As expected, The Hobbit: An Unexpected Journey soared to the top spot, but its' debut, while still undoubtedly huge, was somewhat below what analysts were expecting. Peter Jackson's return to middle-earth earned $84.6 million, for a per-theater average of an awesome $20,919 from around 12,400 screens at 4,045 theaters. That easily snags the December opening weekend record, as Hobbit came out ahead of I Am Legend's $77.2 million debut from 2007. Unadjusted for inflation, Hobbit also came out ahead of the three Lord of the Rings movies three-day weekends (though it will likely fall behind Return of the King's five-day start). Despite mixed-to-positive critical reception, audiences loved the pic, giving it an "A" CinemaScore, which does signal good legs. However, the movie did drop 25% from Friday-Saturday, indicating signs of front-loadedness. But that was partially due to families staying put due to the tragic Connecticut school shooting, plus, movies usually have a hard time breaking out during December. With three weeks of school breaks coming up for kids (some from this week through New Year's, others from next week through January 6), Hobbit may not be able to see the strong legs of its' predecessor trilogy, but it should be able to see strong weekday grosses, which should be enough to make it close above $300 million domestic. The first in the planned trilogy had the years' sixth-biggest opening weekend, and was produced for a reported $250-$270 million by distributor Warner Bros./MGM. They were expecting a debut of around $90 million.
Hobbit is also off to a huge start overseas, with nearly $140 million from most territories, and bringing its' early worldwide total to near $225 million. With school holidays coming up and other major countries still yet to open, Hobbit does stand a chance at being this year's fourth (record) movie to pass $1 billion worldwide.
There were other movies playing too, despite Hobbit being front-and-center. Considering the intense competition, all holdovers held well. Leading them was DreamWorks Animation's Rise of the Guardians, which continued to show strength. The animated film was down 31% to $7.1 million, for an underwhelming $71.1 million gross in 26 days. DreamWorks' latest might get past $100 million, if it isn't pummeled by Disney's re-release of Monsters, Inc., which arrives on Wednesday. After scoring big at the Golden Globe nominations this past week, Steven Spielberg's Lincoln eased just 21% from last weekend, earning $7 million, and has earned a huge $107.7 million in six weeks of release. On Thursday, it became the 25th movie of 2012 to cross $100 million stateside. (Hobbit will be 26th, and is expected to reach that milestone as early as Tuesday).
After being on top last weekend, Skyfall dropped to fourth place, but was still able to continue holding on strong. The James Bond blockbuster was down 39% to $6.6 million, for a $271.9 million gross in six weeks. With this hold, the movie should play right on through New Year's, and the $300 million milestone is now within reach, as is the $1 billion mark worldwide. Life of Pi miraculously has held onto the fifth spot for four-straight weeks, and dipped 35% to $5.4 million, for a $69.6 million gross in 26 days. Ang Lee's critically-acclaimed drama should stabilize over the next two weekends, allowing it to possibly reach $100 million (if it gets notable Oscar nominations).
Starting to fall fast, The Twilight Saga: Breaking Dawn - Part II fell to sixth place, but is starting to level off. The finale of the vampire romance thrillers was down 44% to $5.1 million, for a $276.8 million gross in one month of release. It will be out of the Top 10 next week due to a lot of competition, but it does continue to outpace its' predecessors, and it could very well wind up with $300 million by the time New Year's has passed. Holding onto the seventh spot in its' seventh weekend, Disney's Wreck-it Ralph continued to show signs of strong word-of-mouth, easing a light 34% to $3.2 million, for a $168.7 million gross in 49 days. The movie will be dropped by many theaters on Wednesday as Disney's Monsters Inc. 3D will start off a brigade of new movies launching between then and Christmas Day.
After having a lackluster start last weekend, Playing for Keeps declined 45% to $3.1 million, for a pathetic $10.7 million gross in 10 days. The Gerard Butler comedy will be lucky to get past $15 million before its' all said and done. Red Dawn continued to show surprising sustainability, down 43% to $2.4 million, for a solid $40.9 million gross in 26 days. Jumping back into the Top 10 due to its' Golden Globes attention, The Silver Linings Playbook saw a miniscule 3% dip to $2.1 million, for a $17 million gross since its' limited debut one month ago.
We all know that The Hobbit: An Unexpected Journey topped the box office overseas with $138.2 million from most overseas markets, for a $223 million early worldwide gross. Rise of the Guardians was in a distant second with another $20.1 million from about 80% of the international marketplace, bringing its' overseas tally to around $120 million and its' worldwide tally approaching $200 million. Skyfall added $12.2 million from just about every territory, for an unbelievable overseas tally of $680 million, and will go past $700 million before its' all said and done (its' the third-biggest non-3D movie ever worldwide behind Titanic and Return of the King). Life of Pi and The Twilight Saga: Breaking Dawn - Part II rounded out the Top 5 with $11.4 million and $11.2 million, respectively. Pi has already earned nearly $130 million from just Asian markets, and will roll out to most markets next week. Twilight - Breaking Dawn Part II passed $500 million overseas, becoming the first movie in the franchise to do that, and is headed for over $800 million worldwide.
With so many movies releasing over Christmas, I will be posting an extended version of the Weekend Predictions post tomorrow evening, covering the eight movies releasing during that timespan...
