The Lord of the Rings: The Fellowship of the Ring

The Lord of the Rings: The Fellowship of the Ring
Theatrical release poster
Directed by	Peter Jackson
Produced by	Barrie M. Osborne Peter Jackson Fran Walsh Tim Sanders
Screenplay by	Fran Walsh Philippa Boyens Peter Jackson
Based on	The Fellowship of the Ring by J. R. R. Tolkien
Starring	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
Music by	Howard Shore
Cinematography	Andrew Lesnie
Edited by	John Gilbert
Production companies	WingNut Films The Saul Zaentz Company
Distributed by	New Line Cinema
Release date	10 December 2001 (2001-12-10) (Odeon Leicester Square) 19 December 2001 (2001-12-19) (North America) 20 December 2001 (2001-12-20) (New Zealand)
Running time	178 minutes (Theatrical) 228 minutes (Extended)
Country	New Zealand United States United Kingdom
Language	English
Budget	$93 million
Box office	$871.5 million

The Lord of the Rings: The Fellowship of the Ring is a 2001 epic high fantasy adventure film directed by Peter Jackson based on the first volume of J. R. R. Tolkien's The Lord of the Rings (1954–1955). It is the first installment in The Lord of the Rings series, and was followed by The Two Towers (2002) and The Return of the King (2003), based on the second and third volumes of The Lord of the Rings.

Set in Middle-earth, the story tells of the Dark Lord Sauron (Sala Baker), who is seeking the One Ring. The Ring has found its way to the young hobbit Frodo Baggins (Elijah Wood). The fate of Middle-earth hangs in the balance as Frodo and eight companions who form the Fellowship of the Ring begin their journey to Mount Doom in the land of Mordor, the only place where the Ring can be destroyed.

Released on 10 December 2001, the film was highly acclaimed by critics and fans alike who considered it to be a landmark in film-making and an achievement in the fantasy film genre. It has continued to be featured on critic lists of the greatest fantasy films ever made, as of 2015^[update]. The film was a massive box office success, earning over $871 million worldwide, and becoming the second highest-grossing film of 2001 in the US and worldwide (behind Harry Potter and the Philosopher's Stone). As of January 2017^[update], it is the 50th highest-grossing film of all time worldwide unadjusted for inflation.