The Hobbit (film series)

Jackson and Walsh originally expressed interest in filming The Hobbit in 1995, then envisaging it as part one of a trilogy (parts two and three would have been based on The Lord of the Rings).[10] Frustration arose when Jackson's producer, Harvey Weinstein, discovered that Saul Zaentz had production rights to The Hobbit, but that distribution rights still belonged to United Artists (which had kept those rights, believing that filmmakers would prefer to adapt The Hobbit rather than The Lord of the Rings).[11] The United Artists studio and its parent company Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer were for sale in the mid-1990s, but Weinstein's attempts to buy the movie rights from the studio were unsuccessful. Weinstein asked Jackson to press on with adapting The Lord of the Rings.[12] Ultimately, The Lord of the Rings was produced by New Line Cinema, not the Weinsteins, and their rights to film The Hobbit were set to expire in 2010.[13] In September 2006, the new ownership and management of MGM expressed interest in teaming up with New Line and Jackson to make The Hobbit.[14]

Peter Jackson, the film's director, co-writer, and producer

In March 2005, Jackson launched a lawsuit against New Line, claiming he had lost revenue from merchandising, video, and computer games releases associated with The Fellowship of the Ring.[15] He did not seek a specific settlement, but requested an audit to see whether New Line had withheld money owed him.[13] Although Jackson wanted it settled before he would make the film,[13] he felt the lawsuit was minor and that New Line would still let him make The Hobbit.[16] New Line co-founder Robert Shaye was annoyed with the lawsuit and said in January 2007 that Jackson would never again direct a film for New Line, accusing him of being greedy.[17] MGM boss Harry Sloan halted development, as he wanted Jackson to be involved.[18] By August, after a string of flops, Shaye tried to repair his relationship with the director. He said, "I really respect and admire Peter and would love for him to be creatively involved in some way in The Hobbit."[19] The following month, New Line was fined $125,000 for failing to provide requested accounting documents.[13]

On 16 December 2007, New Line and MGM announced that Jackson would be executive producer of The Hobbit and its sequel. The two studios would co-finance the film and the latter studio (via 20th Century Fox) would distribute the film outside North America—New Line's first-ever such deal with another major studio.[20] Each film's budget was estimated at US$150 million,[21] compared to the US$94 million budget for each of the films in Jackson's Lord of the Rings trilogy. After completion of the merger of New Line Cinema with Warner Bros. in February 2008, the two parts were announced as scheduled for release in December 2011 and 2012.[18] Producer Mark Ordesky, the executive producer of The Lord of the Rings, planned to return to supervise the prequels.[22] Jackson explained he chose not to direct because it would have been unsatisfying to compete with his previous films.[23]

In February 2008, the Tolkien Estate (through The Tolkien Trust, a British charity) and HarperCollins Publishers filed a suit against New Line for breach of contract and fraud and demanded $220 million in compensation for The Lord of the Rings trilogy. The suit claimed New Line had only paid the Estate an upfront fee of $62,500, despite the trilogy's gross of an estimated $6 billion worldwide from box office receipts and merchandise sales. The suit claimed the Estate was entitled to 7.5% of all profits made by any Tolkien films, as established by prior deals. The suit sought to block the filming of The Hobbit. The suit was settled in September 2009 for an undisclosed amount. However the Tolkien Trust's 2009 accounts show that it received payment from New Line Cinema of £24 million (a little over US$38 million). This amount was the Trust's estimated share in respect of the gross profit participation due for the films based on "The Lord of the Rings".[24] Christopher Tolkien said: "The trustees regret that legal action was necessary but are glad that this dispute has been settled on satisfactory terms that will allow the Tolkien Trust properly to pursue its charitable objectives. The trustees acknowledge that New Line may now proceed with its proposed film of The Hobbit."[25][26]

Guillermo del Toro was originally set to direct the film, but left because of ongoing delays. Jackson stated that del Toro's "creative DNA" would remain in the scripts and designs.

