That figure includes the major 266 days of filming with actors that was completed last year, although it doesn’t include an additional two months or so of “pick-up” shoots done this year. There will likely also be additional post-production costs as the next two movies are completed.
Through March 31, production had cost 676 million New Zealand dollars, or $561 million at current exchange rates, according to financial documents filed Friday in New Zealand, where the movies are being made.
Distributor Warner Bros. and director Peter Jackson may consider it money well spent. To date, only the first movie in the latest trilogy has been released. “The Hobbit: An Unexpected Journey” took in just over $1 billion at the box office. Continue reading “Hobbit film trilogy has cost $561 USD million so far”
Readers who grabbed their copy of the Desolation of Smaug trailer from Youtube may wish to have another look — Warner Bros. has just released an updated, improved version.
The Warner Bros. team emphasise that the content is exactly the same, but the file has been tweaked to improve your viewing experience. Or, as they say, “it will just look better.” (Personally, we reckon both versions look pretty good, but if you’ve got an eye for detail this is the one for you!) Continue reading “Warner Bros. releases improved version of Desolation of Smaug trailer”
Moments ago, the new trailer for The Hobbit: The Desolation of Smaug went live on the internet.
The details? No full shot of Smaug, but a lot of glimpes! And a hint of Bilbo riddling with the dragon. “Smaug the Stupendous!” No Beorn in human form, but was that him as a bear? We also have Bard, The Eye of Sauron and an army of orcs!
Thranduil offering help to the Thorin and company, and telling Tauriel not to encourage the affections of Legolas. Gosh, won’t that cause a stir?
“We have been blind and in our blindness our Enemy has returned.” Gandalf the Grey.
Continue reading “The trailer for The Hobbit: The Desolation of Smaug is here!”
As the release of The Hobbit: An Unexpected Journey in Extended Edition format approaches, Empire Magazine examines whether studios are giving the format their full support. Perhaps what’s on offer in the AUJ EE works as a counter-example against Empire’s critique? Tell us your thoughts!
Thanks to Ringer Rud the Spud for the link. Continue reading “Are the studios trying to kill Blu-Ray?”
Nothing official has been announced yet, but indications out of the Capital City are that things are progressing towards something Lord of the Rings fans have long desired, a museum dedicated to Middle-earth. For a more dynamic experience for visitors, it makes more sense for it to be a more general Film museum focused on all the films coming from Wingnut and WETA. That would allow for visitors to see new exhibits over time, but with a heavy focus on Lord of the Rings and The Hobbit. Te Papa had a very popular Lord of the Rings exhibit in 2002 and again in 2006, which turned out to be its most popular exhibit, so the market is there. Locations being looked at are somewhere along the waterfront. This would gives fans year round a second place to connect with their LOTR fandom alongside the WETA Cave, and something for them to see long after the final film is released. One of the biggest hurdles when this idea was first conceived was the licensing rights, but indications seem to imply that is less of an impediment right now.
For more details, read the article here.
MGM is reporting growth, thanks in part to ‘The Hobbit: The Unexpected Journey.‘ The privately held studio says that revenues were up across all of its core businesses, but singled out contributions from the international release of home videos for The Hobbit: An Unexpected Journey and the James Bond film Skyfall.
The year over year results are slightly skewed by the $55.7M it recorded from a television asset sale in 2012. With that included, net income came in at $35.9M, -16% vs the period last year, on revenues of $339M, +164%. Without the asset sale, net income would have been up $30M in Q2
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