Budget: $260 millionGross Earnings: $1.01 billion The Peter Jackson-directed return to Middle Earth, which fans had been anticipating for nearly a decade, was always going to be an expensive affair. However, the dent it made in Warner Bros. pockets was even less expected than the journey poor Bilbo is pressured into embarking on. The final film in the original Lord of the Rings trilogy had cost $94 million just over a third of what An Unexpected Journey would cost. Even with inflation this cost is far less than the 2012 film: this comes as a surprise as (purely based on the literature) The Return of the King is on a far greater scale. An Unexpected Journey was ultimately an entertaining experience which failed to match the original trilogy. It lasted around 45-minutes too long and the narrative was meandering. Nevertheless the enormous budget ensured that the charm and beauty of Jacksons Middle Earth remained unspoiled and all the nasties which occupy it look as intimidating as ever. The frenzied anticipation surrounding the films release practically ensured that it was going to make money, regardless of the tedious amount of time we spent in Bilbos Hobbit Hole. The film made profit, breaking the £1-billion mark with change to spare just as well as Jackson had already started filming The Desolation of Smaug.