Despite the legal suits, development proceeded and in April 2008, Guillermo del Toro was hired to direct the film. Del Toro has said he was a fan of Jackson's trilogy and had discussed directing a film adaptation of Halo with him in 2005. Though that project stalled, they kept in contact.[23] In a 2006 interview, del Toro was quoted saying "I don't like little guys and dragons, hairy feet, hobbits .... I don't like sword and sorcery, I hate all that stuff".[27] After he signed on to direct in April 2008,[28] del Toro posted on TheOneRing.net forums that he had been enchanted by The Hobbit as a child, but found that Tolkien's other books "contain[ed] geography and genealogy too complex for my prepubescent brain". In taking the job of director, del Toro was now "reading like a madman to catch up with a whole new land, a continent of sorts—a cosmology created by brilliant philologist turned Shaman". He wrote that his appreciation of Tolkien was enhanced by his knowledge of the fantasy genre, and the folklore research he had undertaken while making his own fantasy films.[23]

Pre-production began around August 2008, with del Toro, Jackson, Walsh and Philippa Boyens writing the scripts.[29] Del Toro collaborated with Jackson, Walsh and Boyens via videoconferencing and flew every three weeks, back and forth from Los Angeles (where some of the designs were done)[28] to New Zealand to visit them.[30] Del Toro spent his mornings writing and afternoons looking at material related to Tolkien to help him understand the writer's work. He watched World War I documentaries and asked for book recommendations from Jackson, who is a collector of World War I memorabilia. Del Toro felt Tolkien's experiences in that war influenced his stories.[31]

By November 2008, del Toro had said that he, Jackson, Walsh and Boyens would realise something new about the story every week and the script was continually changing.[32] The writing hours increased to twelve each day, as they dedicated three weeks to finally deciding the films' structures.[33] During the first few months of 2009, writing would start from 8:30 am and end at 3:00 pm when del Toro would meet with Weta (i.e., Weta Workshop and Weta Digital film effects companies). Completion of the story outlines and treatments ended in March 2009 and the studios approved the start of writing the screenplay.[34] Filming was expected to take place throughout 2010 in New Zealand, with del Toro renovating the Hobbiton sets near Matamata.[23] For his part, Jackson had kept the Rivendell scale model and the Bag End set (which he has used as a guest house) from the trilogy.[16] During the middle of the shoot, there was expected to be a break which would have allowed del Toro to edit The Hobbit while sets would be altered for the second film.[35] The director expected the shoot to last 370 days.[36]

Jackson revealed in late November 2009 that he anticipated that the script for The Hobbit would not be finished until the beginning of 2010, delaying the start of production until the middle of that summer (several months later than previously anticipated).[37] The announcement created doubts about whether the film would make its previously announced release dates of December 2011 and December 2012.[37] Jackson reiterated that no casting decisions had been made.[37] On 22 January 2010, Alan Horn said the first film would likely not be released until the fourth quarter of 2012.[38]

The first film will stand on its own and the second will be a transition and fusion with Peter's world. I plan to change and expand the visuals from Peter's and I know the world can be portrayed in a different way. Different is better for the first one. For the second, I have the responsibility of finding a slow progression and mimicking the style of Peter.

— Guillermo del Toro, on tonal consistency with Jackson's trilogy[39]

Del Toro and Jackson had a positive working relationship, in which they compromised on disagreements for the benefit of the film.[23] Del Toro believed he would be able to shoot the film himself,[40] although Jackson noted he had similar hopes for filming all of his trilogy and offered to help as second unit director. Del Toro planned on shooting the film in the trilogy's 2.35:1 aspect ratio, rather than his signature 1.85:1 ratio.[23] He hoped to collaborate again with cinematographer Guillermo Navarro.[36]

Del Toro shares Jackson's passion for scale models and background paintings,[41] though he wanted to increase the use of animatronics; "We really want to take the state-of-the-art animatronics and take a leap ten years into the future with the technology we will develop for the creatures in the movie. We have every intention to do for animatronics and special effects what the other films did for virtual reality."[28] Spectral Motion (Hellboy, Fantastic Four) was among those del Toro wanted to work with again.[36] Some characters would have been created by mixing computer-generated imagery with animatronics and some would have been created solely with animatronics or animation. Gollum would be entirely digital again; as del Toro noted, "if it ain't broke, why fix it?"[41]

Del Toro said that he interpreted The Hobbit as being set in a "world that is slightly more golden at the beginning, a very innocent environment", and that the film would need to "[take] you from a time of more purity to a darker reality throughout the film, but [in a manner] in the spirit of the book".[28] He perceived the main themes as loss of innocence, which he likened to the experience of England after World War I, and greed, which he said Smaug and Thorin Oakenshield represent.[23] Bilbo Baggins reaffirms his personal morality during the story's third act as he encounters Smaug and the Dwarves' greed.[42] He added, "The humble, sort of a sturdy moral fibre that Bilbo has very much represents the idea that Tolkien had about the little English man, the average English man",[43] and the relationship between Bilbo and Thorin would be the heart of the film.[44] The Elves will also be less solemn.[23]

