What is The Hobbit: The Desolation of Smaug's IQ Score?

The Hobbit: The Desolation of Smaug has an IQ Score of 113/200 on TV Intelligentsia's Intelligence Quotient framework, placing it in the Competent tier. The score breaks down to 26/50 Cognitive Stimulation, 25/50 Educational Value, and 36/50 Craft & Quality.

Is The Hobbit: The Desolation of Smaug educational?

The Hobbit: The Desolation of Smaug is moderate on educational value, 25/50 on TVI's rubric. Some learning happens, but it isn't the show's primary work.

How does TV Intelligentsia calculate IQ Score?

TV Intelligentsia's IQ Score is calculated as round((Cognitive Stimulation × 0.4 + Educational Value × 0.35 + Craft & Quality × 0.25) × 4), scoring titles from 0 to 200 across five tiers: Masterclass (≥160), Stimulating (≥130), Competent (≥100), Passive (≥70), and Numbing (<70). The framework is published at tvintelligentsia.com/methodology/.

The Hobbit: The Desolation of Smaug , IQ Score 113/200

The Hobbit: The Desolation of Smaug has an IQ Score of 113/200 on TV Intelligentsia's Intelligence Quotient rubric, placing it in the Competent tier.

By Jordan Robinson, MD, MPH·Updated 2026-07-18·Methodology

fantasyadventureaction

113/ 200

Competent

Engages without demanding much, watchable and reasonably crafted

Score Breakdown

Cognitive Stimulation/50

Educational Value/50

Craft & Quality/50

IQ = round((Cognitive × 0.4 + Educational × 0.35 + Craft × 0.25) × 4) · How we score →

What these dimensions mean

Cognitive Stimulation: how much the title demands of your mind, its structural complexity, ideas, and sustained intellectual engagement.
Educational Value: what you take away, across academic content, emotional intelligence, critical thinking, life skills, and knowledge transfer.
Craft & Quality: production excellence in service of the work, its direction, writing, performance, and aesthetic intent.

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Why you should trust this score

Scored under Jordan Robinson, MD, MPH

Physician and founding editor. Maintains the adult catalog against the published rubric and reviews the rubric application.

Methodology

Published rubric, v1.3

Formula

round(C × 0.40 + E × 0.35 + Q × 0.25) × 4

Database scale

2,536 titles, version-controlled

How we stay independent. We accept no studio money. We pay for our own streaming subscriptions. Our reviewers see no sponsor data, no affiliate revenue, and no screener access in exchange for coverage. More about how we work →

The TVI Take

Peter Jackson's middle Hobbit chapter peaks with Smaug: Cumberbatch's motion-captured dragon and the molten-gold chase through Erebor are Weta at full power. But Jackson pads a slim book with invented material, Tauriel, the barrel-run set-piece, a love triangle, and the result is a handsomely built film carrying more spectacle than story.

Competent, not the register of the Rings trilogy.

Where to Watch

We don't have live streaming data for this title yet. Find where to watch on JustWatch →

Streaming availability data via JustWatch + TMDB.

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