FOTR made $860 million worldwide and who knows how much else with its DVD sales. The whole series has pretty much been paid in full at this point, and I don't see any excessive markleting from places like Burger King this time around either with great costs sunk into it.
In all honesty, TTT and ROTK just need to be released to make money.

Jackson has already started work for the extended edition of The Two Towers which will be released November of next year

at the people who predict a lower opening than FOTR.

Recall some interesting facts:

FOTR was #1 for 4 weeks. Virtually no movies manage to do that these days. The last one to be #1 for the recent record of 5 weeks, as an example, was The Sixth Sense way back in 1999. A movie does not stay #1 for 4 weeks unless people, generally speaking, love it.

FOTR played in theatres for 6 months. It only finally disappeared completely last summer. Film exhibitors do not let a movie play that long unless it does solid repeat business, and they love those types of films because the longer they play, the more of the revenue goes to the theater as opposed to the studio.

Factor in the extremely healthy DVD/video sales of both the regular and extended versions, and you have a guaranteed bigger than FOTR opening. The interesting question is will it outperform FOTR. This is unknown, although the conventional wisdom says "no," I think it's far from certain.

I doubt TTT will last past its first week at #1 with Catch Me If You Can opening with so much mainstream appeal. I hope I'm wrong, but you never know.

I just caught caught a quick glimpse of your post while scrolling down quickly and thought what er, until I scrolled up and saw who posted it...

I hope this doesn't do well....the public should be more patriotic and not support a film that would try and capitalize on the 9/11 tragedy like the Two Towers....how they can live with themselves after giving it such a name is beyond me....I have organized a boycott here in my town and so far have enlisted a few supporters...help get the word out people!!!

unless you were serious?? the two towers movie and book were made long before the twin towers were attacked.,

No dude, he's totally serious. As am I. I cannot believe that New Line and Peter Jackson would be so callous as to name their sequel "The Twin Towers", especially when I've heard that both towers are destroyed by the end of the third movie!

I guess the third film will be "LOTR: Revenge of Al-Queda". Disgusting. I for one, will not give my money to such insensitive trash.

...oh, and don't try to use books and facts to back up your story, them books are for smart people, and if I wanted to read, I'd go back to school.

And, if people are stupid enough to waste their money on the third one, you know Jack$on will follow in Luca$ footsteps and make some lousy prequel. Of course, they'll just dumb down the prequel to make it more "kiddie-friendly." Couldn't you just imagine a bunch of singing dwarves? What do they think this is, Snow White? And it will probably only involve some lame supporting characters from the first trilogy that are already old, like that Bilbo guy, and maybe the old wizard geezer (what was his name? Gandolfo?). And, since we know they are alive in the first trilogy, there won't be any suspense of what might happen to them in the prequel.

[Edited to add...]

Hah! Hah! Nice try brizz. I took a look at your DVD collection and you seem to be someone more sophisticated than most and with an "awareness" of popular culture.

Unfortunately, there will always be people who are just ignorant buffoons who spew out $%@! without checking the facts and not have a sane or reasonable perspective.

Just look at all the morons who don't understand the appeal of widescreen or think DVD is a scam.

After 9/11, people want or need movies like LOTR more than ever.

I didn't go see LOTR last year in the theatre because I had never read the books so I didn't know much about it

Then I baught both dvd's (yeah I know I'm a sucker) and I thaught to myself this sh** is really good!!...Kind of made me wish i'd of seen it on a big screen

I will definitely be going to see TTT in the theatre to get the full impact!!

..And of course by both dvd's again next year

I think the next two will make both make for then Fellowship. Fellowship had a lot of setting up the story, which made it slow at times. Two Towers will be much more entertaining and I think more people will go out to see this when everyone will be talking about how much better it was than the first one. I know that after I get all the movies on DVD I will probably watch the last 2 more than the first.

I'm thinking that TTT may be the most popular of the three series.

I'm re-reading the books before next Friday (when I'll see TTT), and I'm amazed at how few really interesting things happen in the first book -- it's all just history and character development. The second book is where all the real "action" takes place, and where everything builds up to the climax. The third story just finishes out the story and character arcs.

Of course, if you think of it as one book (as it was originally written) it makes perfect sense. You define your characters, build to a climax, then resolve that climax. Of course, it's the climax and the building up to that climax that's the most exciting, so it would follow that the second book (and by extention, movie) would be the most exciting of the three.

Let's see... FOTR made about $28 million on Wed/Thur last year, then about another $47 million Fri-Sun on it's opening 5-day weekend for a grand total of roughly $75 million.

I think TTT will out due it for two reasons. One, the DVD has probably brought in more fans. Two, it's more action packed then FOTR was, thus the repeat viewings by action lovers will go up.

Here are my guesses:

Wed-Thur: $34 million
Fri-Sun: $57 million

Grand total: $91 million!!

What do I win if I'm right?

The right to gloat and nothing else.

$114 million Wed-Sun.

Hopefully I can see it Monday or Tuesday night (depending on when the prints get in).

Sweet! I need a new goat, the one I have is about to kiel over.