Middle-earth in film also became the most-nominated in the Academy's history, surpassing the "Godfather" series' 28 (with the release of "The Hobbit", the series currently has 36 nominations total). Its 11 Oscars at the 2004 Academy Awards tied it for most awards won for one film with "Titanic" six years earlier and the 1959 version of "Ben-Hur." It also broke the previous "sweep" record, beating "Gigi" and "The Last Emperor" (which each took 9 out of 9). "The Return of the King" also made movie history as the highest-grossing film opening on a Wednesday and was the second film after "Titanic" to earn
Tribe of Ben-Hur of Ben-Hur" instead. The Order was incorporated in the state of Indiana on January 9, 1894 and held the first meeting of its "Supreme Tribe" on January 16. Ex-governor Ira Joy Chase was elected the first Supreme Chief. The popularity of "Ben-Hur" helped spread the order, and it gained members quickly in its early years. By January 1, 1895 it had 1,701 members. By the same date in 1896 it had 5,050 and on January 1, 1897 it counted 12,322, 12,000 of whom had joined in December 1896 alone. In 1910 the order counted 106,216 members. However in 1979 it