The Lord Of The Rings: The Return Of The King reigned as the top grossing film in Singapore in 2003, according to figures from the Cinematograph Film Exhibitors Association.

Although the third Lord Of The Rings opened only on Dec 18, 2003, it took $2.6m (S$4.45m) in box office receipts within two weeks, knocking Finding Nemo which earned $2.4m million from the number one position.

The Return Of The King is still showing at local cinemas and is expected to cross the $3m mark. The second Lord Of The Rings, The Two Towers, emerged as the third highest grossing film in 2002, raking in $2.4m in box office receipts.

The 2003 box office figures once again revealed how Hollywood blockbusters enjoy the lion's share of the Singapore market. Only one local production made it to the top 10: Homerun, which was also the only Chinese-language film in the list, came in last with $1.7m.

Produced by Raintree Pictures and directed by Jack Neo, Homerun won a best newcomer prize at the Golden Horse Awards in Taiwan last month. I Not Stupid, also directed by Neo, was 2002's fourth highest grossing film, scoring $2.2m.

Blockbuster sequels also did well in 2003. Six out of the top 10 were sequels, including X-Men 2 (which took the third place), The Matrix Reloaded (fourth place), The Matrix Revolutions (seventh place), Charlie's Angels: Full Throttle (eight place), Terminator 3: Rise Of The Machines (ninth place) as well as The Return of the King.

Shanghai Knights and Bruce Almighty came in fifth and sixth respectively.

Singapore's top 10 films in 2003
1. The Return of the King
2. Finding Nemo
3. X-Men 2
4. The Matrix Reloaded
5. Shanghai Knights
6. Bruce Almighty
7. The Matrix Revolutions
8. Charlie's Angels: Full Throttle
9. Terminator 3: Rise of the Machines
10. Homerun