THE HOBBIT: AN UNEXPECTED JOURNEY crosses half-billion mark worldwide

THE HOBBIT: AN UNEXPECTED JOURNEY has surpassed the $500 million benchmark at the worldwide box office. To date, the blockbuster has earned an estimated $179.7 million in the United States. In addition, on the heels of its record-breaking release in Australia — the biggest Boxing Day opening of all time — The Hobbit: An Unexpected Journey has grossed an estimated $344 million internationally, for a staggering global total of $523.7 million, and still steadily climbing.

The joint announcement was made today by Toby Emmerich, President and Chief Operating Officer, New Line Cinema; Gary Barber, Chairman and Chief Executive Officer, Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer Studios; Dan Fellman, President of Domestic Distribution, Warner Bros. Pictures; and Veronika Kwan Vandenberg, President of International Distribution, Warner Bros. Pictures.

A production of New Line Cinema and Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer (MGM) Pictures, it’s the acclaimed first film in Oscar®-winning filmmaker Peter Jackson’s epic The Hobbit Trilogy, based on the timeless novel by J.R.R. Tolkien.