‘Hobbit’ sequel debuts at No. 1 over weekend

LOS ANGELES — Undaunted hobbits trumped princess power at the multiplex.

According to studio estimates Sunday, Warner Bros.’ “Hobbit: The Desolation of Smaug” was No. 1 at the weekend box office with $73.7 million, besting last weekend’s No. 1 film, Disney’s animated fable “Frozen.”

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Ian McKellen plays Gandalf in “The Hobbit: The Desolation of Smaug,” which debuted in first place over the weekend. The Associated Press/Warner Bros. Pictures

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Melting down to the No. 2 position, “Frozen” earned $22.2 in its third weekend, bringing its impressive overall domestic ticket total to nearly $164.4 million. Internationally, the Disney hit gained $31.5 million.

Despite its first-place position, “The Desolation of Smaug” fell short of topping its prequel’s debut. “The Hobbit: An Unexpected Journey,” which opened this same weekend last year, took in $84.6 million. It earned $131.2 million in international sales.

“ ‘Hobbit’ rules this date and Warner Brothers has linked this brand to this time of year very effectively,” said box-office analyst Paul Dergarabedian of Rentrak.

“We had an excellent weekend,” said Dan Fellman, president of domestic distribution at Warner Bros. “Of course, it could have been a little better, but the weather back East was really tough last night and probably took a couple million dollars out of my pocket. But … we are right on target to do very similar numbers to the last ‘Hobbit,’ which grossed a $1 billion worldwide (overall).”

Lionsgate’s holiday-themed “Tyler Perry’s A Madea Christmas” captured third place with $16.2 million.

“All of the Tyler Perry movies have done in that $20 million plus range, but the weather was a factor in some of the performances of these films,” said Dergarabedian.

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