The weekend before Christmas is typically a weird one for Hollywood. It is one of the only periods all year when a movie's performance over its first three days does not necessarily signal how good (or bad) total ticket sales will be; ticket buyers may still materialize in significant numbers over the holiday week.
“The Hobbit: An Unexpected Journey,†distributed by Warner Brothers, was No. 1 at North American theaters over the weekend, taking in about $36.7 million, for a two-week total of $149.9 million, according to Hollywood.com, which compiles box-office data. Placing second was “Jack Reacher,†which overcame prerelease troubles - Paramount canceled promotional events after the Connecticut school massacre - to sell about $15.6 million in tickets; “Jack Reacher,†which cost roughly $60 milli on to make, received an A-minus score from audiences in exit polls, boding well for word of mouth.
Judd Apatow's heavily marketed comedy “This Is 40†(Universal) was third, taking in about $12 million. That total was in line with expectations, and Universal deemed it “good.†But audiences gave Mr. Apatow's weakly reviewed movie a B-minus in exit polls, indicating a rough road ahead. But it cost a relatively inexpensive $35 million to make.
DreamWorks Animation's “Rise of the Guardians†was fourth, taking in about $5.9 million, for a five-week total of $79.7 million. Steven Spielberg's “Lincoln†(Disney) continued to chug along, placing fifth, with an estimated $5.6 million in ticket sales, for a seven-week total of $116.8 million.
