Where was The Lord of the Rings: The Return of the King filmed?
2003 film by Peter Jackson
The Lord of the Rings: The Return of the King (2003) was filmed in Wellington, North Island, Mount Ruapehu, Queenstown, Tongariro National Park, Matamata and 5 more places, 11 places named in its Wikipedia article, in New Zealand. Wikidata itself records the shoot only as New Zealand. Each place says where its claim comes from.
Part of the Peter Jackson's Middle-earth film series · the Lord of the Rings film series
Places per Wikipedia's article
The Wikipedia article names 11 places. Each links to the sentence that says so.
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Towns & cities
Wellington
New Zealand
Capital city of New Zealand; urban area of the cities of Wellington, Lower Hutt, Upper Hutt, and Porirua
“The 2003 pick-ups were filmed in the Wellington studio car park, with many parts of sets and blue-screens used to finish off scenes, which the design team had to work 24 hours to get the right sets ready for a particular day.” Wikipedia
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Towns & cities
Queenstown
New Zealand
Resort town in Otago Region, New Zealand
“The Return of the King was shot during 2000, though Astin's coverage from Gollum's attempt to separate Frodo and Sam was filmed on 24 November 1999, when floods in Queenstown interrupted the focus on The Fellowship of the Ring.” Wikipedia
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Landscapes & nature
North Island
New Zealand
More northern, and smaller, of the two main islands of New Zealand
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Landscapes & nature
Tongariro National Park
New Zealand
National park in New Zealand
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Towns & cities
Matamata
New Zealand
Town in New Zealand
“During the period between the filming of The Lord of the Rings: The Return of the King and The Hobbit: An Unexpected Journey they had no furniture or props, but could be entered with vistas of the farm viewed from inside them.” Wikipedia
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Landscapes & nature
Mount Ruapehu
New Zealand
Active stratovolcano in central North Island, New Zealand
“In the meantime, Wood, Astin and Serkis filmed at Mount Ruapehu for the Mount Doom exteriors.” Wikipedia
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Landscapes & nature
Pūtangirua Pinnacles
New Zealand
Rock formation in New Zealand
“Scenes shot in June were the Paths of the Dead across various locations, including Pūtangirua Pinnacles.” Wikipedia
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Landscapes & nature
Rangitata River
New Zealand
River in New Zealand
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Landscapes & nature
Rangipo Desert
New Zealand
Desert in New Zealand
“The Battle of the Black Gate was filmed in April at the Rangipo Desert, a former minefield.” Wikipedia
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Towns & cities
Twizel
New Zealand
Town in New Zealand
“The Ride of the Rohirrim, where Théoden leads the charge into the Orc army, was filmed in Twizel with 150 extras on horseback.” Wikipedia
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Landscapes & nature
Black Mountain Range
New Zealand
Mountain range in New Zealand
Places whose own article says it was shot there
1 place says on its own Wikipedia page that this film was shot there. Not on the map: the quote is linked so you can check it.
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Towns & cities
Twizel
New Zealand
Town in New Zealand
“In the movie The Lord of the Rings: The Return of the King, the battle of the Pelennor Fields was filmed near Twizel, as was a scene in The Hobbit trilogy of movies where Bilbo and the Dwarves are chased across the plains by Warg riders.” Wikipedia
Recorded only at country level
Also filmed in New Zealand, but the exact places are not known, so they are not on the map.
Filming locations that are mapped there: New Zealand
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