Early box office numbers from the Christmas Day holiday show that The Hobbit: The Desolation of Smaug held on to keep the top spot, while Martin Scorsese's The Wolf of Wall Street came in a very close second. However, it earned a tepid response from audiences, so it might not be on track for a strong weekend.
Smaug, the second of Peter Jackson’s three Hobbit moves, beat Anchorman 2: The Legend Continues over the weekend, grossing $31.5 million. According to Deadline, it’s estimated that the film just barely held on to beat another newcomer with between $9.2 million and $9.3 million.
Meanwhile, Wolf brought in $9.1 million. Although the film has been widely acclaimed by critics, audiences didn’t seem to care for the film’s over-the-top debauchery, giving it a C CinemaScore grade. The film’s main challenge will be this weekend, as the three-hour film tries to stay near the top.
Anchorman 2 made an estimated $8 million, while Ben Stiller’s The Secret Life of Walter Mitty did surprisingly well, notes TheWrap The film, also directed by Stiller and released by Fox, grossed $7.8 million and earned a B CinemaScore grade. It will be interesting to see how it does over the weekend, especially since the film is only rated PG and could draw families.
American Hustle brought in $7.4 million, while the new 47 Ronin grossed $7 million. The good news for the Keanu Reeves movie is that audiences gave it a B . The bad news is that it cost $170 million to make and isn’t likely to turn a profit.
As for Justin Bieber’s Believe, that only started off with $1.25 million.
image: trailer screenshot