As expected, the second film in Peter Jackson’s Hobbit trilogy, The Desolation of Smaug, comfortably won the Boxing Day Box Office Battle (BDBOB) for 2013. The fantasy epic took $5.465 million on opening day, which is the second highest Boxing Day take ever. The record still belongs to the first Hobbit film, An Unexpected Journey, which made $5.925 million on Boxing Day in 2012. This drop is to be expected given the less than stellar response to the first film, but strong reviews and word of mouth should keep Smaug in the charts for a long time. Jackson’s trilogy concludes on Boxing Day of this year with the mega-hit-in-waiting There and Back Again.
Disney’s Frozen came in at #2 with $1.6 million. The film has been a massive hit in the US and, as the top choice for families these holidays, is likely to accumulate a large total by the end of its run. The #3 spot went to Ben Stiller’s The Secret Life of Walter Mitty with $840,112. The film, which has been a tough and slightly confusing sell for audiences, should hold on quite well throughout the holidays given Stiller’s popularity. Comedy sequel Anchorman: The Legend Continues ($751,788) and black comedy American Hustle ($375,501) rounded out the top 5 for the day.
Outside the blockbuster circle and hoping to be hits with more mature audiences, crowd-pleaser Philomena made $345,076 and post-war drama The Railway Man made $250,514. Both films have received strong reviews and star some of the best-loved actors of our time, Judi Dench and Colin Firth, and should therefore do quite well over the coming weeks.
All films mentioned are currently screening nationally.
Figures taken from news.com.au
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