While Amazon is working hard on a new Hobbit trilogy with Martin Freeman playing Bilbo Baggins.
So we’re now going to take a look at the seven movies and rank them via their budgets.
The Lord Of The Rings (1978): $8,000,000
As mentioned above, there was a Lord of the Rings animated movie that came out in 1978. Directed by Ralph Bakshi it brings Tolkien’s novel to life and covers the events of The Two Towers - meaning that’s about half of the overall story.
It was a big financial success but was divisive among critics and didn’t get a sequel. However, Jackson later itted that it helped shape his own trilogy and it’s regarded as a cult classic among fans. On a budget of just $8million, it comes bottom of the list.
The Fellowship Of The Ring (2001): $93,000,000
2002 was a big year for movies. The first Ocean’s Eleven and Pearl Harbor also made plenty of money at the box office across the globe.
The Fellowship of the Ring, made on a budget of $93m, narrowly missed out on the gold medal for the year to Potter. But it certainly proved to be money well spent, taking $887,210,985 worldwide and $315,544,750 domestically. And the sequel, The Twin Towers, was even more successful…
The Two Towers (2002): $94,000,000
Despite having big movies such as Harry Potter and the Chamber of Secrets, Star Wars: Attack of the Clones to contend with, The Two Towers topped the box office standings for the year 2002 by taking in $927,598,249 worldwide on a budget of $94m.
It built well on the foundations laid down by its predecessor, with the Battle at Helms Deep and Gandalf’s return from the dead two of its biggest moments. The movie also scored highly among critics, getting a Rotten Tomatoes score of 95 percent.
The Return Of The King (2003): $94,000,000
Also being made on a budget of $94m was the third and final act of Jackson’s trilogy, entitled The Return of the King. This was where heroes such as Frodo, Sam, Aragon, Legolas, and Gimli all made their final stand against Sauron and the forces of evil and ended up triumphing, distinguishing the threat of evil for good.
Like it’s predecessor, it was also an enormous box office success. It topped the year, taking home a huge $1,120,224,046 worldwide. Finding Nemo and The Matrix Reloaded, other good movies of 2003, got nowhere near that amount.
The Hobbit: An Unexpected Journey (2012): $180,000,000
Releasing in December 2012 was The Hobbit: An Unexpected Journey. The movie was released as part of a new trilogy, with Martin Freeman playing the role of a young Bilbo Baggins. Baggins aids Gandalf in the fight to reclaim the city of Erebor from a fierce dragon, Smaug.
People who feared people wouldn’t take to the series with the same enthusiasm as the Lord of the Rings were to be proven wrong, with the blockbuster making $1,017,003,568 worldwide despite its late release date. The Avengers topped the standings with Skyfall and The Dark Knight Roses also making it onto the podium.
The Hobbit: The Desolation of Smaug (2013): $191,200,000
Ambitiously, the second act of the Hobbit trilogy released in December the following year. Again spearheaded by Peter Jackson, the scored respectably among critics - getting 74 percent from Rotten Tomatoes and 66 percent on Metacritic.
And, like it’s predecessor, it also got off to a flying start. The title made $958,366,855 worldwide for the year on a budget of $191,200,000 and got fans excited for the third and final part. Once again Disney took the podium positions, with Frozen, Iron Man 3, and Despicable Me 2 all taking gold, silver, and bronze respectively.
The Hobbit: The Battle of the Five Armies (2014): $250,000,000
Released in the fall of 2014 was The Hobbit: The Battle of the Five Armies. This is what the story had been gearing towards and it didn’t disappoint, going down a storm with both fans and critics alike. It gave devotees a satisfying conclusion to the trilogy and the battle at the end is, somewhat inevitably, one of its standout moments.
Only Transformers: Age of Extinction made more money for the year, with the final Hobbit blockbuster pipping Guardians of the Galaxy to second place. Freeman gave arguably his strongest performance as Bilbo, too, and it was satisfying seeing Smaug defeated after all this time.
