Pamela McClintock of THR:
Peter Jackson's The Hobbit: The Desolation of Smaug remained at No. 1 in its second weekend, while holiday comedy Anchorman 2: The Legend Continues enjoyed a promising start thanks in large part to younger males.
Desolation of Smaug fell 57 percent to $31.5 million, while Anchorman 2 grossed $26.4 million. That puts Anchorman 2's five-day debut (it opened Wednesday) at $40 million. Overseas, the comedy took in $13.4 million from only five markets -- nearly triple the entire lifetime gross of the first film.
Anchorman 2, made for $50 million and receiving a B CinemaScore, sees the return of Ferrell, Steve Carell, Paul Rudd, David Koechner and Christina Applegate while adding newcomers James Marsden, Harrison Ford and Kristen Wiig. It follows the news team as they make the transition from San Diego to New York. Adam McKay returns to direct from a script he co-wrote with Ferrell.
The Christmas season is a bonanza for moviegoing. Films may not sport huge openings, but can enjoy unusually strong multiples. As in other years, this year brings a potpourri of commercial titles and award contenders (no fewer than 11 films are opening nationwide during the final two weeks of December).
In addition to Anchorman 2, three of those opened this weekend -- David O. Russell's awards darling American Hustle, Disney's Saving Mr. Banks and 20th Century Fox's family film Walking With Dinosaurs.
American Hustle, opening on par with Argo, grossed a stellar $19.1 million to tie with Disney's Frozen for No. 3 (Disney estimates that Frozen took in $19.2 million, although rival studios have American Hustle ahead of Frozen. The order will be resolved when final numbers are released Monday). American Hustle marks Russell's best nationwide break, beating Three Kings ($15.8 million) and The Fighter ($12.1 million).
Recounting the Abscam political scandal of the late 1970s and early 1980s, American Hustle boasts an ensemble cast led by Christian Bale, Bradley Cooper, Amy Adams and Jennifer Lawrence. Earlier this month, American Hustle picked up seven Golden Globe nominations, tying with Fox Searchlight's 12 Years a Slave for the most nods. The film, produced by Megan Ellison, Charles Roven, Richard Suckle and Jonathan Gordon, cost $40 million to make.
Saving Mr. Banks, starring Tom Hanks as Walt Disney and Emma Thompson as Mary Poppins author P.L. Travers, came in No. 5, earning $9.9 million. The awards contender came in behind expectations, but should benefit going forward from an A CinemaScore (American Hustle only earned a B+).
Costing a pricey $80 million to make, Walking With Dinosaurs is the first disappointment of the Christmas season. Coming in No. 8, the famliy pic debuted to $7.3 million (Fox had hoped for at least $10 million to $12 million). Instead, families flocked to Frozen, which continues to shine a month into is run.
Fox co-financed Walking With Dinosaurs with Reliance and IM Global, minimizing its financial risk. Walking With Dinosaurs, adapted from the BBC miniseries, has no human cast and tells the story of Patchi, an underdog dinosaur who transforms into a hero (Justin Long and John Leguizamo lead the voice cast).
Christmas Day will see a number of high profile releases greet moviegoers.
Martin Scorsese and Leonardo DiCaprio's unleash their latest collaboration The Wolf of Wall Street. Ben Stiller lives The Secret Life of Walter Mitty. Sylvester Stallone and Robert De Niro stage a Grudge Match to settle an old score. Keanu Reeves fights for honor in 47 Ronin. Peter Berg brings the powerful non-fiction book by Marcus Luttrell called Lone Survivor to the screen in limited release--going wide on January 10.
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