“The Lord of the Rings: The Return of the King” won the Academy Award for best picture in 2004. It also topped the box office, grossing $377 million domestically.

Its success with both moviegoers and Oscar voters was no fluke: Between 1983 and 2005, every best picture winner was among the 25 highest-grossing releases during the year it opened. Often they were among the top two, including such hits as “Titanic,” “Forrest Gump,” “Rain Man” and “Terms of Endearment.”