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"Details have been unveiled for the DVD and Blu-ray release of The Hobbit: An Unexpected Journey. The first chapter in Peter Jackson&amp;#039;s new Middle-earth trilogy will be available in the UK on DVD, Blu-ray, 3D Blu-ray and Digital Download on April 8. It is available to pre-order from Friday (February 8). In the US, the film comes out on Digital Download from March 12, and will then be released on DVD and Blu-ray on March 19.   Each copy of the DVD or Blu-ray will come with a code allowing fans to view an exclusive first look at upcoming sequel The Hobbit: The Desolation of Smaug, hosted live by Peter Jackson on March 24.  The Hobbit: An Unexpected Journey is expected to cross the $1 billion mark at the worldwide box office by March. It was announced last year that The Hobbit will be split into three films, rather than two as was originally planned, and the next two films will be released in December 2013 and 2014.  This is reportedly to allow Jackson and his co-writers Fran Walsh and Philippa Boyens to make use of material from Tolkien&amp;#039;s appendices in The Return of the King, which flesh out several aspects of The Hobbit&amp;#039;s story.  It has been confirmed that an extended edition of The Hobbit: An Unexpected Journey will be released later in the year, following the model established by the Lord of the Rings trilogy.  &amp;gt; Peter Jackson on &amp;#039;The Hobbit&amp;#039; and &amp;#039;Lord of the Rings&amp;#039; - video &amp;gt; Ian McKellen on returning ot Middle-earth in &amp;#039;The Hobbit&amp;#039; - video &amp;gt; Andy Serkis on Gollum return in &amp;#039;The Hobbit&amp;#039; - video The second film in the trilogy, The Hobbit: The Desolation of Smaug, is released in cinemas on December 13. Watch Martin Freeman discussing The Hobbit: An Unexpected Journey with Digital Spy below:  "^^<http://www.w3.org/2001/XMLSchema#string>
<http://www.digitalspy.com/movies/the-hobbit/news/a456722/the-hobbit-dvd-and-blu-ray-details-revealed/>