Join Kili and Fili, and a very special guest from WETA Workshop – Sir Richard Taylor, to learn how to make your yuletide as cozy as one in Middle-earth! [Happy Hobbit: Christmas Special – Episode 08]
Month: December 2012
The Hobbit: An Unexpected Journey will almost certainly retain its top spot at the U.S. box office this week as a host of new films seek to find cinema audiences. Tom Cruise and his drama Jack Reacher looks like the leader of the pack of new films, none of which will threaten Peter Jackson’s first of three movies back in Middle-earth based on J.R.R. Tolkien’s first writings to feature Hobbits.
Jackson famously directed three films based on Tolkien’s The Lord of the Rings to earn all the award things and pull down about $3 billion in movie-ticket sales and a dragon’s hoard of gold from home video and merchandising.
Hollywood.com’s Paul Dergarabedia, who gets to talk about box office to all the media, writes that:
“While The Hobbit will certainly top the box office for the second straight weekend with a gross in the $50 million range, a host of newcomers are going to fight over the leftovers this Christmas weekend.”
Dergarabedia was a little low on his predictions for The Hobbit‘s opening while others were unrealistically high. He relies on the historical performance of similar movies in similar release dates. You can read his whole weekend rundown right here. You can also read his Hobbit-specific predictions.
The better known (but not better) BoxOfficeMojo.com says:
“…it’s a foregone conclusion that The Hobbit will once again lead the box office, though it could yield the top spot on Christmas Day to Django Unchained or Les Miserables.”
That story, also worth a read if box office matters to you, can be found here.
It also features The Hobbit‘s interesting box office page that also features a tab with a daily chart.
Continuing the great giveaways celebrating the release of The Hobbit: An Unexpected Journey our friends at The Noble Collection provided us with “Swords of The Hobbit” letter opener set for our last giveaway. Tonight, we’re pleased to announce the winner of this awesome prize. The winner is…
Emily F. Congrats Emily on your win and we hope you enjoy this fantastic set!
Following up that contest we’ve got another fantastic chance for you to win a great collectible. The fourth contest from The Noble Collection gives you the chance to add The One Ring to your collection. The prop replica of The One Ring comes in its own special metal display case to protect your precious and can be had for $59.
To enter, simply fill out this FORM. The contest runs from now to December 22nd at midnight PST.
NB: One entry per person per email for this contest. Alas entry is for US residents only. Good luck!
Online magazine Female First is counting down its ‘Best Movies of 2012’, and today it revealed that it has The Hobbit: An Unexpected Journey at the number four spot. They call it ‘an utter triumph … a film with real heart’; which makes one wonder, what could have beaten it and claimed the first, second and third spots? You can read their article – and see the top ten so far, plus the winning three films on future days – here. What would be your top ten of 2012? Would An Unexpected Journey snag the number one position?
Thanks to HarperCollins Publishers for sponsoring this amazing giveaway to promote the release of The Hobbit: An Unexpected Journey Chronicles: Art & Design.
The 40 Randomly Selected winners are…
Robb B. – NJ, US
Deana B. – California, US
Talytha B. – South Carolina, US
Peter B. – LA, US
Carmelita B. – NJ, US
Joshua B. – IL, US
Jody C. – UT, US
Mike C. – Utah, US
BreeAnn C. – CA, US
Debbi C. – CA, US
Natalie D. – Ut, US
Judy D. – IL, US
Ryan F. – SC, US
Pete F. – MI, US
Morgan G. – MN, US
Randi G. – MD, US
Kimberley G. – AL, US
Megan K. – Ontario, Canada
Logan K. – Ca, US
Xavier K. – Montana, US
Landon L. – AR, US
Maura M. – NJ, US
Roland M. – Washington, US
Clare M. – GA, US
Timothy M. – , US
Adam M. – ma, US
Joshua M. – VA, US
Donna M. – New Jersey, US
Georg N. – New York, US
Sophia P. – WI, US
Kenneth R. – MS, US
Erik S. – Maine, US
Robert S. – Illinois , US
Elizabeth T. – Alabama, US
Miranda T. – British Columbia, Canada
Garret W. – GA, US
Sheri W. – Tn, US
Brett W. – Az, US
Jeffrey Y. – NY, US
Kay G. – Texas, US
Congrats to you all – you will be getting an email soon with confirmation of your prize. Please allow 4-6 weeks for delivery. Don’t forget to order your copy of The Hobbit: An Unexpected Journey Chronicles: Art & Design today! [Click here]
Peter Jackson’s The Hobbit: An Unexpected Journey has taken several leaps forward in how movies are presented. Some don’t like the 3D 48 fps that the film was shot in and the debate will likely rage for years. But another technology, just as much a leap forward but little talked about is the new Dolby Atmos sound system installed in dozens, not thousands of theaters so far.
Unlike the high frame rate, there is virtually no diversity of opinions at all when it comes to the new Dolby Laboratories presentation of digital sound to go along with the latest in digital display. The Hobbit: AUJ is one of the first film to be mixed in the new tech and the Embassy Theater in Wellington, where the film enjoyed its world premiere, was fitted with equipment and speakers to bring it to life.
The new sound system allows the filmmakers to put sound all around a theater in the 360 degree environment and also place sound over listeners heads, nearly anywhere in the auditorium. How? Well, the explanations are probably best viewed and listened to rather than read. Remember all those Academy Awards that Return of the King won? They (Christopher Boyes, Michael Hedges, and Michael Semanick) and they guys doing the Hobbit mix as well. So, this 11-minute video, specifically made around The Hobbit, is both informative and entertaining. Check in around the 7-minute mark if you can’t watch it all. If that excellent piece doesn’t help, Dolby Atmos and the sound mixing process, is prominently featured in the latest Peter Jackson video diary.
When The Hobbit was announced as an Atmos movie, Peter Jackson said, “I strive to make movies that allow the audience to participate in the events onscreen, rather than just watch them unfold. Wonderful technology is now available to support this goal: high frame rates, 3D, and now the stunning Dolby Atmos system.”
I took the lone Utah theater for a test drive and asked somebody from Dolby what to listen to. The sequence in Radagast’s house was one of three tips I was given but I decided to not read the rest and mostly listen to the film and check it for myself. Ever watch a film with your eyes closed? I really enjoyed Atmos during the Riddles In The Dark sequence with cave drips and echoes. I was surprised by sounds of outdoor shots like wind and chirping birds. Delightful. Dolby also recommended the sequence of dwarven dish washing. Finally, I enjoyed a fuller and better score as well. I am not a sound expert but I loved listening to The Hobbit but as I moved around the auditorium, for optimal sound I was a little more than half way back from the screen.
This official list from Dolby has all the screens world-wide that are playing The Hobbit: An Unofficial Journey as well as The Life of Pi.