Del Toro met concept artists John Howe and Alan Lee, Weta Workshop head Richard Taylor, and make-up artist Gino Acevedo in order to keep continuity with the previous films,[28] and he also hired comic book artists to complement Howe's and Lee's style on the trilogy,[45] including Mike Mignola and Wayne Barlowe, who began work around April 2009.[34] He has also considered looking at Tolkien's drawings and using elements of those not used in the trilogy.[43] As Tolkien did not originally intend for the magic ring Bilbo finds to be the all-powerful talisman of evil it is revealed to be in The Lord of the Rings,[46] del Toro said he would address its different nature in the story, but not so much as to draw away from the story's spirit.[42] Each Dwarf would need to look different from the others.[47] Del Toro would have redesigned the Goblins and Wargs[23] and the Mirkwood spiders would also have looked different from Shelob.[42] Del Toro felt the Wargs had to be changed because "the classical incarnation of the demonic wolf in Nordic mythology is not a hyena-shaped creature".[31]

Del Toro also wanted the animals to speak so that Smaug's speech would not be incongruous, though he explained portraying the talking animals would be more about showing that other characters can understand them.[42] Smaug would not have a "snub Simian [mouth] in order to achieve a dubious lip-synch".[23] Del Toro stated that Smaug would be the first character design begun and the last to be approved.[31]

Del Toro and Jackson considered the sudden introduction of Bard the Bowman and Bilbo's unconsciousness during the Battle of the Five Armies to be "less cinematic moments" reminiscent of the novel's greater "fairy tale world" than The Lord of the Rings, and they would change them to make The Hobbit feel more like the trilogy. However, del Toro did say he considered some of these moments iconic and would require the "fairy tale logic [to] work as is".[34]

Several actors were considered by del Toro for roles in the film. He wrote the part of Beorn specifically for American actor Ron Perlman.[48] del Toro had originally considered asking Perlman to voice the dragon Smaug, but decided against this.[49] Del Toro met with English actor Brian Blessed to discuss the possibility of him playing Thorin Oakenshield.[50] The director later stated that he thought Ian McShane "would make the most perfect dwarf".[51] Frequent del Toro collaborator Doug Jones said that he would love to play the Elvenking Thranduil, but del Toro later stated that he had another role (or roles) in mind for the actor.[52] Del Toro was the one who originally pushed to cast Sylvester McCoy as Radagast the Brown, a choice Peter Jackson later followed.[53] While del Toro initially wanted Ian Holm to reprise the role of Bilbo Baggins, he also said that he "absolutely" supported the casting of Martin Freeman as the character,[54] and wanted all other returning Lord of the Rings characters to be played by the original actors where possible.[49]

In December 2012, Philippa Boyens expressed regret that del Toro's version of the film remained unmade. She revealed that it would have had a different script and visual elements, and would more closely have resembled a fairy tale.[55] Boyens stated that the most significant script change was to Bilbo's characterisation: "It shifted and changed into someone who, rather than being slightly younger and more innocent in the world, once had a sense of longing for adventure and has lost it and become fussy and fusty."[56]

In 2010, del Toro left the project because of ongoing delays. On 28 May he explained at a press conference that owing to MGM's financial troubles the Hobbit project had then not been officially green-lit at the time. "There cannot be any start dates until the MGM situation gets resolved .... We have designed all the creatures. We've designed the sets and the wardrobe. We have done animatics and planned very lengthy action sequences. We have scary sequences and funny sequences and we are very, very prepared for when it's finally triggered, but we don't know anything until MGM is solved."[57][58] Two days later, del Toro announced at TheOneRing.net that "In light of ongoing delays in the setting of a start date for filming", he would "take leave from helming", further stating that "the mounting pressures of conflicting schedules have overwhelmed the time slot originally allocated for the project. ... I remain an ally to it and its makers, present and future, and fully support a smooth transition to a new director".[59][60] Reports began to surface around the Internet about possible directors; apparently the studios wanted Jackson, but such names as Neill Blomkamp, Brett Ratner, David Yates and David Dobkin were mentioned.[61]

