The Second 'Hobbit' to Rule Them All

Welcome to the Box Office Report, where we always considered Smaug an upstanding citizen who did not deserve to be desolated. 

1. The Hobbit: The Desolation of Smaug (Buena Vista): $73.7 million in 3,903 theaters

Bilbo and co. return with a strong but not remarkable opening weekend. The latest Hobbit story didn't quite match the $84 million that the first movie earned, and couldn't top the $75 million opening Hunger Games had a few weeks ago, but, all in all, Desolation of Smaug's opening was respectable enough. A nice, tidy sum studio executives can be proud of and show mom without fears of getting scolded. 

Besides, globally The Hobbit's doing juuust fine. 

2. Frozen (Beuna Vista): $22.2 million in 3,716 theaters 

Three weeks later and Disney's extremely popular musical remains near the top, at least a head and a shoulder above the rest of the competition. I should probably get to a theater and see this one, yes? Yes.

3. Tyler Perry's A Madea Christmas (Lionsgate): $16 million in 2,194 theaters 

I honestly had to Google this to make sure it wasn't Tyler Perry re-releasing a straight-to-DVD special. Apparently it's not, which is shocking. How did Tyler Perry not do a Madea Christmas movie until now? There must be a glitch in the matrix; I'm certain this already happened. 

4. The Hunger Games: Catching Fire (Lionsgate): $13.1 million in 3,563 theaters 

This week the District 13ers crossed the $350 million mark domestically, and, at $739 million globally, passed the entire gross of the first movie. So many people are watching poor Peeta fail completely at everything.

5. Thor: The Dark World (Buena Vista): $4.7 million in 3,074 theaters 

Gotta be someone on the bottom, so it might as well be the thunder god.