‘The Hobbit’ Opening Sets December Record

by Nate Wooley | December 17, 2012 9:24 am

[1]The Hobbit: An Unexpected Journey, the latest film set in Middle Earth, set records last weekend.

The Warner Bros. (NYSE:TWX[2]) movie took in $84.8 million this weekend, setting a record for a December opening, the Associated Press reports[3]. The Hobbit beat out previous record holders, I Am Legend and Avatar, both of which made $77 million in their opening weekends. The film also bested the last film from Middle Earth, The Return of the King, which opened with $72.6 million.

The Hobbit’s opening was so strong that it brought in most of the weekend’s movie revenue, according to Box Office Mojo[4]. The movie-tracking site reports that the top 42 movies available this weekend brought in a combined $136.5 million. That means The Hobbit earned 62% of all moviegoer dollars over the weekend.

The film, which received CinemaScore’s top rating of A[5] among moviegoers who were polled, also did well in foreign markets. With $138.2 million in ticket sales outside the U.S., the film’s three-day total comes in at $223 million.

The Hobbit: An Unexpected Journey, stars Martin Freeman as Bilbo Baggins. Two other films in the trilogy are to be released later. The Hobbit: The Desolation of Smaug in 2013 and The Hobbit: There and Back Again in 2014.

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Endnotes:

  1. [Image]: https://investorplace.com/wp-content/uploads/2012/11/hobbit-poster.jpg
  2. TWX: http://studio-5.financialcontent.com/investplace/quote?Symbol=TWX
  3. the Associated Press reports: http://hosted.ap.org/dynamic/stories/U/US_BOX_OFFICE?SITE=AP&SECTION=HOME&TEMPLATE=DEFAULT&CTIME=2012-12-16-17-34-21
  4. according to Box Office Mojo: http://www.boxofficemojo.com/weekend/chart/?view=main&yr=2012&wknd=50&p=.htm
  5. CinemaScore’s top rating of A: http://www.cinemascore.com/
  6. Angry Birds Movie Set to Hit Theaters in…: https://investorplace.com/2012/12/angry-birds-movie-set-to-hit-theaters-in/
  7. Forbes: 10 Most Overpaid Actors 2012: https://investorplace.com/2012/12/forbes-10-most-overpaid-actors-2012/
  8. Hobbit Film Blamed for Dozens of Animal Deaths: https://investorplace.com/2012/11/hobbit-film-blamed-for-dozens-of-animal-deaths/

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