They joined thousands nationwide - in Wellington, Auckland, Christchurch, Hamilton and Matamata, where the Hobbiton sets have been built - who lent their weight to retaining the project as Warner Brothers executives were set to meet Prime Minister John Key.
Mr Key said yesterday he thought it was "a 50-50 call" as to whether the films would be shot in New Zealand.
"I'd love to tell you that it's a done deal, but we're a long way away from being a done deal.
"There's a number of issues that we'd need to resolve. At the end of the day, they've got a lot of goodwill towards New Zealand.
"They've made a lot of movies here and they've been successful.
"They like New Zealand, and clearly Peter Jackson wants to work out of New Zealand, but in the end this is the better part of $US0.5 billion-$US0.75 billion that Warner Brothers need to invest and they've got to be sure they can hit deadlines, they've got to be sure that they can make the movies, and it's got to be cost-competitive."
In Queenstown, the supporters' group said the production was crucial to keeping the film industry viable in a global market.
Brodie Stephens, an editor on The Lord of the Rings trilogy, said labour unions New Zealand Actors Equity and Australian Media Entertainment and Arts Alliance had used counterproductive tactics.
He disagreed with the way unions had tried to collectively achieve pay parity with their US counterparts.
"They [the studios] wouldn't make films here if actors were being paid the same as the US.
"It's a crying shame ... the only reason we have blockbuster movies in New Zealand is because we don't have union problems like they have in the States.
"Look at the Australian movie industry. When was the last time you saw a major movie out of there?" he said.
A. J. Hackett Bungy co-founder Henry van Asch cited The Lord of the Rings as a huge boon for tourism.
"From a tourist perspective, the effect of The Lord of the Rings was fantastic.
"We just want to do whatever we can to ensure that The Hobbit is filmed in New Zealand - it's the only country in the world for it."
Michelle Freeman, owner of Queenstown's Vudu cafes, said major movie productions were good for everyone.
"It's good for the whole economy. It's good for everyone, for hospitality and tourism and me as a cafe owner.
"Everyone's spending money," she said.
Mr Key yesterday said he had had discussions with one senior executive and the tone of discussions had been respectful.
He told media that topics for discussion would be the certainty of industrial relations legislation in general, the confidence that Warner Brothers had in the Government, and possibly other economic issues.
Mr Key said the Government believed in the rights of workers and if they wanted to be unionised they were more than welcome.
"But there's no question that the actions of the union and the actions of certain individuals have meant that the goodwill and confidence that Warner Brothers had in New Zealand as a place to make movies has evaporated, and the question is whether we can get that confidence back."
About a thousand supporters attended the Wellington rally, in Civic Square, some holding signs such as "We support Peter" , "Hey Warner we're all bros here" and "We love hobbits".
Weta workshop managing director Sir Richard Taylor said the rallies aimed to send a message that New Zealand was the "greatest place in the world" to make movies, including The Hobbit.
Sir Richard read out a letter from Sir Peter Jackson, in which he thanked people for their support, saying it had been "incredibly heartening" to read their messages.
"This is where Middle Earth was born and this is where it should stay," he said.
