Desolation of Smaug' to air on TNT in 2016

TNT says it has secured the U.S. network television premiere window for the blockbuster, "The Hobbit: The Desolation of Smaug." The film has earned $127.5 million domestically and $403.8 million worldwide since it opened in theaters 10 days ago, the network said Monday. The second installment in director Peter Jackson's trilogy of films based on J.R.R. Tolkien's novel "The Hobbit" will have its network television debut on TNT in 2016. The first film in the series, "The Hobbit: An Unexpected Journey," will premiere on the network in 2015. TNT has previously aired Jackson's three "Lord of the Rings" films, which were also based on works by Tolkien. "The Hobbit" trilogy is being distributed domestically by Warner Bros. Pictures. "TNT has been the primary television home to Tolkien's Middle Earth for nearly a decade, beginning with our network television premieres of 'The Lord of the Rings' trilogy," Michael Wright, president and head of programming for TNT, TBS and Turner Classic Movies, said in a statement. "We're proud to continue our association with these extraordinary and enormously popular epics with the acquisition of 'The Hobbit: The Desolation of Smaug.'"