The shift makes the release consistent with the pre-holiday releases of the previous films pitting it in competition with two family friendly films, one a spinoff of “Despicable Me,” and the other from Pixar’s Brad Bird titled “Tomorrowland,” although those films will come two days later. It also moves the film away from competition of an X-Men film, “X-Men: Days Of Future Past.”
The bulk of all three films has already been shot with planned “pick ups” set for May which are expected to last for several weeks or even months. The first film, “The Hobbit: An Unexpected Journey,” has grossed nearly $1 billion world wide at the box office and $300 million in the U.S. The three movies are based on the book “The Hobbit,” by J.R.R. Tolkien, released 75 years ago.
The official press release follows:
“THE HOBBIT: THERE AND BACK AGAIN” TO BE RELEASED DECEMBER 17, 2014
Burbank CA, February 28, 2013 — “The Hobbit: There and Back Again,” the final film in Peter Jackson’s trilogy adaptation of the timeless classic The Hobbit, will now be released on December 17, 2014. The joint announcement was made today by Dan Fellman, President of Domestic Distribution and Veronika Kwan Vandenberg, President of International Distribution, Warner Bros. Pictures.
The film moves from its previous summer slot, and now follows the holiday release pattern of “The Hobbit: An Unexpected Journey,” which went on to become a billion-dollar global blockbuster, as well as the three films in the blockbuster “The Lord of the Rings” Trilogy. The second film in “The Hobbit” Trilogy, “The Hobbit: The Desolation of Smaug,” is next to be released, on December 13, 2013. All three films in the Trilogy are productions of New Line Cinema and Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer Pictures (MGM).
Stated Fellman, “We’re excited to complete the Trilogy the same way we started it, as a holiday treat for moviegoers everywhere.”
Added Kwan Vandenberg, “Our holiday release of the first film set a successful precedent for this wonderful Trilogy, and we’re delighted to bring it to a conclusion in the same release window.”
From Academy Award®-winning filmmaker Peter Jackson comes “The Hobbit: There and Back Again,” the final film in an epic Trilogy adapting the enduringly popular masterpiece The Hobbit, by J.R.R. Tolkien. The three films tell a continuous story set in Middle-earth 60 years before “The Lord of the Rings,” which Jackson and his filmmaking team brought to the big screen in the blockbuster trilogy that culminated with the Oscar ®-winning “The Lord of the Rings: The Return of the King.”
Jackson directed “The Hobbit: There and Back Again” from a screenplay by Fran Walsh & Philippa Boyens & Peter Jackson. Jackson is also producing the film, together with Carolynne Cunningham, Zane Weiner and Fran Walsh. The executive producers are Alan Horn, Toby Emmerich, Ken Kamins and Carolyn Blackwood, with Boyens and Eileen Moran serving as co-producers.
All three films in “The Hobbit” Trilogy are productions of New Line Cinema and Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer Pictures (MGM), with New Line managing production. Warner Bros. Pictures is handling worldwide theatrical distribution, with select international territories as well as all international television distribution being handled by MGM.