Like I said, it's because they split a 250 page book into three movies almost three hours long; basically the Hobbit is a cash grab that needs to justify the nine hour running time. With LOTR that was a product of artistic ambition, with the source material being longer and tonally different: it could be an epic trilogy. You really can't make an epic trilogy out a children's book, even though they are in the same fictional universe. I actually than Jackson for helping me appreciate JRR Tolkien, creative differences aside; but unfortunately he is trying to relive his glory days.