It was the weekend for one debut and one debut only at the box office this weekend, Peter Jackson’s The Hobbit. There was little doubt it would set the all-time December opening weekend, which had been held by 2007’s I Am Legend.
The Hobbit broke that record, earning $84.8 million this weekend and earning a great “A” CinemaScore grade from audiences. Sooooo… what was my prediction? $84.8 million. I can’t believe it either, quite frankly. If you don’t believe me, here’s the link from Thursday:
https://toddmthatcher.wordpress.com/2012/12/13/box-office-predictions-dec-14-16-the-hobbit-arrives/
The film will likely hold that December record one exactly one year, when the second Hobbit installment opens next Christmas season. All I know is you can bet money on opening weekends and I’m kicking myself for not doing so.
As for the other films, Rise of the Guardians was second with $7.4 million, slightly above my $6.9 projection. Steven Spielberg’s Lincoln held up better than expected, partly due to its big number of Golden Globe nominations. It earned $7.2 million, well past my $5.8M projection for third. Skyfall dropped to fourth with $7 million, higher than my $6.2M prediction. Life of Pi was fifth with $5.4 million, just below my $5.5M projection and The Twilight Saga: Breaking Dawn Part 2 earned $5.2 million for sixth, slightly above my $4.9M projection.
Check back Thursday for next weekend’s projections, where a host of new titles will try to compete with Hobbit‘s second frame, including the Tom Cruise action thriller Jack Reacher, Judd Apatow’s comedy This is 40, the Seth Rogen/Barbara Streisand comedy The Guilt Trip, and Disney’s 3D re-release of Monsters Inc.
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