<Tr> <Th> Budget </Th> <Td> $281 million </Td> </Tr> <Tr> <Th> Box office </Th> <Td> $2.917 billion </Td> </Tr> <P> The Lord of the Rings is a film series consisting of three high fantasy adventure films directed by Peter Jackson . They are based on the novel The Lord of the Rings by J.R.R. Tolkien . The films are subtitled The Fellowship of the Ring (2001), The Two Towers (2002) and The Return of the King (2003). They are a New Zealand - American venture produced by WingNut Films and The Saul Zaentz Company and distributed by New Line Cinema . </P> <P> Considered to be one of the biggest and most ambitious film projects ever undertaken, with an overall budget of $281 million (some sources say $310 - $330 million), the entire project took eight years, with the filming for all three films done simultaneously and entirely in New Zealand, Jackson's native country . Each film in the series also had special extended editions released on DVD a year after their respective theatrical releases . While the films follow the book's general storyline, they do omit some of the novel's plot elements and include some additions to and deviations from the source material . </P>

When did the first lord of the rings movie come out