The Hobbit: The Battle of the Five Armies, the final film in Sir Peter Jackson’s trilogy of films based on J.R.R. Tolkien on The Hobbit, has had a strong start by taking $117 million in the opening weekend.

On Wednesday last week the film opened across much of Western European including Belgium, Denmark, France, Finland, Germany, the Netherlands, Norway, Sweden, Switzerland. On Thursday is opened in 37 countries including Brazil, Mexico New Zealand, and Russia, and on Friday the film opened in the UK. Following Saturday opening in the Japan, the film finally appears in Canada and the US today.

The opening weekend compares favourable to those of An Unexpected Journey and The Desolation Smaug both of which grossed around $1 billion each in box office takings. The strongest international audience has been Germany, followed by the UK, whilst the film has broken records for IMAX.

The big question is: what does all this mean for Tolkien?

About the Author: Shaun Gunner

Shaun is the CEO of The Tolkien Society, having previously served as the Chair from 2013 to 2025. Shaun has overseen the Society's expansion from 600 to over 4,000 members. Shaun regularly speaks about adaptations of Tolkien's works and the future of Tolkien scholarship whilst passionately believing the Society needs to reach out to new audiences. In his spare time he can be found playing video games and Lego, or on X (formerly known as Twitter). He chaired another charity, Mankind, and is a local councillor.