| 100% | THEREAND | 8 | Round trip ... or the subtitle of "The Hobbit" |
| 55% | NEMESIS | 7 | Archenemy, or the subtitle of a 2002 "Star Trek" movie |
| 53% | BUTTON | 6 | Round fastener on the front of a shirt or a cuff |
| 52% | ORB | 3 | Sphere, or round item stolen in "Guardians of the Galaxy" |
| 51% | TITLE | 5 | "The Lord of the Rings" or "The Hobbit," e.g. |
| 49% | ARTHUR | 6 | King of the Round Table or the animated Aardvark |
| 47% | IAN | 3 | Holm or McKellen of "The Hobbit" |
| 46% | GANDALF | 7 | The name of the wizard in The Hobbit |
| 45% | NOISETTE | 8 | Small round boneless slice of lamb from the fillet or leg |
| 44% | CYCLE | 5 | The seasons or the phases of the moon, e.g. |
| 44% | SIXFLAGS | 8 | Popular day trip destination ... or a hint to the starts of the answers to the starred clues |
| 44% | ENDGAME | 7 | Subtitle of the final Avengers movie |
| 43% | AIDAN | 5 | Actor Quinn of "Practical Magic" or Turner of "The Hobbit" trilogy |
| 43% | JEM | 3 | Scout's brother, or the leader of the Holograms |
| 43% | MASK | 4 | Accessory for Zorro or the Phantom of the Opera |
| 43% | GANDALF | 7 | Visitor at the beginning of "The Hobbit" |
| 43% | RESURGENCE | 10 | Subtitle of the sequel to "Independence Day" |
| 43% | PLINY | 5 | The Elder or the Younger of Rome |
| 43% | EPIC | 4 | "Shogun" or "The Lord of the Rings" |
| 43% | THEBATTLEOF | 11 | With 29-Across, subtitle of the final installment of the "Hobbit" trilogy: 3 wds. |
| 43% | IAN | 3 | McKellen of the Hobbit films |
| 43% | ROE | 3 | Name in the subtitle of the history book "January 1973" |
| 43% | SECT | 4 | Pastafarianism or The Temple of the Jedi Order, for example |
| 43% | RELIC | 5 | Buddha's Tooth or the Footprint of the Prophet Muhammad |
| 42% | NIGHTCOUNTRY | 12 | Subtitle of the fourth season of "True Detective" |
| 42% | INTERNATIONAL | 13 | Subtitle of the new "Men in Black" movie |
| 42% | ORB | 3 | Round item stolen in "Guardians of the Galaxy" |
| 42% | ROTUNDA | 7 | Round area in the middle of a building |
| 42% | OCULUS | 6 | Round window at the apex of a dome |
| 42% | INN | 3 | The George or the Tabard of London, famously |