Lots of people were draggin’ themselves into theaters this week—and most were on fire to see a certain hobbit, his bearded companions and one very large, intimidating flying lizard.
The Hobbit: The Desolation of Smaug torched the box office for an estimated $73.7 million—more than three times what its nearest competitor earned. It was the fourth biggest December opening in the history of cinema and, if Thorin Oakenshield and company could keep all the proceeds, would allow the dwarves to skip the reclamation of Lonely Mountain altogether and buy a nice, warm island somewhere.
It’s hard to believe that Smaug’s handlers over at Warner Bros. might’ve been disappointed in that take, but it’s possible. Despite the massive payday, the flick earned about $11 million less than its predecessor (The Hobbit: An Unexpected Journey). And keep in mind that, just a few weeks earlier, The Hunger Games: Catching Fire earned $158.1 million its opening weekend—more than twice what Smaug managed to hoard. The newest Hobbit movie hardly proved to be a desolation for Warner … but it wasn’t quite as Shire-green as they might’ve hoped, either.
Disney’s Frozen couldn’t match Smaug’s fire, but it still collected lots of cold, hard cash this weekend. This princess-filled tale earned $22.2 million, bringing its total take to $164.4 mil.
Another new entrant, Tyler Perry’s A Madea Christmas, slid into third with $16 million—a little below average for Perry’s most recognizable character. Still, it snuck ahead of Catching Fire, which finished fourth with $13.2 million. Thor: The Dark World rounds out the Top Five with a less-than-Asgardian $2.7 million.
Final figures update: 1. The Hobbit: The Desolation of Smaug, $73.7 million; 2. Frozen, $22.6 million; 3. A Madea Christmas, $16 million; 4. The Hunger Games: Catching Fire, $13.7 million; 5. Thor: The Dark World, $2.8 million.
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