Last weekend, The Hobbit: Desolation Of Smaug was able to spoil the debut weekend for Anchorman 2 by narrowly edging out a box office win. On Christmas, it may be able to deal the same Middle Earth blow to Leonardo Dicaprio’s much-hyped Wolf Of Wall Street.
It’ll take some time for the exact totals to come in, but early estimates indicate the holdover brought in about $9.3 million on the big holiday. If that figure holds, it will wind up edging out the Martin Scorsese-directed newcomer, which netted about $9.2 million, though these figures seem to be changing by the hour. No doubt the studio will consider that loss or narrow win at least a minor disappointment, but on the bright side, at least it’s a very solid second place at the worst.
According to Deadline, third place went to Anchorman 2. The holdover Will Ferrell comedy took in $8.0 million, which was just a scotchy scotchy scotch ahead of the debuting Secret Life Of Walter Mitty, which grabbed $7.9 million. Beyond that top four, American Hustle ($7.5 million), 47 Ronin ($7.1 million), Frozen ($6.4 million), Saving Mr. Banks ($5.2 million), Grudge Match ($4.0 million) and Tyler Perry’s A Madea Christmas ($3.0 million) were all able to generate some healthy returns for various studios, as well.
It’s always difficult to determine exactly what is a success and what is a failure when it comes to Christmas. Last year, for example, Les Mis was able to take in about $18 million by separating itself from the pack. None of the films were able to do that this year. It’s just one big jumbled mess, but at the same time, seven movies over $6 million is really impressive considering last year only had four.
The real story will be told on Sunday once the five day numbers start coming in. Christmas is obviously a huge day for movies, but what people choose to go see with their families and what they might see by themselves is often very different. That could help a film like Wolf Of Wall Street that isn’t exact mom-friendly, and it could hurt a film like Secret Life Of Walter Mitty or Saving Mr. Banks that screams "family togetherness" and "bonding moments".
Check back in later this weekend for a full update on where your favorite film stands. Until then, go ahead and check out the trailer for Wolf Of Wall Street below, which we gave a big thumbs up to.