However, this incident received negative reaction from many Hobbit fans, who were angry at MGM for delaying the project. They also tried willing the studio to sell their rights to Warner Bros. On 27 July, del Toro responded to these angry fans, saying that "it wasn't just MGM. These are very complicated movies, economically and politically."[62]

On 25 June 2010, Jackson was reported to be in negotiations to direct the two-part film.[63] On 15 October 2010, New Line Cinema and Warner Bros. confirmed that The Hobbit was to proceed filming with Jackson as director and that the film would be in 3D.[64] As well as confirming Jackson as director, the film was reported to be greenlit, with principal photography to begin in February 2011.[65] Jackson stated that "Exploring Tolkien's Middle-earth goes way beyond a normal film-making experience. It's an all-immersive journey into a very special place of imagination, beauty and drama."[66]

Jackson had said that del Toro's sudden exit created problems as he felt he had a very little preparation time remaining before shooting had to begin, with unfinished scripts and without storyboards, which increased the difficulty to direct it.[67][68][69] Jackson stated, "Because Guillermo del Toro had to leave and I jumped in and took over, we didn't wind the clock back a year and a half and give me a year and a half prep to design the movie, which was different to what he was doing. It was impossible, and as a result of it being impossible I just started shooting the movie with most of it not prepped at all. You're going on to a set and you're winging it, you've got these massively complicated scenes, no storyboards and you're making it up there and then on the spot". Jackson also said, "I spent most of The Hobbit feeling like I was not on top of it. Even from a script point of view, Fran [Walsh], Philippa [Boyens] and I hadn't got the entire scripts written to our satisfaction, so that was a very high pressure situation".[70][71][72] However, Jackson goes on to explain in the DVD/Blu-ray featurettes the various ways in which he and his crew overcame the obstacles encountered during filming. They found ways of making things work, even in a "very high pressure situation" in which he and his crew found themselves, especially the shooting of the Battle of the Five Armies which was shifted from 2012 to 2013 to be properly planned and shot.[73][74][75]

In May 2010, New Zealand Actors Equity (NZAE) received from the film's producers a sample of the contracts it was offering to actors' agents.[76] NZAE rejected the contracts as not conforming to its voluntary standard, in particular as regarded residuals.[76] NZAE's parent, the Australia-based Media, Entertainment and Arts Alliance, contacted the International Federation of Actors, which on 24 September 2010, issued a Do Not Work order, advising members of its affiliates (including the Screen Actors Guild) that "The producers ... have refused to engage performers on union-negotiated agreements."[77] This would subject actors who work on the film to possible expulsion from the union.[78] In response, Warner Bros. and New Line Cinema considered taking the production elsewhere, with Jackson mentioning the possibility of filming in Eastern Europe.[78][76]

Partly out of fear for the Tolkien tourism effect, on 25 October 2010, thousands of New Zealanders organised protest rallies imploring that production remain in New Zealand, arguing that shifting production to locations outside New Zealand would potentially cost the country's economy up to $1.5 billion.[79] After two days of talks with the New Zealand government (including involvement by Prime Minister John Key), Warner Bros. executives decided on 27 October to film The Hobbit in New Zealand as originally planned. In return, the government agreed to introduce legislation to remove the right of workers to organise trade unions in the film production industry and to give money to big budget films made in New Zealand.[80][81][82] The legislation reversed a decision by the New Zealand Supreme Court called Bryson v Three Foot Six Ltd[83] holding that under the Employment Relations Act 2000, a model maker named Mr Bryson was an "employee" who could organise a union to defend his interests. The Employment Relations (Film Production Work) Amendment Bill was introduced on 28 October 2010 after an urgency motion, allowing it to pass its final readings the next day, 66 votes in favour to 50 opposed.[84] The government's legislation has been criticised as breaching the International Labour Organization's core ILO Convention 87 on freedom of association, and giving an unfair subsidy to protect multinational business interests.[76][85]

Some have subsequently called the price (further financial subsidies and specific laws made for the producers' benefit) that New Zealand had to pay to retain the movie 'extortionate'. It was also argued that the discussion had occurred in a climate of 'hyperbole and hysteria'.[86]

In February 2013, emails and documents released under orders of the Ombudsman showed that the union representing actors had already reached an agreement with Warner two days before 20 October protest,[87][88] but Warner refused to confirm the deal publicly. One union representative said those on the march were 'patsies' that had been fooled into thinking the production would be taken offshore.[89] Further emails released showed Government ministers knew a deal had been reached a week before the protest, despite claiming negotiations were still happening.[90]

