BOX OFFICE REPORT (DEC. 21-23): 'The Hobbit' Remains No. 1 but Sees Its Numbers Plummet

Well, this was certainly a weird pre-Christmas weekend. While Peter Jackson's The Lord of the Rings trilogy was box-office behemoth, The Hobbit: An Unexpected Journey is proving to not have the same pull at the box office. While the film led the box office again this weekend, it dropped 56 percent from its opening weekend. Going down the chart, Jack Reacher and This Is 40 couldn't crack $20 million, while Guilt Trip and Monsters, Inc. 3D were unable to break $10 million. Really, the only bright spot in this past weekend's box office is the continued strength of Lincoln, with Steven Spielberg's film sticking in the top five for the seventh straight weekend.

1. The Hobbit: An Unexpected Journey (1)
$36.71 million ($149.86 million)
I guess it's a good thing the second two Hobbit movies were shot at the same time as An Unexpected Journey, since the demand for Middle-earth adventures isn't anything like it once was. The Hobbit: An Unexpected Journey set an opening record for the series last weekend, but without the positive word of mouth that the original trilogy had, the movie couldn't pull people back in for a second weekend.

2. Jack Reacher (N)

$15.60 million ($15.60 million)

I was going to look up where Jack Reacher ranks when it comes to openings for Tom Cruise movies, but a $15.60 million opening can't even compete with past Cruise blockbusters. I'm assuming Cruise's next collaboration with director Christopher McQuarrie will be more profitable though ...

3. This Is 40 (N)

$12.03 million ($12.03 million)
There are two things I always forget about Judd Apatow. One, despite his influence across countless comedy movies, he's only actually directed four of them, helming The 40-Year-Old Virgin, Knocked Up, Funny People and This Is 40. And two, Apatow's movies don't open to a lot money, with Knocked Up's $30.69 million being the top opening gross. This Is 40 didn't come close to that, though, with moviegoers using their wallets to show that they weren't interested in the further adventures of Knocked Up's secondary characters.

4. Rise of the Guardians (2)

$5.9 million ($79.69 million)
Alec Baldwin's version of Santa Claus continues to keep Rise of the Guardians in the Christmas mix.

5. Lincoln (3)

$5.63 million ($116.78 million)

I kind of wish I hadn't used my "with box office results like this, it's too bad we can't expect a sequel" joke for Lincoln a few week's ago. Does any other film this winter have better word-of-mouth promotion than Lincoln?

Next week's predictions:

1. Django Unchained

2. Les Miserables

3. The Hobbit: An Unexpected Journey

4. Parental Guidance

5. Jack Reacher

SOURCE: Box Office Mojo