'Hobbit' may bring a Hollywood ending to 2012 box office

LOS ANGELES: It took more than a decade, two directors and a lawsuit before "The Hobbit" made it to the big screen.

Hollywood executives are crossing their fingers that the culmination of that journey will help smash movie box office records this year.

The film, which opens on December 14, is expected to contribute to the first annual box office increase in North America in three years, a sign that big movie studios have made more films enticing enough to get people into theaters and away from their TVs, games and the Internet.

Copyright Reuters, 2012