BOX OFFICE REPORT (DEC. 14-16): As Expected, 'The Hobbit: An Unexpected Journey' Sets a December Opening Record

Welcome to the Christmas box office season. The Hobbit: An Unexpected Journey, Peter Jackson's return to Middle-earth, scored a record-setting debut this past weekend, topping I Am Legend, Avatar and every Lord of the Rings film for the best December opening weekend ever. The rest of the top five stayed pretty much the same, with The Twilight Saga: Breaking Dawn — Part 2 falling to No. 6. Good.

1. The Hobbit: An Unexpected Journey (N)
$84.78 million ($84.78 million)
As I mentioned up there, the first film in The Hobbit trilogy opened to a bigger box office number than any of the three Lord of the Rings films. An Unexpected Journey's $84.78 million beat The Lord of the Rings: Return of the Kings' opening number of $72.63 million. Looks like the sub-Lord of the Rings reviews and mixed response to HFR 3D couldn't bring down the film. Expect The Hobbit: The Desolation of Smaug and The Hobbit: There and Back Again to keep bringing in money for the franchise.

2. Rise of the Guardians (2)

$7.42 million ($71.36 million)

Boy, sure looks like my theory that Rise of the Guardians could benefit from selling itself as a Christmas movie was pretty dead on.

3. Lincoln (4)

$7.24 million ($107.90 million)
Lincoln cracked the $100 million mark this week, making Steven Spielberg's biopic a hit. Something tells me there won't be a sequel, though ...

4. Skyfall (1)

$7.00 million ($272.37 million)
Skyfall has now out-grossed every James Bond, Mission: Impossible and Bourne film, and the movie will become at least the fourth 2012 movie to make at least $300 million. Not bad for a movie that got stuck in development for a few years, huh?

5. Life of Pi (5)

$5.40 million ($69.56 million)

Every week I'm impressed that Life of Pi (along with Lincoln) has managed to stick in the top five while movies big-name movies keep debuting and falling out of the top five.

Next week's predictions:

1. The Hobbit: An Unexpected Journey

2. Jack Reacher

3. This Is 40

4. Rise of the Guardians

5. Monsters, Inc. 3D

SOURCE: Box Office Mojo