How to Watch the ‘Lord of the Rings’ and ‘Hobbit’ Movies in Order

One ring to rule them all! The stories of the Hobbits and their adventures have been around for decades. John Ronald Reuel Tolkien (better known as J.R.R. Tolkien) wrote The Hobbit in 1937 and The Lord of the Rings in 1954. Of course, filmmaker Peter Jackson was able to take those two books and turn them into six movies nearly 70 years later. Each film runs between two-and-a-half to three-and-a-half hours each. But they’re well worth the time spent in this fantastical land. These films are incredibly popular, especially the Lord of the Rings trilogy, and with the new TV series inspired by the trilogy out now, many are flocking to watch the films for the first time. If you’re looking to take your first journey into Middle Earth, you might not know which order to watch them in. We recommend watching these chronologically through the timeline of the story, not how they were released. Keep scrolling for our guide on how to watch the Lord of the Rings movies in order (along with the prequel Hobbit trilogy in chronological order too):