Claim: The Hobbit series has three films.

The Hobbit : The Battle of the Five Armies is a 2014 epic high fantasy action film directed by Peter Jackson and written by Jackson , Fran Walsh , Philippa Boyens , and Guillermo del Toro . It is the third and final installment in Peter Jackson 's three-part film adaptation based on the novel The Hobbit by J. R. R. Tolkien , following An Unexpected Journey -LRB- 2012 -RRB- and The Desolation of Smaug -LRB- 2013 -RRB- , and together they act as a prequel to Jackson 's The Lord of the Rings film trilogy . It was produced by New Line Cinema , Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer and WingNut Films , and distributed by Warner Bros. . Pictures . The Battle of the Five Armies was released on 11 December 2014 in New Zealand , 12 December 2014 in the United Kingdom , and on 17 December 2014 in the United States . It stars Martin Freeman , Ian McKellen , Richard Armitage , Evangeline Lilly , Lee Pace , Luke Evans , Benedict Cumberbatch , Ken Stott , and James Nesbitt . It also features Cate Blanchett , Ian Holm , Christopher Lee , Hugo Weaving , and Orlando Bloom . The film received mixed reviews and grossed over $ 956 million worldwide , making it the second highest-grossing film of 2014 and the 38th highest-grossing film of all time . At the 87th Academy Awards , the film received a nomination for Best Sound Editing .