The blockbuster movie trilogy The Lord of the Rings has maintained its popularity, with record-breaking advance ticket sales for an exhibition in London.
The show opens at London's prestigious Science Museum on Monday as part of an international tour from its home town of Wellington, New Zealand.
It has sold more advance tickets at the museum than the hugely successful Bond and Star Trek exhibitions put together, a museum spokesman said.
It is timed to coincide with the third instalment of the £300m trilogy, The Return of the King, which opens later this year.
More than 14,000 tickets have been sold for the show that runs until January.
The unprecedented demand has prompted the museum to advise people to book early.
The London exhibit will be the only chance in Europe for fans to see the hundreds of special effects, models and armoury from the movies.
Visitors will be able to become hobbit-sized through computer imagery, and see the prosthetics and props used, including hobbit feet and contact lenses that give the orcs their unique look.
The exhibition culminates with a face-to-face encounter with the central icon from the films - the One Ring itself.
The three films were made by director Peter Jackson in his native New Zealand with a $300m budget and a crew of 2,400.
The exhibition was developed and presented by the Museum of New Zealand Te Papa Tongarewa in partnership with New Line Cinema.
