"The Hobbit" finale to hit Chinese cinemas

Oscar-winning director Peter Jackson and actor Richard Armitage were in Beijing on Monday to promote "The Hobbit: The Battle of the Five Armies", the finale of the fantasy epic which will hit Chinese cinemas on Friday.

At the premiere on Monday afternoon, Jackson said "Beijing Nihao" (Hello, Beijing) to Chinese fans and said he was touched that his Chinese fans referred to him as "Peter the Great".

Armitage also greeted the audience in Chinese and Philippa Boyens, the script co-writer, asked fans: "Have you had your meal?", an old-fashioned but characteristic Chinese greeting.

On the popular Chinese microblogging site, Sina Weibo, Jackson said he had "been hoping to come to China" for the premier and posted a selfie featuring him with Armitage at the Temple of Heaven in Beijing.

The film is the third and final chapter of the Hobbit trilogy. The previous two chapters took in 315.6 million yuan (50.7 million U.S. dollars) and 463 million yuan on the Chinese mainland respectively. Enditem