‘Hobbit’ to enter billion dollar club by March

Peter Jackson’s ‘Hobbit: An Unexpected Journey’ is on its way to become the 15th film to join the billion dollar club by March this year.

The New Line-Warner Bros production hit $921 million on Monday, with $288.7 million domestic and $632.2 international after a sixth weekend total of $21 million.

With several more weeks to go and a final release in China on February 22, the film is expected to cross the billion-dollar threshold by March.

James Cameron’s ‘Titanic’ was the first film to cross the billion-dollar mark in 1998, grossing $1.8 billion. In 2003, Jackson’s ‘The Lord of the Rings: The Return of the King’ became the second member of the club, followed by ‘Pirates of the Caribbean: Dead Man’s Chest’ in 2006, ‘The Dark Knight’ in 2008 and ‘Avatar’ in 2009 with a stunning collection of $2.78 billion, the Variety reported.

The membership of this club has added eight more films over the last three years thanks to a better performance in international markets. ‘The Dark Knight’ is the only film that grossed more domestically than internationally.

‘Toy Story 3’ and ‘Alice in Wonderland’ hit the mark in 2010, followed by the eighth and final ‘Harry Potter’ film, the third ‘Transformers’ and the fourth ‘Pirates of the Caribbean’ in 2011. ‘Star Wars Episode I — The Phantom Menace’ originally released in 1999, topped $1 billion early last year thanks to its 3D re-release.

Jackson will be returning to the middle-earth again with ‘The Hobbit: The Desolation of Smaug’ on December 13 and ‘The Hobbit: There and Back Again’ on July 18, 2014.