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The Lord of the Rings: The Return of the King poster

Movies that feel likeThe Lord of the Rings: The Return of the King (2003)

As armies mass for a final battle that will decide the fate of the world--and powerful, ancient forces of Light and Dark compete to determine the outcome--one member of the Fellowship of the Ring is revealed as the noble heir to the throne of the Kings of Men. Yet, the sole hope for triumph over evil lies with a brave hobbit, Frodo, who, accompanied by his loyal friend Sam and the hideous, wretched Gollum, ventures deep into the very dark heart of Mordor on his seemingly impossible quest to destroy the Ring of Power.​

If you loved The Lord of the Rings: The Return of the King, the closest films we have are The Hobbit: The Desolation of Smaug (2013), Harry Potter and the Chamber of Secrets (2002) and Pirates of the Caribbean: Dead Man's Chest (2006). All three share The Lord of the Rings: The Return of the King's epic and dreamlike feel, which is what we rank on before quality.

Seen the big three already? The under-the-radar pick below is Perfume: The Story of a Murderer (2006).

🍅 94% Rotten Tomatoes★ 9 IMDb ↗TMDB ↗dir. Peter Jacksonepicdreamlikekineticobsessive
10 of 12 streaming nowNetflix · HBO Max · Disney Plus

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If The Lord of the Rings: The Return of the King hit the spot, these will too

Looking for the series itself? Also in this series: The Lord of the Rings: The Fellowship of the Ring (2001) · The Lord of the Rings: The Two Towers (2002)

The Hobbit: The Desolation of Smaug poster
The Hobbit: The Desolation of Smaug
2013 · dir. Peter Jackson
🍅 74%★ 7.8fantasy · adventure · actionMax

Jackson's Middle-earth again — same landscapes, score DNA, and company-on-a-quest sweep

The difference: Lighter adventure caper energy, without the trilogy's crushing stakes

The Dwarves, Bilbo and Gandalf have successfully escaped the Misty Mountains, and Bilbo has gained the One Ring. They all continue their journey to get their gold back from the Dragon, Smaug.

Harry Potter and the Chamber of Secrets poster
Harry Potter and the Chamber of Secrets
2002 · dir. Chris Columbus
🍅 82%★ 7.5adventure · fantasyMaxPeacock

Storybook magic with real darkness gathering underneath

The difference: School-year scale — corridors and secrets, not continents at war

Cars fly, trees fight back, and a mysterious house-elf comes to warn Harry Potter at the start of his second year at Hogwarts. Adventure and danger await when bloody writing on a wall announces: The Chamber Of Secrets Has Been Opened. To save Hogwarts will require all of Harry, Ron and Hermione's magical abilities and courage.

Pirates of the Caribbean: Dead Man's Chest poster
🍅 53%★ 7.4adventure · fantasy · actionDisney+

Sprawling fantasy adventure where old debts and monstrous powers come due

The difference: Jokier and stranger — a romp, not an elegy

Captain Jack Sparrow’s got a blood debt to pay: he owes his soul to the legendary Davy Jones, ghastly Ruler of the Ocean Depths. To escape eternal servitude aboard the Flying Dutchman, ever-crafty Jack must track down the still-beating heart of Jones. But he won’t do it alone: Will Turner and Elizabeth Swann are drawn back into another one of his perilous quests—assuming they can evade execution for aiding a pirate.

King Kong poster
King Kong
2005 · dir. Peter Jackson
🍅 84%★ 7.2adventure · drama · actionNetflix

Jackson's maximalist adventure craft — huge, sincere, overwhelming

The difference: A three-hour monster tragedy with no fellowship to root for

In 1933 New York, an overly ambitious movie producer coerces his cast and hired ship crew to travel to mysterious Skull Island, where they encounter Kong, a giant ape who is immediately smitten with the leading lady.

Doctor Strange poster
Doctor Strange
2016 · dir. Scott Derrickson
🍅 89%★ 7.5fantasy · adventure · actionDisney+

One thread runs through both: magic

The difference: Less obsessive, more its own thing

After his career is destroyed, a brilliant but arrogant surgeon gets a new lease on life when a sorcerer takes him under her wing and trains him to defend the world against evil.

