'Hobbit: Desolation of Smaug' Tops Weekend Box Office

The Hobbit: The Desolation of Smaug ruled the box office over the weekend as expected, taking in $73.7 million for its debut.

The film opened 13 percent behind the first film in The Hobbit trilogy, but THR notes that the new flick faced much more competition from strong holdovers at the box office, plus a major snowstorm on the east coast that kept moviegoers at home.

The animated film Frozen continued its great box office run in second place with an estimated $22.2 million, bringing its total to $164.4 million.

Tyler Perry’s A Madea Christmas took third place $16.1 million, which was less than most other Madea movies from the past, but the film is expected to hold well during the holiday season.

Rounding out the top five were The Hunger Games: Catching Fire with $13.15 million and Thor: The Dark World with $2.7 million.

The star-studded film American Hustle opened in limited release over the weekend and grossed a stellar $690,000 in just six theaters. It will open in wide release next week. Disney’s Saving Mr. Banks also opened in limited release and grossed $421,000 in sixteen theaters.

WHAT DID YOU SEE at the movies this weekend?