It isn’t entirely unusual to see a the price tag for a blockbuster tentpole films to have an eight or even nine-figure budget. But when the franchise is as large as The Hobbit trilogy, you’ll probably be doing more than just burning a hole in your wallet. Trying to figure out the cost of said films wouldn’t be easy, considering you have to pay the talent, the production crew, the cameramen, the visual effects artists, the writers, the director, cinematographers, and then there is hauling the equipment, traveling, reshoots, and much more. But when you have a successful franchise like The Hobbit, you generally would have even more money to work with to make a sequel more exciting.

We are now learning how much you would need to produce a film of that magnitude, and it is a pretty big number. It has cost WB approximately $745 million to make The Hobbit: An Unexpected Journey and The Hobbit: The Desolation of Smaug. And since the film is a trilogy we can expect that number to only skyrocket. But it is okay considering that the two Hobbit films combined grossed nearly $2 billion worldwide. Hit the jump for more info.

We say approximately because it isn’t easy to calculate the exact numbers to the penny. In addition, the budgets for all three films aren’t readily available. Normally you would be able to see them on sites like IMDB or Box Office Mojo. That being said, the AP has figured out that it has costs of producing The Hobbit films by researching various financial documents filed this month in New Zealand.

Now seeing as the film was suddenly turned into a trilogy, the numbers do not include the final eight months of production for The Battle of Five Armies. So when those numbers are added, we can expect to see the production cost rise $800 million or more.

Looking at the cost it took to produce only two films would shock almost anyone, but that’s okay considering An Unexpected Journey grossed $1 billion at the box office. The Desolation of Smaug grossed $958.3 million, slightly lower than its predecessor, but more than enough to have both films gross nearly $2 billion dollars. They broke even, and added some interest.

And while the figures don’t include The Battle Of Five Armies, I think the conclusion of the epic trilogy should help the film gross nearly $3 billion. Let’s not forget the fact that there is also merchandise being sold. Also the fact that there are more options to see the film in a traditional format, 3D, 48fps, and IMAX 3D, helped with The Hobbit franchise’s box office success.

The Hobbit: The Battle of Five Armies opens in theaters on December 17, 2014.

So what do you think about the large budget?

[Source: AP]