The project had been envisaged as two parts as early as 2006, but the proposed contents of the parts changed during development. MGM expressed interest in a second film in 2006, set between The Hobbit and The Lord of the Rings.[91] Jackson concurred, stating that "one of the drawbacks of The Hobbit is it's relatively lightweight compared to LOTR [The Lord of the Rings] .... There's a lot of sections in which a character like Gandalf disappears for a while – he references going off to meet with the White Council, who are actually characters like Galadriel and Saruman and people that we see in Lord of the Rings. He mysteriously vanishes for a while and then comes back, but we don't really know what goes on."[16] Jackson was also interested in showing Gollum's journey to Mordor and Aragorn setting a watch on the Shire.[92]

After his hiring in 2008, del Toro confirmed the sequel would be about "trying to reconcile the facts of the first movie with a slightly different point of view. You would be able to see events that were not witnessed in the first."[45] He also noted the story must be drawn from only what is mentioned in The Hobbit and The Lord of the Rings, as they do not have the rights to The Silmarillion and Unfinished Tales.[93] Del Toro also added (before writing began) that if they could not find a coherent story for the second film, they would just film The Hobbit, stating "The Hobbit is better contained in a single film and kept brisk and fluid with no artificial 'break point'."[94] By November 2008, he acknowledged that the book was more detailed and eventful than people may remember.[95] He decided to abandon the "bridge film" concept, feeling that it would be better for the two parts to contain only material from The Hobbit:

when you lay out the cards fro [sic] the story beats contained within the book (before even considering any apendix [sic] material) the work is enormous and encompasses more than one film. That's why we are thinking of the two instalments as parts of a single narrative. That's why I keep putting down the use of a "bridge" film (posited initially). I think the concept as such is not relevant any more. I believe that the narrative and characters are rich enough to fit in two films.[96]

Del Toro said that he was faced with two possible places to split the story,[33] including Smaug's defeat. He noted the second film would need to end by leading directly into The Fellowship of the Ring.[97] In June 2009, del Toro revealed he had decided where to divide the story based on comments from fans about signifying a change in Bilbo's relationship with the dwarves.[98] The second film's story would also have depended on how many actors could have reprised their roles.[23]

Although The Hobbit was originally made as a two-part film, on 30 July 2012, Jackson confirmed plans for a third film, turning his adaptation of The Hobbit into a trilogy.[99][100] According to Jackson, the third film would make extensive use of the appendices that Tolkien wrote to expand the story of Middle-earth (published in the back of The Return of the King). While the third film, which as its title indicates, depicts the Battle of the Five Armies, largely made use of footage originally shot for the first and second films, it required additional filming as well.[101] The second film was retitled The Desolation of Smaug and the third film was titled There and Back Again in August 2012.[102] On 24 April 2014, the third film was renamed The Battle of the Five Armies. On the title change, Jackson said, "There and Back Again felt like the right name for the second of a two film telling of the quest to reclaim Erebor, when Bilbo's arrival there, and departure, were both contained within the second film. But with three movies, it suddenly felt misplaced—after all, Bilbo has already arrived "there" in the Desolation of Smaug".[103] Shaun Gunner, the chairman of The Tolkien Society, supported the decision: "‘The Battle of the Five Armies’ much better captures the focus of the film but also more accurately channels the essence of the story."[104]

3D concept art by John Howe and Alan Lee

The films were filmed in 3D using Red Epic cameras.[182] According to a production diary video, 48 Epic cameras were used during the film's production.[183] The production employed a specialty rig designed by 3ality Technica, using two cameras and a mirror in order to achieve an intraocular effect similar to that of human sight (the distance between the eyes). This is how the depth required for 3D film is achieved.[183]

In April 2011, Jackson revealed through his Facebook page that he would film The Hobbit at 48 fps (frames per second) instead of the normal 24 fps.[184]

Additionally, the films were filmed at a 5K resolution, native to the Red Epic cameras, which provides a more detailed picture than the conventional 4K resolution. The films were recorded digitally onto 128 GB solid-state drives that fit into the Red Epic camera.[183]

