TNT Lands Rights To 'The Hobbit: The Desolation Of Smaug'

Turner Broadcasting System, Inc. (TBS, Inc.) has secured the network television premiere window for the #1 movie in the country, The Hobbit: The Desolation of Smaug, which has taken in a dragon's haul of $127.5 million domestically and $403.8 million worldwide since it roared into theaters 10 days ago. The second in director Peter Jackson's trilogy of films based on J.R.R. Tolkien's The Hobbit, the blockbuster will mark its network television debut on TNT in 2016. The first film in the trilogy, The Hobbit: An Unexpected Journey, will make its debut on the network in 2015. The Hobbit trilogy is being distributed domestically by Warner Bros. Pictures.

TNT first ventured into Tolkien's Middle Earth with its network television premiere of The Lord of the Rings: The Fellowship of the Ring in 2004. The network followed with the premieres of The Lord of the Rings: The Two Towers in 2005 and Best Picture Oscar® winner The Lord of the Rings: The Return of the King in 2006.

"TNT has been the primary television home to Tolkien's Middle Earth for nearly a decade, beginning with our network television premieres of The Lord of the Rings trilogy," said Michael Wright, president, head of programming for TNT, TBS and Turner Classic Movies (TCM). "We're proud to continue our association with these extraordinary and enormously popular epics with the acquisition of The Hobbit: The Desolation of Smaug."

SOURCE: TNT