Peter Jackson came to China to promote the final installment of the trilogy "The Hobbit." (Photo : Reuters)
The final installment to "The Hobbit" trilogy was a China blockbuster, grossing over 308 million yuan ($49.4 million) on its initial screening days.
On opening day alone, the film made 93 million yuan ($14.9 million). The movie went on to rake 117 million yuan ($18.78 million) on the second day and 98 million yuan ($15.73 million) on the third day.
The Chinese market is the final major overseas platform for Warner Bros., and the movie was by far the most successful in terms of box-office sales.
The previous two installments of "The Hobbit" franchise raked in 315.6 million yuan ($50.76 million) and 463 million yuan ($74.47 million), respectively, in China during their screening. The third by far outweighed the first two and is estimated to make at least $100 billion at the end of its screening.
"The Hobbit: The Battle of the Five Armies" grossed highest in the international box-office sales last weekend. A big percentage of the total $54.3 million came from China.
To date, "The Hobbit 3" has earned $616.9 million overseas and over $866 worldwide.
On Jan. 19-20, film director Peter Jackson, actor Richard Armitage, script co-writer Philippa Boyens and Weta Workshop founder Richard Taylor came to China to attend the movie premiere showing and the corresponding marketing and promotional activities.
The award-winning filmmaker extended his stay in China visiting Beijing, Shanghai and Xi'an, and several China landmarks such as the Forbidden City, the Great Wall, Yu Gardens and the Terracotta Warriors.
Jackson wrote on his microblog: "This film represents the end of a 17-year journey for myself, our cast and crew; and while this may be our last goodbye from Middle-earth, it won't be our last from China. I've enjoyed my time visiting your beautiful country and hope to visit again in the near future."
