Warner Bros. has yet to score a $300 million hit this year, and its remaining hope will be "The Hobbit: The Battle of Five Armies."

The studio has had a year filled with mixed results including hits like "Godzilla" and "The Lego Movie" and a number of flops including "300: Rise of An Empire," "Blended," "Tammy" and "Into the Storm."

Opening on Dec. 17, "The Hobbit: The Battle of Five Armies" will debut in the same time period as the past two installments. It will also open in the middle of a crowded holiday season on the same day as "Night at the Museum: Secret of the Tomb" and the musical remake "Annie." It will also be among other films including "Into the Woods," "The Hunger Games: Mockingjay Part 1," "Interstellar" and "Paddington."

This could provide complications for the film, which is being marketed as the defining chapter in the franchise.

Not only does Warner Bros. have to compete with all these films, but it must also create the same anticipation and buzz the first Hobbit, "An Unexpected Journey," had back in 2012. Last year "The Hobbit: The Desolation of Smaug" became the worst-grossing Middle Earth film ever.

The second installment made $258 million and became the only one of the films not to gross $300 million.

The reason for these disappointing results was due in part to "The Hobbit: An Unexpected Journey," which scored mixed reviews and divided audiences. Director Peter Jackson also gave the film a dark tone and a running time that was way too long. Fans were also upset that the director decided to split the book into three movies.

As a result, when "The Desolation of Smaug" came out many audiences had second thoughts on whether to watch it.

In comparison, when "The Lord of the Rings" came out 10 years ago, each installment grossed more than the previous one and was also helped by the awards buzz and the Best Picture nominations.

"The Hobbit" franchise has not been able to score a single Best Picture nomination and has not generated the awards buzz the previous trilogy did.

This year Warner Bros. could improve on "The Desolation of Smaug" because that movie scored better reviews and many critics said it was improvement over "An Unexpected Journey." It also ended with a cliffhanger that left audiences wanting more and expecting an action-packed sequel. This could be good news for the third installment "The Battle of the Five Armies" as audiences could have regained confidence in Peter Jackson's storytelling abilities.

Warner Bros. has slowly been building anticipation, releasing two trailers and different posters. With the strong marketing campaign, expect "The Battle of Five Armies" to open between $75 million and $85 million. Given the holiday season, it could also end up in the $300 million territory and possibly be the highest grossing film of "The Hobbit" series.

"The Hobbit: The Battle of Five Armies" tells the story of Bilbo and company who are forced into a war against an armed flock of combatants and preventing the terrifying dragon Smaug from acquiring a kingdom of treasure and incinerating all of Middle-Earth. The film stars Martin Freeman, Richard Armitage, Ian McKellan, Luke Evans, Lee Pace, Benedict Cumberbatch and Orlando Bloom.

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