In a bid to pressure director Peter Jackson to stop using live animals in future films and use instead 100% CGI-inserted animals, animal rights group PETA planned protests as the film was released. In the week prior to the release of the film, PETA broadcast allegations accusing Jackson of animal abuse during filming. The incidents had happened over a year prior, were involved in the housing of animals not the filming, and had been reported to the American Humane Association, who investigated in late 2011 and recommended improvements to the animals' living areas.[185][186]

The music of The Hobbit film series was composed, produced and (in the case of the first film) orchestrated and conducted by Howard Shore, who scored all three The Lord of the Rings films. Recording sessions for the first film began on 20 August 2012, at Abbey Road Studios.[187] The second and third films were recorded in New Zealand.[188]

Unlike with the Lord of the Rings, which only received an expanded release after 2005, each Hobbit soundtrack was released in a two-CD, two-hour release. The music features 64-70 new leitmotives, about 40 leitmotives returning from The Lord of the Rings, and a variety of non-orchestral instruments, including bagpipes, didgeridoos and a whole Gamelan orchestra.[189]

The score for An Unexpected Journey was primarily played by the London Philharmonic Orchestra (as it was for The Lord of the Rings), London Voices and Tiffin' Boys choir, although Jackson and Shore chose the New Zealand Symphony Orchestra (which participated in scoring a large section of the Fellowship of the Ring) to score The Desolation of Smaug and The Battle of the Five Armies. Additional musicians, including two gamelan orchestras, and the London Voices and Tiffin' boys choir, augmented the orchestra. Musicians Neil Finn and Ed Sheeran contributed to the score as well as some actors including Richard Armitage and the cast of dwarves, James Nesbitt and Barry Humphries (in the extended edition).[190] Clara Sanabras[191] and Grace Davidson[192] sang the soprano parts.

As with The Lord of the Rings trilogy, Weta Digital was involved in the creation of special effects.[193] However, as opposed to The Lord of the Rings, where the actors who played Orcs portrayed them through full-body makeup and prosthetics, many of those actors in The Hobbit had computer-generated faces in order to portray them.[194] Many of the actors who played Orcs in this trilogy portrayed them through performance capture.[195][196][197] Joe Letteri served as senior visual effects supervisor on the trilogy.[198]

After Jackson's decision to use High-Frame-Rate (48 frames per second) in high-definition for An Unexpected Journey was met with a mixed reception, he decided to make adjustments by altering the visuals of the following two films in the trilogy. During post-production for The Desolation of Smaug, Jackson commented, "When I did the colour timing this year, the colour grading, I spent a lot of time experimenting with ways we could soften the image and make it look a bit more filmic. Not more like 35 mm film necessarily, but just to take the HD quality away from it, which I think I did reasonably successfully". He also stated, "I was experimenting all the time and trying different things. It’s to do with diffusing the image a little but, using what’s called a Pro-Mist; it’s the saturation of the color. Scene by scene I’d make decisions and choices as to which way to go, so it wasn’t really one magic button to press."[199][200]

A standee outside the Embassy Theatre in Wellington, New Zealand at the world premiere of The Hobbit: An Unexpected Journey

The world premiere for The Hobbit: An Unexpected Journey took place on 28 November 2012 in Wellington, New Zealand,[201] with the film's wide release in New Zealand on 12 December.[202] 100,000 people lined the red carpet on Wellington's Courtenay Place for the premiere.[203] The entire event was also broadcast live on TV3 (New Zealand), and streamed over the Internet.[204] Tickets to the film's midnight screenings in New Zealand sold out within minutes of going on sale, prompting director Peter Jackson to say that the fans who missed out "may get something special" which could include getting to see the film "possibly even a minute or two before anyone else".[205] The film was released on 13 December 2012 in the United Kingdom[206] and 14 December 2012 for some other parts of the world.[102] It has a runtime of 169 minutes (2 hours and 49 minutes).[207] The film has grossed over $1 billion at the box office, surpassing both The Fellowship of the Ring and The Two Towers nominally.[208]

The Hobbit: The Desolation of Smaug premiered on 2 December 2013 in Los Angeles, and was released internationally from 11 December 2013.[209] It has grossed over $959 million in the box office worldwide. Like the previous instalment, it surpassed both The Fellowship of the Ring and The Two Towers in nominal box office performance.[208]

