LORD OF THE RINGS IS KING OF THE YEAR’S FILMS By Anita Singh, PA

Showbusiness Editor The Lord Of The Rings: The Return Of The King has been voted best film of the year.

The third and final instalment in the Tolkien trilogy topped a poll by viewers of the BBC’s Film 2004 show, hosted by Jonathan Ross.

In a year which saw it win a record-equalling 11 Academy Awards, The Return Of The King was runaway favourite in the survey.

The two previous films in the trilogy, The Two Towers And The Fellowship Of The Ring, also took the title in 2002 and 2003.

Eternal Sunshine Of The Spotless Mind, starring Kate Winslet and Jim Carrey, was second in the survey.

Winslet appeared again at number three with Finding Neverland, the biopic of Peter Pan creator JM Barrie in which she appeared with Johnny Depp.

Lost In Translation, the quirky film which starred Bill Murray and Scarlett Johansson, was fourth.

Harry Potter And The Prisoner Of Azkaban was in fifth place.

There was also room in the top 10 for a low-budget British hit and a foreign language film.

Zombie comedy Shaun Of The Dead was sixth and Chinese martial arts epic Hero was seventh.

Recent animated smash The Incredibles, blockbuster Spider-Man 2 and Tom Cruise thriller Collateral made up the top 10.

The results of the poll are being broadcast in a Film 2004 special tonight.

Film of the Year:

1 The Lord Of The Rings: The Return Of The King
2 Eternal Sunshine Of The Spotless Mind
3 Finding Neverland
4 Lost In Translation
5 Harry Potter And The Prisoner Of Azkaban
6 Shaun Of The Dead
7 Hero
8 The Incredibles
9 Spider-Man 2
10 Collateral