CinemaNerdz

Box Office Weekend: An Unexpected Journey Makes Big, but Lower than Expected Debut

Seth Paul
Box Office

The Hobbit: An Unexpected JourneyThe Hobbit: An Unexpected Journey, Peter Jackson’s prequel to his epic The Lord of the Rings series, was expected to make a big start, and even if there had been any new competition it was not likely to cause much damage against its big take: an estimated $84.8 million, larger than the opening weekends of any of the Lord of the Rings films and the biggest December opening on record. However, An Unexpected Journey has had its fair share of criticism, ranging from its length (with two more sequels on the way) to its somewhat controversial 48 frame per second 3D version (a process which makes motion appear smoother than traditional 24 frame per second film), and that the more expensive 3D ticket sales show the attendance has dropped significantly between the last film and the prequel. Still, even those controversies have not been enough to keep the film from doing big business here and worldwide, with $223 million in worldwide ticket sales in its opening weekend.

Rise of the Guardians saw a drop in revenue but a rise in stature as it moved up to second with an estimated $7.4 million (a distant second, but second nevertheless). While currently struggling by domestic release standards, it has covered the spread quite well in worldwide take, as has Life of Pi, which finished fifth with an estimated $5.4 million. While both films have failed to find gold on U.S. shores despite being released the same week, they sandwich two films (released concurrently on a different week) that have seen much greater success. Lincoln held strong onto third with an estimated $7.2 million and Skyfall did the same in fourth, an estimated $7 million. For six weeks, both films have held up very well, what with Lincoln breaking $100 million in domestic gross and Skyfall being the highest-grossing Bond film in the franchise’s fifty year history.

The Twilight Saga: Breaking Dawn Part 2 made an estimated $5.2 million; while the film is not likely to push past the other films in the series to earn the top domestic earner, it has become the top grossing film of the series worldwide. Wreck-It Ralph’s estimated $3.3 million finally made it see domestic profit over its budget, though at seven weeks to do it makes it at least a mild disappointment for Disney. In any case, it runs rings around Playing for Keeps and Red Dawn, with earned an estimated $3.2 million and $2.4 million respectively. Both films have proven to be box office bombs (at least, until they receive any sort of foreign release), both falling a remarkably similar $25 million short of recovering their respective budgets.

Finally, Silver Linings Playbook made a return to the top ten after a brief appearance two weeks ago, earning an estimated $2.1 million. While no major success story, the Weinstein company-backed independent is comparatively more at home with Rise of the Guardians and Life of Pi, having crossed the profitability line with some minor foreign box office receipts.

Weekend Box-Office (December 14th – December 16th)

  1. The Hobbit: An Unexpected Journey…$84.8 million
  2. Rise of the Guardians…$7.4 million
  3. Lincoln…$7.2 million
  4. Skyfall…$7 million
  5. Life of Pi…$5.4 million
  6. The Twilight Saga: Breaking Dawn Part 2…$5.2 million
  7. Wreck-It Ralph…$3.3 million
  8. Playing for Keeps…$3.2 million
  9. Red Dawn…$2.4 million
  10. Silver Linings Playbook…$2.1 million

Seth Paul

When not failing to write novels and screenplays, box-office guru Seth writes humorous comedy tracks for films under the name "The One Man Band" that can be found at Rifftrax.com. Although, he has recently succeeded in writing the novella "Jack Alan and the Case of the Not-Exactly Rocket Scientists," available as an eBook on Amazon. He is also the English voice of Zak in "Zak McKracken: Between Time and Space."
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