HUNDREDS of Lord of the Rings fans were flocking to buy one of the most successful films ever on video and DVD.

The hit movie was released today and shops reported record numbers of pre-orders with business expected to be steady throughout the week.

Both HMV and Wh Smith opened half an hour early to catch fans on their way to work.

A spokesman for HMV, in Exchange Street, said: "This is the best pre-ordered item we've had in months and the number of pre-orders quadrupled some other films we've sold this year.

"There's a lot of competition in the town for shops selling the video and DVD, but we're still getting plenty of people coming to buy it here."

Tom Parker, manager at WH Smith, said: "We received several hundred pre-orders which were split half and half between DVD and video.

"We expect to be busy all week and this is the biggest film we have ever sold."

Woolworths in Deansgate had received more than 200 pre-orders.

Manager Dave Taylor said: "We were expecting this number of orders for such a big film. We know we're going to be busy all day."

The film, the first of JRR Tolkien's classic trilogy charting a fantasy realm of wizardry and magic, was one of last year's biggest movies.

Fans eagerly snapped up tickets to the movie, which chronicles the battle for Middle Earth.