Which 2001 film was the first in The Lord of the Rings film trilogy?

The first film in The Lord of the Rings film trilogy was The Fellowship of the Ring, released in 2001. Directed by Peter Jackson, it adapts the opening volume of J. R. R. Tolkien’s The Lord of the Rings and introduces the central quest to destroy the One Ring.

The story follows Frodo Baggins after his uncle Bilbo leaves him the Ring. The wizard Gandalf discovers that it is the One Ring created by the Dark Lord Sauron, making Frodo’s possession of it extremely dangerous. Frodo leaves the Shire and eventually joins a company of companions known as the Fellowship, whose members include Aragorn, Legolas, Gimli, Boromir, Gandalf, and the hobbits Samwise Gamgee, Merry, and Pippin.

The film ends before the quest is complete, with the Fellowship divided and Frodo continuing toward Mordor with Sam. The Two Towers followed in 2002, while The Return of the King concluded the trilogy in 2003. The Hobbit: An Unexpected Journey is sometimes mistaken for the starting point because it was released later as the first film of a separate prequel trilogy, but it is not the first Lord of the Rings trilogy entry.