The Hobbit: There And Back Again Headlines 2014 Sequels; Peter Jackson’s Trilogy Heightens NZ Tourism

"The Hobbit: There and Back Again" headlines the 2014 summer of sequels where Peter Jackson's trilogy will compete with "Amazing Spider-Man 2" and "X-Men: Days of Future Past" to be on top of blockbuster heap.

According to Breathecast.com, pitting sequels has some very good precedent as the top 5 movies last year were all sequels. There are two other sequels that fans are anticipating, these are: "Captain America: The Winter Storm" and "Hunger Games: Mockingjay Part 1."

The blockbuster movies that wowed audience in 2013 were paced by "Iron Man 3," "Despicable Me 2," "The Hunger Games: Catching Fire," "Fast & Furious 6" and "Monsters University."

The first instalment, "The Hobbit: An Unexpected Journey" grossed more than a billion worldwide after hitting cinemas on December 14, 2012, according to the-numbers.com. "The Hobbit: Desolation of Smaug," meanwhile, earned nearly $850 million in the worldwide box office.

"The Hobbit" series and the "Lord of the Rings" trilogy are not only making studio and distributor execs happy with the way they are killing the box-office numbers. The films are also responsible for boosting the New Zealand tourism industry, said The Motley Fool site.

Gregg Anderson, general manager-North America & Europe, Tourism New Zealand, said they recorded an increase in visitor arrivals to NZ since the release of the first Hobbit movie.

"From January to November 2013 vacation arrival numbers from the U.S. into New Zealand are up 21.4% on the same period the previous year," he said.

In terms of arrivals, the U.S. only trails Australia and Germany as the top tourists in NZ, which has been billed by travel agents as "the real Middle-Earth." Americans also spend about $467 million (USD) in New Zealand each year, The Motley Fool added.

The website added that promoting the location shoots of "The Hobbit" series and "LOTR" trilogy has done well for NZ tourism, particularly since filming locations are evenly spread out from the southern part of the island to the northern portion, which means, "tourists are spreading their time and money among lots of different spots - and getting to see what else the country has to offer as they go."