The Hobbit still rules them all!
On the first weekend of the new year, audiences went there and back again to put THE HOBBIT: THE BATTLE OF THE FIVE ARMIES at the top of the box office for a third week with an estimated $21.9 million!
The final chapter of Tolkien's Middle Earth tale is now up to a $220.7 million domestic total, outpacing THE DESOLATION OF SMAUG at this point in release. The worldwide total for THE BATTLE OF THE FIVE ARMIES is now up to $722 million.
In second place was the fairy tale musical INTO THE WOODS with $19 million, down 38% from its opening last week as it creeps up on $100 million since its Christmas Day release. Standing strong in third was director Angelina Jolie's inspirational war drama UNBROKEN with $18.3 million, a 40% drop from its first weekend.
Opening in fourth place was the weekend's only new offering, the PG-13 supernatural sequel THE WOMAN IN BLACK 2: ANGEL OF DEATH, with $15.1 million. Hammer Films' follow-up to their Daniel Radcliffe frightener, which opened with $20.8 million back in 2012, didn't seem to deliver satisfying chills to critics (24% on Rotten Tomatoes) or crowds ('C' CinemaScore).
In fifth was Ben Stiller's NIGHT AT THE MUSEUM: SECRET OF THE TOMB with $14.4 million as it still struggles to reach $100 million domestic, followed by the update of the classic musical ANNIE in sixth with another $11.4 million.
Award contender THE IMITATION GAME moved up a spot to seventh with $8.1 million, calculating a $30.8 million total on 750 screens. The Benedict Cumberbatch-starring biopic of mathematician Alan Turing had the highest per-screen average in the Top 10, and was also the only release on the chart to improve over last weekend's take.
THE HUNGER GAMES: MOCKINGJAY PART 1 was in eighth with $7.7 million as it nears $700 million worldwide, surpassing the $691 million global total of the first THE HUNGER GAMES. Though it's sliding down the list, MOCKINGJAY's domestic total still has a good chance of besting GUARDIANS OF THE GALAXY as the highest-grossing 2014 release.
Mark Walhberg's remake of THE GAMBLER dropped to ninth place with $6.3 million (a 31% drop from its opening), while Disney's BIG HERO 6 surged back into the Top 10 as it crossed the $200 million mark this past week and collected an additional $167 million from international audiences.
Outside the chart, Reese Witherspoon's WILD and Ridley Scott's big-budget Bible epic EXODUS: GODS AND KINGS slipped out of sight. Tim Burton's BIG EYES is up to nearly $10 million total, while in limited release, the Oscar Isaac/Jessica Chastain drama A MOST VIOLENT YEAR debuted with a solid $47k per-screen average, Civil Rights drama SELMA continued its movement with $29k per-screen, and Clint Eastwood's AMERICAN SNIPER once again hit the target with an impressive $160k per-screen average in its second week.
Next weekend features Liam Neeson demonstrating his particular set of skills for a third time in TAKEN 3, while SELMA and Paul Thomas Anderson's INHERENT VICE expand from limited release.
What January release are you most interested in seeing? VOTE HERE!
| # | MOVIE TITLE | WKND $ | TOTAL $ |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | The Hobbit: The Battle of the Five Armies | $21.9 M | $220.7 M |
| 2 | Into the Woods | $19 M | $91.2 M |
| 3 | Unbroken | $18.3 M | $87.8 M |
| 4 | The Woman In Black 2: Angel of Death | $15.1 M | NEW |
| 5 | Night at the Museum: Secret of the Tomb | $14.4 M | $89.7 M |
| 6 | The Imitation Game | $8.1 M | $30.8 M |
| 7 | Annie | $11.4 M | $72.6 M |
| 8 | The Hunger Games: Mockingjay - Part 1 | $7.7 M | $323.8 M |
| 9 | The Gambler | $6.3 M | $27.5 M |
| 10 | Big Hero 6 | $4.8 M | $211.2 M |