Box Office: 'The Hobbit' Keeps No. 1 Spot Over 'Anchorman 2'
Credit: New Line
Though it faced heavy competition at the box office this weekend, Peter Jackson's The Hobbit: The Desolation of Smaug retained the No. 1 spot over Anchorman 2: The Legend Continues.
Despite seeing a 57 percent decline in audience from its debut last week, The Desolation of Smaug brought in $31.5 million, bringing its domestic total to $127.5 million, and its worldwide gross to a staggering $403.8 million. So even though The Desolation of Smaug is trailing behind the numbers that The Hobbit: An Unexpected Journey pulled in during this same time period last year, it continues to be a smashing success, performing every bit as well as the first installment internationally.
As for the highest-ranking debut of the week, Anchorman 2 grossed $26.8 million for the weekend, while grossing $34.2 million over the five-day premiere period. The film is already well on its way to making back its $50 million budget, thanks to a particularly aggressive marketing campaign that has seen cast members such as Will Ferrell, Paul Rudd, David Koechner and Steve Carrell appearing everywhere from car commercials to local newscasts, and from Saturday Night Live to The Daily Show With Jon Stewart. Though the ad campaign wasn't enough for the film to unseat The Hobbit, it's been an unquestionably strong opening for the comedy sequel.
From here, things get interesting...
American Hustle, the awards contender from director David O. Russell, opened with $19.1 million...which tied it with Disney's Frozen for No. 3 earlier this weekend. Both Sony and Disney argued that their film had the slightly higher box office total, with Disney claiming $19.2 million. On Sunday, the race for third place was too close to call with any certainty, but the official numbers have since been released, and Disney turned out to be right. Frozen took third place with $19.2 million while American Hustle just missed out, settling on fourth place with $19.1 million.
But whether it's at third place or fourth, Sony president of worldwide distribution Rory Bruer is proud of American Hustle. "To start at $19 million the weekend before Christmas is incredible. American Hustle is one of those films where all the stars are aligned beautifully, and will be playing for months to come."
Saving Mr. Banks, starring Tom Hanks as Walt Disney and Emma Thompson as Mary Poppins author P.L. Travers, came in at No. 5 with $9.3 million, which is slightly below expectations for the awards contender, which was made on a budget of $35 million. However, strong word of mouth and stronger critical reviews are expected to help the film grow.
But the news wasn't good for every film opening this weekend, as the costly ($80 million), CGI-animated film Walking With Dinosaurs was a major disappointment. The film came in at No. 8 with $7.3 million, which was below the $10-$12 million expectations Fox had for the picture. It turns out families chose Frozen instead, as Disney's animated juggernaut continues to be a threat to all family films in its wake.
At No. 9 was an underdog story, as Dhoom 3 took in $3.3 million in North America to become the top U.S. opening of all time for a Bollywood film. This was certainly among the more interesting weeks at the box office in recent memory. You can check out the full top 10 below:
1. The Hobbit: The Desolation of Smaug ($31.5 million)
2. Anchorman 2: The Legend Continues ($26.8 million)
3. Frozen ($19.2 million)
4. American Hustle ($19.1 million)
5. Saving Mr. Banks ($9.3 million)
6. Hunger Games: Catching Fire ($8.8 million)
7. Tyler Perry's A Madea Christmas ($8.5 million)
8. Walking with Dinosaurs ($7.3 million)
9. Dhoom 3 ($3.3 million)
10. Thor: The Dark World ($1.3 million)
Via: The Hollywood Reporter / Box Office Mojo