Friday Box Office: ‘The Hobbit’ Returns To The Top Of The Mountain
Director Peter Jackson’s fantasy epic The Hobbit: An Unexpected Journey has taken the top spot at box office on Friday.
The latest cinematic adventure set in J.R.R. Tolkien’s magical world earned an estimated $10.7 million in theaters on Friday. Although the film slipped a bit on Monday, it would seem Jackson’s latest effort has some very strong legs. The film has now earned over $200 million in North America alone.
Deadline explains that Quentin Tarantino’s violent R-rated western Django Unchained continued to post strong numbers on Friday. The controversial film generated around $9.3 million in ticket sales. Tom Hooper’s musical Les Miserables snagged the third place spot with approximately $9.3 million as well.
20th Century Fox and Walden Media’s Parental Guidance, a PG-rated comedy starring Billy Crystal and Bette Midler, brought in around $5 million at the box office on Friday. The film stumbled a bit against its competitors on Christmas Day, earning around $6 million in over 3,300 theaters.
According to The Hollywood Reporter, the Tom Cruise thriller Jack Reacher snagged around $4.1 million, putting its domestic total at around $28 million. The film still has a ways to go before recouping its estimated $60 million budget.
The Judd Apatow comedy This is 40 starring Paul Rudd and Leslie Mann earned around $3.8 million on Friday, while director Steven Spielberg’s historical drama Lincoln brought in $2.3 million.
Paramount Picture’s The Guilt Trip landed towards the bottom of Friday’s top 10 with $2.3 million in receipts. The $40 million comedy starring Seth Rogen and Barbra Streisand has only generated around $14 million in ticket sales since opening in theaters on December 19.
Most of these films are likely to hold strong well into the new year. The only new release scheduled to open on January 4 is Texas Chainsaw 3D, the next installment in the long-running horror franchise.
If the numbers continue to post the way they did on Friday, then Peter Jackson’s The Hobbit is likely to remain in the top spot throughout the weekend.
