of the Rings movies is to go by release dates. In this case, The Lord of the Rings: The Fellowship of the Ring would come first, followed by The Lord of the Rings: The Two Towers and then The Lord of the Rings: The Return of the King. The Hobbit movies would come next, with The Hobbit: An Unexpected Journey first, followed by The Hobbit: The Desolation of Smaug and finishing off with The Hobbit: The Battle of the Five Armies. However, the movies are normally watched chronologically, ordering the story as Tolkien intended.
This is a great start to planning the perfect Tolkien movie marathon, but adding the other releases in the franchise chronologically is a logical next step. All of The Rings of Power would come first, being set in the Second Age. Breaking into the Third Age, Lord of the Rings: War of the Rohirrim would come next, set around the year 2758. The Hobbit follows, set in the years 2941 and 2942. Beginning in 3018, The Lord of the Rings: The Fellowship of the Ring would be the following movie in the series, followed by the other two films in the trilogy.
The Lord Of the Rings: The Hunt For Gollum is set in the Third Age, likely between The Hobbit: An Unexpected Journey and The Lord of the Rings: The Fellowship of the Ring, but it’s hard to confirm. That’s because Tolkien’s work does not explicitly outline which years Aragorn and Gandalf spent looking for Gollum, although this does happen before Frodo’s journey. The movie covers this period of time, so sandwiching it between The Hobbit and the original trilogy is a good avenue to take.
The Lord of the Rings
The Lord of the Rings is a multimedia franchise consisting of several movies and a TV show released by Amazon titled The Lord of the Rings: The Rings of Power. The franchise is based on J.R.R. Tolkien’s book series that began in 1954 with The Fellowship of the Ring. The Lord of the Rings saw mainstream popularity with Peter Jackson’s The Lord of the Rings and The Hobbit trilogies.
- Movie(s)
-
The Lord of the Rings (1978)
, The Lord of the Rings: The Fellowship of the Ring
, The Lord of the Rings: The Two Towers
, The Lord of the Rings: The Return of the King
, The Hobbit: An Unexpected Journey
, The Hobbit: The Desolation of Smaug
, The Hobbit: The Battle of the Five Armies
, The Lord of The Rings: The War of The Rohirrim - Created by
-
J.R.R. Tolkien
- First Film
-
The Lord of the Rings (1978)
- Cast
-
Norman Bird
, Anthony Daniels
, Elijah Wood
, Ian McKellen
, Liv Tyler
, Viggo Mortensen
, Sean Astin
, Cate Blanchett
, John Rhys-Davies
, Billy Boyd
, Dominic Monaghan
, Orlando Bloom
, Christopher Lee
, Hugo Weaving
, Sean Bean
, Ian Holm
, Andy Serkis
, Brad Dourif
, Karl Urban
, Martin Freeman
, Richard Armitage
, James Nesbitt
, Ken Stott
, Benedict Cumberbatch
, Evangeline Lilly
, Lee Pace
, Luke Evans
, Morfydd Clark
, Mike Wood
, Ismael Cruz Cordova
, Charlie Vickers
, Markella Kavenagh
, Megan Richards
, Sara Zwangobani
, Daniel Weyman
, Cynthia Addai-Robinson
, Lenny Henry
, Brian Cox
, Shaun Dooley
, Miranda Otto
, Bilal Hasna
, Benjamin Wainwright
, Luke Pasqualino
, Christopher Guard
, William Squire
, Michael Scholes
, John Hurt - TV Show(s)
-
The Lord of the Rings: The Rings of Power
- Character(s)
-
Frodo Baggins
, Gandalf
, Legolas
, Boromir
, Sauron
, Gollum
, Samwise Gamgee
, Pippin Took
, Celeborn
, Aragorn
, Galadriel
, Bilbo Baggins
, Saruman
, Aldor
, Wormtongue
, Thorin Oakenshield
, Balin Dwalin
, Bifur
, Bofur
, Bombur
, Fili
, Kili
, Oin
, Gloin
, Nori
, Dori
, Ori
, Tauriel
, King Thranduil
, Smaug
, Radagast
, Arondir
, Nori Brandyfoot
, Poppy Proudfellow
, Marigold Brandyfoot
, Queen Regent Míriel
, Sadoc Burrows - Video Game(s)
-
The Lord of the Rings Online
, Middle-Earth: Shadow of War
, The Lord Of The Rings: Gollum
, The Lord of the Rings: Return to Moria
