Instead, A Beautiful Mind took the biggest prizes - winning the best picture Oscar and best director for Ron Howard.
Fact File
Rings wins
Best make-up
Best cinematography
Best visual effects
Best original score
Lord of the Rings did win four Oscars - as many as A Beautiful Mind - but they were for behind the scenes awards like best make-up and best visual effects.
It missed out on best picture Oscar, and director Peter Jackson went unrewarded for his efforts behind the camera.
Sir Ian McKellen
And Ian McKellen (Gandalf) didn't win in the best supporting actor category.
Another Brit took that Oscar - Jim Broadbent as best male supporting actor for Iris.
But there was also bad news for Harry Potter, which had been nominated for three technical Oscars. Despite taking more money than any other film in the past year, it failed to pick up a single award.