It seems the public are not ready to let go of 'The Hobbit' just yet as it continues to triumph at the box office, topping sales yet again for a third week. Meanwhile, Martin Freeman laments leaving his adopted home of New Zealand.

Martin Freeman in 'The Hobbit: The Battle of the Five Armies'
Martin Freeman felt right at home during 'The Hobbit' filming

Peter Jackson's Middle-Earth franchise finally came to an end with the release of third 'Hobbit' movie 'The Battle of the Five Armies'. Three weeks on, and it still reins at the top of the box office with initial sales of $21.9 million in the first weekend, and while it may not be quite the end for fans still enjoying the spectacular conclusion, the cast and crew made their bittersweet farewells some time ago; farewell to each other, farewell to their magnificent film sets and farewell to the stunningly sprawling landscape of New Zealand and its 'friendly' inhabitants.

More: Read our review of 'The Hobbit: The Battle of the Five Armies'

'It's a very, very friendly, familial place to work', says Freeman. 'It's Pete's home ground so he's very at home there. We loved it. Everyone who was not a kiwi loved working there, they made us feel very welcome [and] gave us a home away from home.' It's no wonder that Freeman, who was born in Hampshire, UK and now lives in Hertfordshire, felt so at home there, being used to abundant countryside himself. And while in recent years his acting work has taken him to the States and elsewhere, it seems the Pacific island has truly stolen his heart above all others.

More: Martin Freeman does 'The Office: Middle Earth' on SNL

'I'll always feel a kinship to New Zealand now because I spent so much time there and we were looked after so well', he confesses. 'I'll always be very fond of New Zealand.'

More: Watch the trailer for 'The Hobbit: The Battle of the Five Armies'

Freeman's next movie project will be BBC Two war drama 'The Eichmann Show', which focuses on the trial of holocaust perpetrator Adolf Eichmann. On a similar note, he will also be starring alongside Margot Robbie and Tina Fey in war comedy 'The Taliban Shuffle'.