'Hobbit' Adumbrates 'Anchorman 2'
The anticipated sequel Anchorman 2: The Legend Continues drew droves of moviegoers over the weekend, but not enough to supplant another sequel for the top spot at the box office.
Anchorman, starring Will Ferrell, Christina Applegate, Steve Carell, and Paul Rudd, piled up an estimated $26.8 million domestic over the weekend, which wasn't enough to exceed last week's box-office topper The Hobbit: The Desolation of Smaug.
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The Hobbit raked in a steady $31.5 million in its second weekend at the box office, bringing its gross domestic total to $127.5 million. Although Anchorman finished below The Hobbit over the weekend, the film accumulated $40 million total from its Wednesday opening through Sunday.
With Anchorman occupying the No. 2 spot in the Top 10, the animated film Frozen was bumped down to No. 3, but still amassed $19.1 million for its fifth weekend in theaters to improve to $191.6 million in its impressive run.
A pair of newcomers—the David O. Russell crime drama American Hustle (4th: $19.1 million, $ 20.2 million) and Disney historical comedy-drama Saving Mr. Banks (5th: $9.3 million, $9.9 million)—were sandwiched in between Frozen and fellow box-office giant The Hunger Games: Catching Fire (6th: $8.8 million, $371.7 million).
Both films, which are receiving positive critical feedback, officially premiered last weekend in limited release but didn't begin their wide-release runs until this weekend.
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Tyler Perry's A Madea Christmas finished in seventh with an estimated $8.5 domestic for its second weekend in theaters to increase to $28.3 million. The previous Madea film, Tyler Perry's Madea's Witness Protection, pulled in $65.7 million last year.
Another pair of newcomers—the family adventure film Walking with Dinosaurs (8th: $7.3 million) and the Hindi action thriller Dhoom 3 (9th: $3.3 million)—finished in tandem, followed by the $200-million-plus sequel Thor: The Dark World (10th: $1.3 million, $200.8 million), which rounded out the Top 10.