The final film The Hobbit: The Battle of the Five Armies premiered on 11 December 2014 in London, and was released internationally from 12 December 2014. The release for the third film was originally set for an 18 July 2014 release, but was pushed back when X-Men: Days of Future Past, was announced to be released on the same date, as direct competition to the third instalment.[210] It has grossed over $962 million worldwide at the box office, and as the previous two films, it surpassed both The Fellowship of the Ring and The Two Towers.[208]

The Hobbit: An Unexpected Journey was released on 3D Blu-ray, Blu-ray and DVD in United States on 19 March 2013, and was released in the United Kingdom on 8 April 2013. As of 7 July 2013, DVD/Blu-ray sales in the United States were reported to be around $29,527,413, with almost 3 million units sold.[211] An Extended Edition containing 13 minutes of additional footage and original music was released on 3D Blu-ray, DVD and Blu-ray on 5 November 2013 in the US, and on 11 November 2013 in the UK.[212]

The Hobbit: The Desolation of Smaug was released on DVD, 3D Blu-ray and Blu-ray on 7 April 2014 in the United Kingdom and on 8 April 2014 in the United States.[213] An Extended Edition containing 25 minutes of additional footage and original music[214] was released on 3 November 2014 in the UK, and on 4 November 2014 in the US.[215]

The Hobbit: The Battle of The Five Armies was released on 3D Blu-ray, Blu-ray and DVD on 23 March 2015 in the United Kingdom and on 24 March in the United States.[216][217][218] An Extended Edition of the film containing 20 minutes of additional footage and original music was released on 17 November 2015 in the United States and on 23 November in the United Kingdom.[219][220][221]

The Hobbit trilogy was released in Ultra HD Blu-ray on 30 November 2020 in the United Kingdom and on 1 December 2020 in the United States, including both the theatrical and the extended editions of the films.[222]

The Hobbit: An Unexpected Journey has won the "Technical Achievement" award by the Houston Film Critics Society, who also nominated it for "Best Original Song", the award for "Outstanding Virtual Cinematography" by the Visual Effects Society, and the Empire Awards for "Best Actor" and "Best Sci-Fi/Fantasy".[242][243][244][245] Among others, the film has also received three Academy Award nominations, a nomination from the Washington D.C. Area Film Critics Association, four nominations from the Broadcast Film Critics Association, six nominations from the Visual Effects Society, and three nominations from the Phoenix Film Critics Society.[246][247][248][243][249][250]

• The Hobbit: An Unexpected Journey — Nominations: 3 + Scientific and Technical Award[251]
• The Hobbit: The Desolation of Smaug — Nominations: 3
• The Hobbit: The Battle of the Five Armies – Nominations: 1

The films were shown in some cinemas at 48 frames per second, twice the traditional frame rate, attracting a mixed response;[252][253] critics noted the added immediacy, but that the "cinematic glow" was lost.[254][255][256][257][258]

Scholars reflected on Jackson's transformation of Tolkien's children's book to an "epic prequel". Frank Riga and colleagues noted in Mythlore that while most film reviewers (65%) and audiences (84%) liked the trilogy, some 35% of Rotten Tomatoes reviewers complained about the "violat[ion] of Tolkien's vision"; others objected to the "amplification" of the story. Riga and colleagues did not endorse those views, arguing that Jackson transforms "an episodic, almost picaresque, tale to a chronologically developed and coherent narrative". They write that the film is Jackson's personal rendering of the book, but state that "it is consistently grounded in Tolkien's own work and plans", resulting in an enriched perception of Tolkien's work.[259]

Other scholars were less accepting; Marek Oziewicz, writing in Journal of the Fantastic in the Arts, called Jackson's version of The Hobbit "a beautiful disaster", citing among what he called "Jackson's many missteps" the same "interminable battle scenes, the relentless trivialization of story, [and] the flattening of characters" that in his view characterized Jackson's Lord of the Rings trilogy.[260]

On 6 October 2011, Warner Bros. Consumer Products and U.S. toy company The Bridge Direct announced their partnership on worldwide master toy rights for The Hobbit films.[261] The toy line will include action figures, playsets and role-play accessories like swords and battle axes representing the characters and weapons in the films.[262][263]

The first wave of toy products hit store shelves in October 2012, ahead of the release of The Hobbit: An Unexpected Journey. U.S. retailers that carry the toy line include Toys "R" Us, Kmart, and Walmart. Games Workshop released miniatures from The Hobbit as part of The Lord of the Rings Strategy Battle Game. The company has had rights to produce miniatures from the original book for some years but has not released any lines, save for a stand-alone game based on the Battle of Five Armies, with original designs not related to The Lord of the Rings films.[264]

