Peter Jackson’s “The Hobbit: The Desolation of Smaug” continued to lead the box office, landing in the No. 1 slot for the third weekend in a row.
With $29 million over the weekend, Peter Jackson’s fantasy sequel “The Desolation of Smaug,” the second in the trilogy adapting J.R.R. Tolkien’s books, had the highest earnings at the North American multiplex. The Warner Bros. film has remained No. 1 since its Dec. 13 debut.
Disney’s animated adventure, “Frozen,” took the No. 2 position, earning $28.9 million over the weekend and $248.4 million domestically after six weeks at the multiplex.
Box-office analyst Paul Dergarabedian of Rentrak said “‘Frozen’ probably had the best release date of the year because they positioned themselves to completely dominate the family film marketplace over the holidays, To be No. 2 in its sixth week is a total reflection of that.”
The top 10 movies at U.S. and Canadian theaters Friday through Sunday, followed by distribution studio, gross, number of theater locations, average receipts per location, total gross and number of weeks in release, as compiled Monday by Rentrak, are:
1. “The Hobbit: The Desolation Of Smaug,” Warner Bros., $29,040,000, 3,928 locations, $7,393 average, $189,494,000, 3 weeks.
2. “Frozen,” Disney, $28,596,319, 3,335 locations, $8,575 average, $248,117,795, 6 weeks.
3. “Anchorman 2: The Legend Continues,” Paramount, $19,662,000, 3,507 locations, $5,607 average, $83,180,000, 2 weeks.
4. “American Hustle,” Sony, $18,701,000, 2,507 locations, $7,460 average, $59,185,000, 3 weeks.
5. “The Wolf of Wall Street,” Paramount, $18,360,000, 2,537 locations, $7,237 average, $34,152,000, 1 week.
6. “Saving Mr. Banks,” Disney, $13,453,533, 2,110 locations, $6,376 average, $37,276,150, 3 weeks.
7. “The Secret Life of Walter Mitty,” 20th Century Fox, $12,765,508, 2,909 locations, $4,388 average, $25,360,468, 1 week.
8. “The Hunger Games: Catching Fire,” Lionsgate, $10,061,479, 2,315 locations, $4,346 average, $390,985,322, 6 weeks.
9. “47 Ronin,” Universal, $9,910,310, 2,689 locations, $3,686 average, $20,612,530, 1 week.
10. “Walking With Dinosaurs,” 20th Century Fox, $7,276,172, 3,243 locations, $2,244 average, $20,944,478, 2 weeks.