After losing on Christmas Day, “The Hobbit: The Battle of the Five Armies” claimed an advantage over the next few days to win the weekend box office race.
“The Hobbit” earned an estimated $41.4 million between Friday and Sunday, which gave it a comfortable lead over Christmas Day releases “Unbroken” (#2, $31.7 million this weekend, $47.3 million since release) and “Into the Woods” (#3, $31.0 million, $46.1 million since release).
“Night at the Museum: Secret of the Tomb” and “Annie” followed with $20.6 million and $16.6 million, respectively.
Holdover “The Hunger Games: Mockingjay – Part 1” grabs sixth place with $10.0 million, while new release “The Gambler” claims seventh thanks to only $9.3 million in receipts. Since opening on Christmas Day, the modest performer has earned $14.3 million.
Other new releases: “Big Eyes” ($3.0 million this weekend, $4.4 million since Christmas; 1,307 screens), “The Interview” ($1.8 million, $2.9 million since Christmas; 331 screens). Neither did well on a per-screen basis ($2,285 for “Big Eyes” this weekend, $5,471 for “The Interview”).