The first day of December will be a glorious day for one of the biggest fandoms in the world. The Lord of the Rings movie trilogy and its prequel, The Hobbit trilogy, will arrive on a major streaming platform.

The Lord of the Rings films, The Fellowship of the Ring, The Two Towers, and The Return of the King, will all hit Max on December 1, with The Hobbit movies, An Unexpected Journey, The Desolation of Smaug, and The Battle of the Five Armies. Directed by Peter Jackson and based on the iconic J. R. R. Tolkien novel of the same name, The Lord of the Rings trilogy debuted its first entry in 2001. The movies are set on Middle-earth and follow the hobbit Frodo Baggins as he and the Company of the Ring embark on a quest to destroy the One Ring to defeat its maker, the Dark Lord Sauron. The film series’ ensemble cast includes Elijah Wood, Ian McKellen, Liv Tyler, Viggo Mortensen, Sean Astin, Cate Blanchett, Christopher Lee, Orlando Bloom, Hugo Weaving, Andy Serkis, and Sean Bean.

Following the conclusion of The Lord of the Rings series in 2003, Jackson returned to helm The Hobbit, which debuted An Unexpected Journey in 2012. The prequel trilogy is based on Tolkien’s 1937 The Hobbit novel and the appendices of The Lord of the Rings novel. The film series is set sixty years before the events of the preceding trilogy and follows Bilbo Baggins, who the wizard Gandalf the Grey convinces to accompany thirteen Dwarves, led by Thorin Oakenshield, on a quest to reclaim the Lonely Mountain from the dragon Smaug. The Hobbit trilogy’s cast includes Martin Freeman, Benedict Cumberbatch, Richard Armitage, Evangeline Lilly, Lee Pace, and Luke Evans. McKellen, Bloom, and Serkis reprise their roles from the original trilogy.

The Lord of the Rings and The Hobbit’s Legacies

The Lord of the Rings is considered one of the greatest and most influential film series in history. The three films in the series cost $281 million and made $2.9 billion at the worldwide box office, making it one of the highest-grossing franchises ever. The film series received thirty nominations at the Academy Awards, winning seventeen, including Best Picture for The Return of the King in 2021. The series reignited interest in Tolkien’s works and has since inspired numerous other adaptations in various media. The Lord of the Rings anime spinoff The War of the Rohirrim will debut this December.

The Hobbit film series, with a budget of $700 million, was also a runaway box office success like its predecessor but was not as warmly received by critics. The trilogy grossed just over $2.9 billion but garnered generally mixed reviews. The series, however, won several awards, though not as many as The Lord of the Rings.

The Lord of the Rings and The Hobbit movies will hit Max on December 1, 2024.