Peter Jackson says he has toned down the higher frame rate version of Hobbit sequel The Desolation of Smaug following complaints from audiences and critics about the sharp look of its predecessor.

Last year's debut instalment in the New Zealand film-maker's latest JRR Tolkien fantasy trilogy, An Unexpected Journey, was one of the first major cinema releases to be screened at 48 frames per second (fps). But many complained that the super high-definition look of the film was far from easy on the eye.

Jackson remains convinced that the higher frame rate, with its ability to eliminate the screen-blur effect seen at the standard 24fps during fast-paced action sequences, represents a significant step forward. But he said he had taken steps to ensure the sequel's look more closely resembled traditional film.

"Forty-eight frames per second is a way, way better way to look at 3D," Jackson told Variety. "It's so much more comfortable on the eyes." He said the screen blur, or strobing effect of lower rate film "certainly is one of the contributing factors to eyestrain and people having an uncomfortable experience in 3D".

Jackson said he took time out to try and gauge exactly why some audiences did not like the look of higher frame rate in the wake of An Unexpected Journey's release, and came to the conclusion that the film's image was sharper than viewers were used to in cinemas. "So what I did is work that in reverse," he said. "When I did the colour timing this year, the colour grading, I spent a lot of time experimenting with ways we could soften the image and make it look a bit more filmic. Not more like 35mm film necessarily, but just to take the HD quality away from it, which I think I did reasonably successfully. The film speed and the look of the picture are [now] almost, kind of, two different things."

While The Desolation of Smaug was screened for critics at 24fps in many territories, those who did see it at the higher frame rate have often remarked that the sequel has a much improved look. In fact, the movie as a whole has been picking up markedly better reviews than its predecessor did. The new film is consequently predicted to carry all before it at the global box office once again, with some suggesting it may even outpace An Unexpected Journey's gargantuan $1.017bn (£600m) haul.

Some of that cash could be heading Harvey Weinstein's way after the producer signalled the latest round in an continuing battle over profits from the new trilogy by issuing a $75m lawsuit against studio Warner Bros. Weinstein and his brother Bob have long argued that they are owed profits from all three Hobbit films through their production and distribution firm The Weinstein Company due to previous ownership of the rights to Tolkien's Lord of the Rings fantasy epic under the auspices of previous firm Miramax.

Warner insists that the Weinsteins are only owed profits on the first film in the triptych, An Unexpected Journey. The studio recently tried to take the matter to arbitration, but the Weinstein Company appears to have nipped that proposition in the bud with its legal filing in New York superior court late on Tuesday night.

Warner Bros, which oversee The Hobbit films through its New Line offshoot, said in a statement: "This is about one of the great blunders in movie history. Fifteen years ago, Miramax, run by the Weinstein brothers, sold its rights in The Hobbit to New Line. No amount of trying to rewrite history can change that fact. They agreed to be paid only on the first motion picture based on The Hobbit. And that's all they're owed."

In other Hobbity news, screenwriter Philippa Boyens has confirmed that the final instalment in the trilogy, next year's There and Back Again, will not attempt to fill in the 60-year gap between Tolkien's 1937 tome and its famous sequel The Lord of the Rings. Such a move had been widely predicted during the film saga's lengthy production process, during which it expanded from one movie to an eventual three.

"The film ends when the book ends, it does absolutely," the screenwriter told Yahoo Movies. Boyens, who has worked on all six of Jackson's films based on Tolkien's tales of Middle Earth, added: "Coming home … with his silver spoons. It does end there. It's quite poignant, it is there … and back again. It's not a bridge, it doesn't span the 60 years between the two. I think someone else will have to make that movie, but it'll be a good film to make!"