The Playlist

'Skyfall,' 'The Hobbit' & 'Sightseers' All Big Winners At 2013 Empire Awards

By Oliver Lyttelton
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March 25, 2013 10:01 AM
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1 Comment

Awards

Thought the awards season was long done? Not quite. Last night saw the 18th annual Jameson Empire Awards, presented annually by the UK film magazine, the biggest in the world, and one of the largest such ceremonies to have their winners voted for by the public. This year, there's been a big push for more recognition for the ceremony, with probably the starriest and glitziest evening in recent memory, and we were there last night to see the winners revealed.

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Does 'The Hobbit' Deserve A VFX Oscar? 3 Featurettes Make The Case

By Joe Cunningham
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January 18, 2013 1:55 PM
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1 Comment

News

While Peter Jackson’s final film in his epic “The Lord of the Rings” trilogy was showered with Oscars, that won’t be the case for the first installment of “The Hobbit: An Unexpected Journey." The film picked up just three Oscar nominations, putting it in the running for Makeup and Hairstyling (which it may have a shot at if the voters take beardstyling into consideration too), Production Design and Visual Effects. In that final category 'The Hobbit' will face stiff competition in the form of “Life of Pi,” “The Avengers,” “Prometheus” and “Snow White and the Huntsman,” but three new featurettes argue that the work done by Weta on 'The Hobbit' deserves to come out on top.

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Watch: Martin Freeman & Ricky Gervais Get Mashed Up In 'The Office: An Unexpected Journey'

By Kevin Jagernauth
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January 4, 2013 4:32 PM
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1 Comment

News

Before he was Bilbo, before he was Watson, Martin Freeman was Tim Canterbury, a lowly salesman at Wernham Hogg Paper Company. It's hard to believe, but the original U.K. "The Office" is already over ten years old, and its U.S. counterpart is wrapping up at the end of this season too. Well, if you need to a good reminder as to why the original is worth pulling off the shelf and giving another spin, it's gonna come from an unlikely place.

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Box Office: 'The Hobbit' Defeats Strong Debuts From 'Django Unchained' & 'Les Miserables'

By Gabe Toro
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December 30, 2012 11:43 AM
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2 Comments

Box Office

It’s going to take a lot to knock “The Hobbit: An Unexpected Journey” off its pedestal, even if studios tried their best this weekend, firing off both barrels against a global blockbuster. Families and teens supported 'An Unexpected Journey' over the holiday period, defeating two high-profile newcomers to be the top attraction for the third straight week. 'The Hobbit' is now eyeballing $300 million domestic, but as always international dollars are a big factor, and by time January 1st rings in the New Year, it will cross $700 million worldwide.

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Box Office: 'The Hobbit' Holds Off 'Jack Reacher' & 'This Is 40'; 'Zero Dark Thirty' Starts Strong

By Gabe Toro
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December 23, 2012 12:04 PM
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9 Comments

Box Office

'The Hobbit' what happened? You were supposed to be our hero. The “Lord Of The Rings” pictures, all released during the holiday period, had steady-to-muscular second weekend holds. But 'Hobbit,' you’re looking more like an average blockbuster, losing almost 60% of your audience. What’s going on? You were expected to dominate this frame like you did last weekend. Could it be that your mighty Cinemascore was inflated by the first-weekend Tolkien superfans? Could it be that your ad campaign simply emphasized the ties to the earlier films, implying less of an individual story and instead, “Yes, more of this”? Oh, 'Hobbit,' you’ve disappointed us greatly.

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Watch: Visual Effects & Sound Featurettes For Box-Office-Breaking 'The Hobbit: An Unexpected Journey'

By Joe Cunningham
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December 17, 2012 10:56 PM
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0 Comments

News

Its domestic numbers weren’t too shabby, breaking the December opening weekend record with $84 million, but even with that context, the global numbers for "The Hobbit: An Unexpected Journey" are gangbusters. The first installment of Peter Jackson’s latest Tolkien adaptation opened up in 56 international markets this weekend, and has bagged 2012’s fourth biggest opening with $138.2 million to take the global total in just three days to $223 million.

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'The Hobbit: An Unexpected Journey': What Worked & What Didn't

By The Playlist Staff
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December 17, 2012 12:15 PM
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17 Comments

Features

For a long time, it seemed as though "The Hobbit" would never get made. Despite the multi-billion dollar success of Peter Jackson's "Lord of the Rings" films, the rights to J.R.R. Tolkien's earlier novel were tangled up, and Jackson didn't even seem to be sure he wanted to go back to Middle Earth. Even once the film got underway, MGM's bankruptcy delayed the film for years, losing original director Guillermo Del Toro in the process.

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Box Office: 'The Hobbit: An Unexpected Journey' Delivers Biggest December Opening In History

By Gabe Toro
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December 16, 2012 12:10 PM
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7 Comments

Box Office

Despite being the latest entry in a well-loved Oscar-winning series with a billion-dollar final installment, expectations were tempered for "The Hobbit: An Unexpected Journey." Unlike the previous trilogy, reviews were a bit more mixed this time around, and some fans wondered if a trilogy was really necessary from the comparatively thin source material. The nerdcore and critics were particularly vocal about the film's 48 fps format (though it was only featured at 461 of the film's engagements, a fraction of screens). But even with those hurdles, Peter Jackson's latest foray into Middle Earth collected $84.8 million, the biggest opening weekend in December history, easily topping the $73 million 'Return Of The King' grabbed in 2004.

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What Are You Seeing? 'The Hobbit' Is Probably The 'Save The Date' For Most People This Weekend

By Emma Bernstein
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December 14, 2012 3:47 PM
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2 Comments

News

This weekend proves to be another rather quiet one, at least in the scheme of the December release schedule, featuring a diverse palette of festival winners and documentaries. And, of course, Peter Jackson makes his long-awaited return journey to Middle Earth. Guess there wasn't really any way to compete with 3D dragons, elves, and giants shot at 48 frames per second. Enjoy your immersive, HD experience Tolkien-disciples and technophiles, and tell us what else you'll be seeing below!

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Guide On How To Tell The Dwarves Apart In 'The Hobbit: An Unexpected Journey' Plus Final Video Blog & New Clip

By Kevin Jagernauth
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December 14, 2012 1:01 PM
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0 Comments

News

Likely to dominate over the next weeks (though we wonder, with the rather underwhelming reception, if it will be even close to the behemoth the 'LOTR' movies were), "The Hobbit: An Unexpected Journey" has finally arrived in theaters. It has been a long...journey...with studio delays and other woes keeping things held up, but there are a few treats left before you finally see it yourself.

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