Can you sum it up for me? Because it seems to me that a 2-hour movie makes just as much money as a 3-hour one.
Remember, LOTR was broken up into 3 books because JRRT’s publishers said a one-volume version would never sell, and he reluctantly agreed. At the time, that was the absolutely right decision.
But my point is that LOTR could be cut up into more movies, perhaps 6. If they ever remake it (long after my time), they’ll do that.