\'The Hobbit\' Is No. 1 at the Box Office

James Fisher/Warner Bros Ian McKellen in “The Hobbit: An Unexpected Journey.”

From its bulbous goblin king to its nearly three-hour running time to its budget - an estimated $400 million, including global marketing costs - everything about “The Hobbit: An Unexpected Journey” is supersized. The movie's box-office debut was no exception: “The Hobbit” (New Line Cinema and Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer) took in a huge $84.8 million at North American theaters over the weekend to finish No. 1. (The film generated another $138.2 million overseas.)

Still, “The Hobbit,” which drew some bli stering reviews but received an A score from audiences in exit polls and was a strong performer at Imax theaters, failed by a whisker to set a record for the biggest December opening; that crown is still held by “I Am Legend,” which took in $85.7 million over its first three days in 2007, after adjusting for inflation.

DreamWorks Animation's “Rise of the Guardians” was second, selling $7.4 million in tickets, for a four-week total of $71.4 million, according to Hollywood.com, which compiles box-office data. Perhaps given a lift by its armload of Golden Globe nominations, Steven Spielberg's “Lincoln” (Disney) was a strong third, taking in about $7.2 million, for a six-week total of $107.9 million. “Skyfall” (Sony) placed fourth, taking in an estimated $7 million, for a six-week total of $272.4 million, while “Life of Pi” (20th Century Fox) was fifth, selling about $5.4 million in tickets, for a four-week total of $69.6 million.

Guitar Solos Help Close Rolling Stones Tour

Evan Agostini/Invision, via Associated Press From left, John Mayer, Ronnie Wood and Keith Richards at the Prudential Center in Newark on Saturday.

NEWARK - The Rolling Stones brought their 50th anniversary tour to a close on Saturday night at the Prudential Center here. In a steamroller show, they were joined by several guests â€" a howling Lady Gaga, a beatific Mick Taylor, a red-faced Bruce Springsteen.

But no moment during the night was more telling than the midshow rendition of Freddie King's “Going Down” with John Mayer and Gary C lark Jr., each of whom had performed with the band earlier on this tour, but never together.

It was, for five minutes, a blues guitar masterclass, several generations of style inheritors trying to outduel one another. Who won? Here's a ranking of solos, in order of swagger and verve.

Keith Richards

Defiant, crass, confident, rude: Mr. Richards has a different rulebook. From the get-go, he was fighting against the song, playing short, brutish phrases that called attention to themselves and away from everyone else. He played last, and fantastically: using his guitar as a weapon, poking at the sky, then turning around to regard his competition, then raising a leg and turning back to the crowd, then staggering around the stage a bit, then sauntering to the back of the scrum, victorious.

John Mayer

While Mr. Jagger was singing, Mr. Mayer was using up a lot of space on stage with propulsive body motion, his right shou lder churning forward on the beat, his playing a steady pulse. In his solo, though, he freed himself from the song for one minute of nasty, quaking phrases, his guitar alternately yowling and groaning. Halfway through, Ronnie Wood started prowling around him, half in brotherhood, half in awe.

Gary Clark Jr.

No one had more character in his playing than Mr. Clark, who shakes unreal, onomatopoeic sounds from his guitar. But his playing foreswore flamboyance for aggressive melody and sturdy riffs, apart from one segment near the end where he lost himself in a swing-heavy sequence. On a stage full of show-offs, he was a staunch literalist.

Ronnie Wood

Mr. Wood started out strong, looking casual as his fingers went into overtime on some quick trills, his body hunched over like he was pouring himself into th e song. But halfway through he lost direction, either because the body couldn't do what the mind was telling it to, or because the mind had given out too.

Coming Soon: The Beer of Kings

Nick Briggs/HBO Sean Bean in a scene from the HBO series “Game of Thrones.”

Fans of the HBO series “Game of Thrones” will have an opportunity to raise a flagon of ale in its honor next spring, when a new line of beers inspired by that series is introduced. HBO is set to announce that it will team up with Brewery Ommegang, a Belgian-style brewery in Cooperstown N.Y., to create beers based on themes and characters in the fantasy series adapted from the novels by George R. R. Martin.

The first bee r, Iron Throne Blonde Ale, will be inaugurated nationwide in late March, to coincide with the Season 3 premiere of “Game of Thrones,” which is scheduled for March 31. Three more beers are planned, with the second to be released next fall. The others will follow in subsequent seasons.

Better Watch Out: Was Samuel L. Jackson Naughty or Nice on \'Saturday Night Live\'?

Twitter/@SamuelLJackson A photo of Samuel L. Jackson that the actor posted on his Twitter account shortly after his appearance on “Saturday Night Live.”

The moment that will most likely endure from the year-ending episode of “Saturday Night Live” is its quietly powerful opening of a children's chorus singing “Silent Night,” or â€" take your pick â€" any of the sketches starring Martin Short or musical numbers performed by Paul McCartney.

But the scene that set tongues wagging and fingers typing ea rly Sunday morning was a comedy sketch in which Samuel L. Jackson appeared to utter two obscene words. Mr. Jackson, who has colorfully expressed himself in movies like “Pulp Fiction” and “Django Unchained,” was playing himself in a recurring segment called “What Up With That?,” a sort of talk show that invariably runs out of time before its guests can be interviewed.

As its host, played by the “SNL” cast member Kenan Thompson, was bidding him good night, Mr. Jackson abruptly enunciated most, if not all, of an obscene word; amid the audience's uncertain reaction, he then said another. “Come on, Sam,” Mr. Thompson said, rolling with the punches. “Come on, now. That costs money.”

The segment of the sketch containing Mr. Jackson's apparent vulgarities can be viewed here. The version that was later posted to Hulu.com o mits these portions of his audio.

Minutes after this appearance, Mr. Jackson wrote on his Twitter account that he had uttered only about half of a four-letter word in the first instance and that Mr. Thompson was supposed to cut him off in the second instance. But, he wrote, they “blew it!!”

A representative for “Saturday Night Live” did not immediately respond to a request for comment.

Over 38 seasons of “Saturday Night Live,” fleeting obscenities have very rarely slipped onto the show. In 1995, the cast member Cheri Oteri was humorously punished by having to put money into a swear jar after she accidentally cursed on air; and in 2009, the cast member Jenny Slate let slip a vulgar word in her debut appearance.

While these incidents have c reated brief stirs, they have not resulted in significant fines or other penalties for the show.