The Hobbit 2 is directed by Peter Jackson and stars Martin Freeman, Ian McKellen and Orlando Bloom. It was distributed by Warner Bros. and had an official website providing information about the film. The film was commercially successful but received a mixed critical response, with praise for its visuals and Smaug CGI character but criticism for its thin plot and pacing. Soundtrack singer Ed Sheeran wrote and performed the song "I See Fire" for the end credits in less than 24 hours.

1. Production
The Hobbit 2 is a fantasy/adventure genre directed
by Peter Jackson who is well recognized by his
films of similar genre such as Lord of the rings.
The film is distributed by Warner Bros. Hobbit 2
provided their audience an official website which
contains efficient and updated information about
the film.
http://www.thehobbit.com/

2. The film starred big stars like
Martin Freeman, Ian
Mckellen and Orlando
Bloom which also
appeared in other films
with similar genre or role
such as 'Pirates of the
Carribean', 'The
Hitchhiker's guide to the
galaxy' and 'X-Men'. This is
what we call star-system,
choosing the right actors
suited for the role, who
will get the job done and
will also impact the
audience consumption.

3. Franchise/Merchandise
The Hobbit 2's first DVD and Blue-Ray date release
was on 7th of April, almost 4 months after its
cinematic release. It was however released in
USA a day after and was released on Australia in
April 28, 2014. Both available online like or in
local stores (eg. Tesco)/DVD stores. The Hobbit
lego game has also been released which was also
released on April 8, 2014 in North America and
April 11 in other territories. It is set to be
released on the Xbox 360, Xbox One, Wii U, PS3,
PS4, 3DS, Vita, Mac and PC.

4. Could be the reason that DVD release became available in the UK a day
before it was released in USA due to its venue?

5. The Hobbit’s website provided a link which will
direct the audience to its merchandise; providing
books, figures, cellphone cases, collections etc.
The synergy between the hobbit and its
merchandise broadens the film’s audience
consumption.
The film also created convergence to widen its
audience/audience consumption by distributing
and exhibiting their film through official trailers
and even “Peter Jackson’s post-diary” which area
all available and can be accessed on their official
website.

6. Moreover, there are available games online for the
hobbit 2 such as ‘thehobbit.lego.com’ and
‘kabam.com’ which can also be accessed via
facebook, online or application.

7. The film’s soundtrack “I see Fire” was performed by
singer/songwriter Ed Sheeran and was played at the end
credits. The singer claimed that it is a song he wrote in less
than 24 hours after seeing an early cut of the film. It
entered the UK Singles Chart at number 13 and reached
number 1 in New Zealand on its sixth week, marking
Sheeran's first number-one single in the country.
In 2013, the soundtrack got nomination for HFCS (Houston
Film Critics Society Awards). An award
category Best Original Song for "I See Fire" from The
Hobbit: The Desolation of Smaug.
The convergence between the film and its soundtrack have
been committed by enabling the audience to consume the
track iTunes by WaterTower Music and Decca Records on 5
November 2013. Also, the soundtrack’s audio was already
available on youtube before the film was exhibited in
screens. It was later released in album format in The
Hobbit: The Desolation of Smaug on 10 December 2013.

8. Reviews
• "For me, it never sagged once in its mighty two
hour 40 minutes running time and the high-frame-
rate projection for this film somehow looks richer
and denser than it did the last time around." said
the Guardian. This tells me the impact of technology
development in the past recent years.
• "The new film currently has a rating of 79% on the
review aggregator site Rotten Tomatoes, a full 13-
point gain on predecessor An Unexpected Journey, if
hardly Oscars-bait territory. The Desolation of
Smaug arrives in cinemas worldwide on 13
December 2013." - The Guardian.

9. • "Director Peter Jackson performs the same kind of miracles with the
digital Smaug that he did with Gollum in the Lord of the Rings trilogy.
Immortally voiced by Andy Serkis, Gollum seduced and scared you in
equal doses. Ditto Smaug. As a digital creation, Smaug is a bloody
wonder of slithering fright. And Benedict Cumberbatch gives him a
voice to match. The scenes between Smaug and Bilbo imbue this
bloated 3D movie with a sense of character and purpose. As before,
there's a ton of padding. Orlando Bloom's Legolas shows up out of
nowhere, surely not out of J.R.R. Tolkien's slender novel. And the elf
warrior Tauriel (Evangeline Lilly) is pure invention. But, oh, that dragon.
I'd endure another slog through Middle-Earth just to spend more time
with Smaug." - The Rolling stones
• "The tale has no emotional resonance, and the thinness of the plot
(only five of the book’s chapters are adapted here) and the colorless
depictions of the leading characters do it no favors. (Bilbo just seems to
have come along for the ride.) The film is paced more swiftly than the
previous installment and offers some exciting set pieces (a breakout
from an elven prison is barrels of fun), but the adventure is heavily
padded." - The Newyorker critic

10. • "Now that CGI can conjure up anything, the challenge
to film-makers is to increase their inventiveness.
Jackson rises effortlessly to that." – Critic
In conclusion, this made me realize that although 'The
Hobbit 2' has been commercially successful worldwide
and amazingly distributed in high definition/3D (48
frames per second). The movie isn't as critically
successful as I thought it would be. This may be
because of the issues raised in the targeting of national
and British audiences. The Hobbit 2 did not represent
the British public to a certain extent.