LOS ANGELES: Elves, dwarves and hobbits of The Hobbit: The Desolation of Smaug proved too much for the much-publicised sequel Anchorman 2: The Legend Continues, as the hit fantasy film topped movie charts in the United States and Canada for a second straight week, earning $31.5 million over the weekend.
Kicking off Hollywood’s year-end push of high-profile movie releases, the Anchorman crew led by Will Ferrell was unable to dethrone last week’s winner and took in $26.8 million for the no. 2 spot, according to sales estimates from Rentrak.
Box office forecasters predicted Anchorman 2 would bring in $35 million to $40 million from Friday through Sunday. The movie cost $50 million to make.
“Forty million over five days is a sensational start,” said Don Harris, president of domestic theatrical distribution for Paramount Pictures, the Viacom Inc unit that released the film, adding that was in line with studio expectations.
The performance of Anchorman and other holiday releases will decide if Hollywood reaches a ticket sales record this year. Through Sunday, total grosses for 2013 have risen 0.8 per cent from a year earlier to nearly $10.37 billion, according to Rentrak. The record for total box office sales was $10.77 billion, set in 2012.
On Christmas Day on Wednesday, studios released five films, including Leonardo DiCaprio drama The Wolf of Wall Street and Ben Stiller comedy The Secret Life of Walter Mitty.
This weekend, the 3D Hobbit sequel brought its worldwide total to $404 million, distributor Warner Bros said. The second installment follows hobbit Bilbo Baggins and a band of dwarves on a quest that leads to a clash with dragon Smaug.
The no. 9 spot was grabbed by a surprisingly strong start from Indian film Dhoom 3, which opened in only 236 locations and took in $3.3 million to become the biggest US opening of a Bollywood film to date.
Published in The Express Tribune, December 26th, 2013.
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