Though it’s only been in theaters for less than two weeks, director Peter Jackson’s The Hobbit: An Unexpected Journey has already crossed the $500 million mark worldwide at the box office. It’s current $523.7 million total is definitely an impressive achievement—especially since Return of the King made $1.1 billion worldwide in total—but the fact remains that the film’s domestic box office is a tad soft. The film dropped 56% from its opening weekend total of $84 million to $36.9 million in its second weekend, and that’s with higher 3D ticket prices. Hit the jump for more.
The mixed reviews for An Unexpected Journey coupled with the HFR controversy and formidable box office competition in the form of Les Miserables and Django Unchained have prevented The Hobbit from the total domestic box office domination that the Lord of the Rings films enjoyed in the weeks following their release. In fact, the $36.9 million second-week gross is smaller than the second-week grosses of any of the Lord of the Rings films. That being said, its current $179.7 million domestic total is nothing to scoff at, and perhaps it's a bit unfair to compare The Hobbit trilogy to The Lord of the Rings.
Studios make most of their money back through international box office, and The Hobbit doesn’t seem to be having much trouble connecting with audiences in the foreign marketplace. The film’s international total now stands at $344 million, and it broken the record for the biggest Boxing Day opening of all time in Australia. Read the press release below.
BURBANK, CA, December 27, 2012 – The Hobbit: An Unexpected Journey has surpassed the $500 million benchmark at the worldwide box office. To date, the blockbuster has earned an estimated $179.7 million domestically. In addition, on the heels of its record-breaking release in Australia — the biggest Boxing Day opening of all time — The Hobbit: An Unexpected Journey has grossed an estimated $344 million internationally, for a staggering global total of $523.7 million, and still steadily climbing. The joint announcement was made today by Toby Emmerich, President and Chief Operating Officer, New Line Cinema; Gary Barber, Chairman and Chief Executive Officer, Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer Studios; Dan Fellman, President of Domestic Distribution, Warner Bros. Pictures; and Veronika Kwan Vandenberg, President of International Distribution, Warner Bros. Pictures. Aa production of New Line Cinema and Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer (MGM) Pictures, it’s the acclaimed first film in Oscar®-winning filmmaker Peter Jackson’s epic The Hobbit Trilogy, based on the timeless novel by J.R.R. Tolkien.