On 16 December 2011, Warner Bros. and Lego announced the development of figures and play sets based on the upcoming adaptations of The Hobbit as well as The Lord of the Rings. The launch of the Lego The Hobbit: An Unexpected Journey was released to coincide with the release of the film adaptation's first part in December 2012.[265]

Following the expiration in 2008 of Electronic Arts' license to The Lord of the Rings, Warner Bros. Interactive Entertainment acquired the rights to develop a video game based on The Hobbit.[266] When Guillermo del Toro was set to direct he had stated that a video game, if it were to be made, would not be released to tie-in with The Hobbit film, but rather after their release. Del Toro had stated that while he would like to be involved in the video game's creation, making it at the same time as the film would complicate things due to a "tight schedule".[267]

In 2008 British video game developer Traveller's Tales spent $1 million making an Xbox 360 The Hobbit demo in six months. This demo was designed to convince The Lord of the Rings director Peter Jackson, and Guillermo del Toro, who at the time was attached to The Hobbit movie, that Traveller's Tales was capable of making a non-Lego game based on the upcoming film. Traveller's Tales built four The Lord of the Rings-themed levels, including two stealth demos featuring Frodo, a Gandalf versus Saruman demo, and a Gandalf versus the Balrog demo, plus five additional tech demos, including an Aragorn combat tech demo. In February 2009, Jon Burton flew to New Zealand to pitch to Jackson and del Toro. Warner Bros. ultimately decided to invest in a game not based directly on the movie, but happened in the same world at the same time.[268]

In October 2011, Warner Bros. confirmed that a Hobbit video game would be released in 2012, before the first film's release.[269] However, the studio did not confirm whether or not the game would be a tie-in with the film.[270]

Warner Brothers developed two free-to-play online strategy games in collaboration with Kabam for promoting the film series which were The Hobbit: Kingdoms of Middle Earth released for Android and iOS on 8 November 2012 and The Hobbit: Armies of the Third Age playable online on web browsers and as a Facebook app that was released on 21 March 2013.[271][272][273] The full list of mobile and browser games developed to coincide with the films' theatrical releases includes:

• The Hobbit: Dwarf Combat Training (2012)[274][275]
• The Hobbit: Kingdoms of Middle-earth (2012)[271][272]
• The Hobbit: Armies of The Third Age (2013)[273]
• The Hobbit: The Desolation of Smaug – A Journey through Middle-earth (2013)[276]
• The Hobbit: The Desolation of Smaug – Barrel Escape (2013)[277]
• The Hobbit: The Desolation of Smaug – Spiders of Mirkwood (2013)[277]
• The Hobbit: Battle of the Five Armies – Orc Attack (2014)[278]
• The Hobbit: Battle of the Five Armies – Fight for Middle-earth (2014)[279]

Monolith Productions developed Guardians of Middle-earth,[280] which was released on 4 December 2012 for PlayStation 3 via the PlayStation Network, and 5 December 2012 for Xbox 360 via Xbox Live Arcade. Guardians of Middle-earth delivers a multiplayer online battle arena (MOBA) game set in Middle-earth and crafted specifically for the console systems. Gamers can play in teams of up to 10 players in strategic five versus five competitive multiplayer battle arenas in the epic setting of Middle-earth. Players can develop and master more than 20 guardians, including Gandalf, Sauron, Gollum and many more, forming memorable and unlikely alliances with and against friends. Gamers can connect via an in-game voice communication system, as well as access a comprehensive online stat and leader board system where they can track friends’ victories and defeats. The game featured tie-ins to The Hobbit: An Unexpected Journey film, released in 2012.

On 25 November, Warner Brothers confirmed Lego The Hobbit video game. The game's levels only took place in the first two films. The game was released 8 April 2014.[281]

Another video game which was developed by Monolith Productions is Middle-earth: Shadow of Mordor, this time to promote The Hobbit: The Battle of the Five Armies. The events of the game take place directly after Sauron fled to Mordor, escaping The White Council, which was shown at the beginning of the film. The game was designed to act as an overlap between The Hobbit and The Lord of the Rings. It was released for Microsoft Windows, PlayStation 4 & Xbox One in October 2014 and for PlayStation 3 and Xbox 360 on November 21.