The Hobbit Crosses $1 Billion at the Global Box Office

Peter Jackson's The Hobbit: An Unexpected Journey has crossed the $1 billion mark in the worldwide box office. Since its release, the film has grossed $301.1 million domestically and just shy of $700 million worldwide. Jackson's Lord of the Rings prequel, the first in a trilogy adapting J.R.R. Tolkien's The Hobbit,  became only the fifteenth film in history to gross $1 billion, although it was the fourth film released in 2012 to do so (following Marvel's The Avengers, Skyfall and The Dark Knight Rises). It still lags behind the Best Picture-winning The Lord Of The Rings: The Return Of The King, which grossed $1.12 billion in 2003. "We could not be more proud to have reached reached this amazing benchmark. Together with our partners at MGM and New Line, everyone at Warner Bros. congratulates Peter Jackson and his entire cast and crew on the extraordinary success of this film," said WB domestic distribution president Dan Fellman. Warner international distribution president Veronika Kwan Vandenberg added, "It is so gratifying to see how the release of The Hobbit: An Unexpected Journey has been such an event with audiences around the world. We know that moviegoers everywhere are already excited about the next film, as are we."