Fans of Middle Earth turned out in droves for the final installment of “The Hobbit” series, “The Hobbit: The Battle of the Five Armies.” The film, which has received mixed reviews overall by critics, was extremely well-received by fans, so much so that you can bet that somehow, we’ll all be seeing another Middle Earth-set film soon.

The Hollywood Reporter states that the film, starring a huge cast including Martin Freeman as Bilbo Baggins (the hobbit at the center of the tale), received a whopping near $573.6 million worldwide, including the $41.1 million the film made domestically over the three-day holiday weekend. Overall, the film has made $168.5 million domestic, while making $405.1 million overseas.

As you can see, that kind of bank makes it impossible to think that New Line Cinema and MGM are through milking J.R.R. Tolkien’s magical world for all its worth. People have speculated that the next films that could be made could be films about Tolkien’s continuation of the lore of Middle Earth, “The Silmarillion.” There’s been nothing to those rumors yet, but just keep the idea in mind.

What did you think of “The Hobbit: The Battle of the Five Armies”? If there will be another Middle Earth film, what story do you want to see get the big screen treatment? Give your opinions in the comments section below!