Trailer: The Hobbit: An Unexpected Journey

The Lord of the Rings has been a huge fan favorite of Cosmo Voters, and the most honored film franchise in Cosmo history.

The Lord of the Rings: The Fellowship of the Ring tied with Moulin Rouge for the most nominations in 2001 -- but since two of Moulin Rouge's nominations were in negative categories, it received the most positive nominations of the year. The following year, The Lord of the Rings: The Two Towers set a record for the most nominations ever, with 21 nominations, and then the most awards with 9 winners. The final film in the series, The Lord of the Rings: The Return of the King, broke both of those records with 26 nominations and 12 awards. All told, the franchise has received 60 nominations and 27 awards. Even the Harry Potter films only collectively received 27 nominations and 4 awards, though several of its films were released during the period of Cosmo dormancy.

Now director Peter Jackson is returning to Middle Earth to film The Hobbit, the LotR prequel in which the hobbit Bilbo first discovers the One Ring that is the centerpiece of the subsequent trilogy. Though The Hobbit is a much shorter book, it's filled with a lot more action. In addition, much was happening in J.R.R. Tolkien's world concurrent with The Hobbit, revealed in appendices in other books. Jackson will show that concurrent action as well, turning that short novel into three more movies.

The first of those, The Hobbit: An Unexpected Journey, hits theaters in December (and yes, we already have tickets). Will Cosmo voters reward it as the other LotR films? We shall see.

In the meantime, check out the trailer!

The Cosmo Awards WILL return!

The Cosmique Movie Awards has had such an erratic history. An abrupt four year gap, followed by one returned year and then another gap.

Lest you're wondering whether they will ever return again, fear not. We will return in January to celebrate the best (and worst) films of 2012. So get to the theaters or get on Netflix to start catching up. And "Like" us on Facebook to follow news of the awards, including where and when and how to vote.