Hordes of North American moviegoers flocked to theaters to watch "The Hobbit: An Unexpected Journey," launching the "Lord of the Rings" prequel to box office gold for the second weekend in a row.
Industry estimates said "The Hobbit" earned $36.7 million Friday to Sunday.
In its opening weekend, the film scored $84.6 million in the US and Canada, and $138.2 million internationally, for an estimated global total of $223 million, according to New Line Cinema, which said it was the biggest opening for any "Lord of the Rings" film.
Box office watchers said it was the biggest December opening in motion picture history.
The epic stars Martin Freeman of British TV's "Sherlock" fame and Ian McKellen, reprising his role as Gandalf the Grey. It was directed by Peter Jackson based on the classic fantasy novels by J.R.R. Tolkien.
Well behind in second place was newcomer "Jack Reacher," a crime drama featuring Tom Cruise investigating fictional shootings by a trained military sniper.
The film opened with a $15.6 million take at the box office, according to industry tracker Exhibitor Relations.
Judd Apataw's comedy "This is 40," billed as "a sort-of sequel" to the 2007 film "Knocked Up," debuted in third position, taking in $12 million.
That pushed "Rise of the Guardians," a Dreamworks holiday confection featuring Jack Frost, the Tooth Fairy, the Sandman and a tattooed Russian Santa Claus, into fourth place with $5.9 million.
"Lincoln" -- starring Daniel Day-Lewis as the 16th US president -- picked up $5.6 million, good for fifth place. The film got a bump after earning seven Golden Globe nominations earlier this month, the most of any film this year.
Two more newcomers took sixth and seventh place.
"The Guilt Trip," about a mother-son road trip starring Barbra Streisand and Seth Rogan, earned $5.4 million; and the 3D version of the 2001 animated hit "Monsters, Inc," which took in $5 million.
"Skyfall," the 23rd episode of the James Bond spy thriller series, dropped to eighth place, with $4.7 million.
The ninth place spot was claimed by "Life of Pi," a 3D fantasy by Oscar-winning director Ang Lee based on a Booker Prize-winning novel about an Indian boy adrift on a lifeboat with a Bengal tiger in the Pacific. It earned $3.8 million.
And rounding out the top 10 with $2.6 million was "The Twilight Saga: Breaking Dawn," the last installment in the wildly popular vampire series.
AFP RELAXNEWS
Tue Dec 25 2012
Pameran seni China Sabah perkukuh hubungan dua negara
Menteri Pelancongan, Kebudayaan dan Alam Sekitar Sabah, Datuk Christina Liew berharap Pemeran Seni China-Sabah membantu memperkukuh hubungan budaya antara Malaysia dan China.
#AWANIBorneo
#AWANIBorneo
660 permohonan diluluskan dari 2018 sehingga Mac 2024
660 individu berusia bawah 21 tahun di sarawak telah diberikan kewarganegaraan daripada keseluruhan 1,453 permohonan di bawah Perkara 15A Perlembagaan Persekutuan, dalam tempoh 2018 hingga Mac 2024.
#AWANIBorneo
#AWANIBorneo
Pesta Kaamatan platform terbaik pupuk perpaduan rakyat
Ketua Menteri Datuk Seri Hajiji Noor menyeru rakyat tanpa mengira kaum dan agama agar terus bersatu padu, saling menghormati dan tidak mudah dipengaruhi dengan anasir yang boleh memudaratkan perpaduan.
#AWANIBorneo
#AWANIBorneo
Rizab antarabangsa BNM berjumlah AS$112.8 bilion
Rizab antarabangsa Bank Negara Malaysia (BNM) berjumlah AS$112.8 bilion (AS$1=RM4.740) pada 30 April 2024.
Keadaan kesihatan YDP Dewan Negara masih membimbangkan
Timbalan Menteri di Jabatan Premier Sarawak, Datuk Gerawat Gala memaklumkan keadaan kesihatan YDP Dewan Negara Datuk Mutang Tagal yang kini dirawat di IJN masih membimbangkan.
#AWANIBorneo
#AWANIBorneo
DUN Sarawak lulus usul penghargaan khas kepada Tun Abdul Taib
Usul ini telah diluluskan setelah melalui 30 perbahasan, dengan dua usul menolak, iaitu daripada ADUN Padungan dan ADUN Pending.
#AWANIBorneo
#AWANIBorneo
Syarikat penerbangan India terjejas selepas ratusan kru kabin tidak sihat
Puluhan penerbangan Air India Express terganggu selepas ratusan kru kabin secara tiba-tiba melaporkan diri tidak sihat.
Pesawat kargo mendarat cemas di Lapangan Terbang Istanbul
Sebuah pesawat kargo Boeing 763 melakukan pendaratan cemas di Lapangan Terbang Istanbul, Turki pada Rabu susulan masalah pada gear pendaratannya, lapor Agensi Berita Jerman (dpa).
Buku Ghannouchi mengenai demokrasi Islam penting untuk umat Islam - Maszlee
Maszlee berkata, wacana yang menyelubungi Islam dan demokrasi sering menjadi polemik dan penuh dengan salah faham.
Kerajaan Kelantan mahu kembalikan semula Enakmen Kanun Jenayah Syariah
Perkara itu akan dibincangkan menerusi Konvensyen Pemantapan Perundangan dan Institusi Syariah pada 21 Mei ini.