It was suddenly announced on Wednesday that the much-anticipated The Lord of the Rings film trilogy would be re-released from Friday, igniting the passion of Chinese moviegoers as cinemas sought to rearrange their weekend exhibition plans.

It revived memories of the Hollywood sci-fi juggernaut "Avatar" that was re-released in China in March, with the release plan only announced two days in advance. "Avatar" went on to gross 360 million yuan ($55.2 million) and reclaim the crown as the all-time highest-grossing movie worldwide.

Warner Bros. Pictures announced the first instalment of The Lord of the Rings franchise, "Fellowship of The Ring," would land in Chinese mainland cinemas on April 16, while the second instalment "Two Towers" would follow on the weekend of April 23. The date of the third part, "Return of The King," has not yet been set, but Warner Bros. said it will come soon.

This year also marked the 20th anniversary since "Fellowship of The Ring" was released. "It's been really great having a chance to revisit The Lord of the Rings trilogy after 20 years," Director Peter Jackson said in a recorded video to Chinese audiences, 

"We've been able to remaster it in 4K, Dolby Atmos sound and high dynamic range (HDR) system, which will give you an absolutely excellent visual look."

The director added the trilogy's central theme was set when the world was in a state of turmoil, and the ordinary people, like the Hobbits in this case, make a big difference. "It's not a story of heroes or superheroes. It's a story of ordinary people who set out to save their world through a long series of hardships, they ultimately achieve that," he explained.

It is worth noting that the 4K version of The Lord of the Rings trilogy will be presented on IMAX big screens for the first time. Their original releases didn't have an IMAX version as there are few such theaters in China; however, the country now has more than 700 IMAX screens.

It will also be presented in China Film Giant Screen (CGS) and CINITY formats for the first time, making use of two leading premium projection systems developed by Chinese companies.

The film trilogy, based on the phenomenal fantasy novel bearing the same title by J.R.R. Tolkien, has become a cultural phenomenon in its own right since first released. The three films grossed about $3 billion worldwide and won hundreds of awards, including 17 Oscars.

The three movies of the trilogy originally grossed 56.2 million yuan, 24 million yuan and 86.3 million yuan respectively on the Chinese mainland in 2002, 2003 and 2004.

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