The Hobbit: An Unexpected Journey brought home a big box-office treasure over the weekend, setting a December film record with €64.4 million in US and Canadian ticket sales as legions of fans turned out for the long-awaited big-screen return to Middle Earth.
The film also rung up sales of €104.9 million in international markets. Global receipts for the prequel to the smash Lord of the Rings trilogy stood at €169.4 million through Sunday, distributor Warner Bros said.
The current projection for the total box office take in 2012 is €8.2 billion, according to an estimate from Hollywood.com, which would beat the €8 billion record in 2009. Warner Bros is aiming to build on the success of the Rings series with €2.2 billion in global ticket sales.
The Hobbit also set a record with its €11.4 million earnings from Imax theatres worldwide, according to Warner Bros. It is also the largest opening for any film in the canon of The Lord of the Rings.
The Lord of the Rings films debuted in theatres from 2001 to 2003. After that, production on The Hobbit ran into delays, leaving fans waiting a decade for another look at the fantasy story of dwarves, wizards and elves.
The opening weekend Hobbit sales proved interest remained high. North American (US and Canadian) receipts toppled the old record for December set by the Will Smith sci-fi flick I Am Legend, which pulled in €58.6 million when it debuted in 2007.
Opening-weekend audiences embraced The Hobbit, awarding an ‘A’ grade in polling by survey firm CinemaScore. Critics had a mixed response to the nearly three-hour film. Sixty-five per cent of reviews on the Rotten Tomatoes website recommended the movie, although some objected to Jackson’s decision to shoot it using a 48-frames-per-second format rather than the usual 24.
The faster frame rate delivers clearer pictures but some critics called the format cartoonish and jarring. Only a fraction of theatres showed the film in the new format. Some fans at early screenings in New Zealand complained it made them feel nauseous and dizzy, according to The New Zealand Herald.
The next two Hobbit movies are scheduled to reach theatres in December 2013 and July 2014. The films were financed by MGM and Warner Bros’ New Line Cinema unit for an estimated €379.95 million.