The Mummy poster
The Mummy
1999 · dir. Stephen Sommers
🍅 64%★ 7.1adventure · action · fantasyPeacock

Ancient evil wakes and a band of adventurers must put it down

The difference: Breezy pulp fun, nothing apocalyptic about it

Dashing legionnaire Rick O'Connell stumbles upon the hidden ruins of Hamunaptra while in the midst of a battle to claim the area in 1920s Egypt. It has been over three thousand years since former High Priest Imhotep suffered a fate worse than death as a punishment for a forbidden love—along with a curse that guarantees eternal doom upon the world if he is ever awoken.

Warcraft poster
Warcraft
2016 · dir. Duncan Jones
🍅 29%★ 6.7action · adventure · fantasyStarz

Orcs, mages, and kingdoms colliding in full-scale fantasy war

The difference: Video-game world-building without Tolkien's emotional payoff

The peaceful realm of Azeroth stands on the brink of war as its civilization faces a fearsome race of invaders: orc warriors fleeing their dying home to colonize another. As a portal opens to connect the two worlds, one army faces destruction and the other faces extinction. From opposing sides, two heroes are set on a collision course that will decide the fate of their family, their people, and their home.

The Amazing Spider-Man 2 poster
The Amazing Spider-Man 2
2014 · dir. Marc Webb
🍅 50%★ 6.6action · adventure · science fictionDisney+

Spectacle-scale burdens piling onto one chosen pair of shoulders

The difference: Franchise clutter — a trilogy's arcs crammed into one film

For Peter Parker, life is busy. Between taking out the bad guys as Spider-Man and spending time with the person he loves, Gwen Stacy, high school graduation cannot come quickly enough. Peter has not forgotten about the promise he made to Gwen’s father to protect her by staying away, but that is a promise he cannot keep. Things will change for Peter when a new villain, Electro, emerges, an old friend, Harry Osborn, returns, and Peter uncovers new clues about his past.

Reign of Fire poster
Reign of Fire
2002 · dir. Rob Bowman
🍅 42%★ 6.2adventure · action · fantasy

Last stands against an ancient winged evil scouring the land

The difference: Grubby post-apocalypse B-movie — ambition minus majesty

In post-apocalyptic England, an American volunteer and a British survivor team up to fight off a brood of fire-breathing dragons seeking to return to global dominance after centuries of rest underground. The Brit—leading a clan of survivors to hunt down the King of the Dragons—has much at stake: his mother was killed by a dragon, but his love is still alive.

The Scorpion King poster
The Scorpion King
2002 · dir. Chuck Russell
🍅 40%★ 5.5action · adventure · fantasyPeacockStarz

Common ground: magic

The difference: The critics' underdog of the pair

In ancient Egypt, peasant Mathayus is hired to exact revenge on the powerful Memnon and the sorceress Cassandra, who are ready to overtake Balthazar's village. Amid betrayals, thieves, abductions and more, Mathayus strives to bring justice to his complicated world.

Kong: Skull Island poster
Kong: Skull Island
2017 · dir. Jordan Vogt-Roberts
🍅 75%★ 6.7action · adventure · fantasy

An expedition dwarfed by something ancient and vast — awe played loud

The difference: Monster-movie thrills, minimal mythology

Explore the mysterious and dangerous home of the king of the apes as a team of explorers ventures deep inside the treacherous, primordial island.

Perfume: The Story of a Murderer poster
Perfume: The Story of a Murderer
2006 · dir. Tom Tykwer
🍅 59%★ 7.5crime · fantasy · drama

Obsession pursued to its terrible logical end, gorgeously rendered

The difference: Intimate and perverse — a murderer's quest, no heroes anywhere

Jean-Baptiste Grenouille, born in the stench of 18th century Paris, develops a superior olfactory sense, which he uses to create the world's finest perfumes. However, his work takes a dark turn as he tries to preserve scents in the search for the ultimate perfume.

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The best-reviewed films that share The Lord of the Rings: The Return of the King’s defining feeling.