Christmas Day Box Office: Bilbo Wins Again, Bieber Bombs
by EG
"The Hobbit: The Desolation of Smaug" remained strong at the box office on Christmas Day, when five new wide releases joined an already-full slate of movie choices for holiday theater-goers. Estimates for the day had "The Hobbit" barely edging past "The Wolf of Wall Street" to win the box-office race.
"The Hobbit" took in $9.3 million, while "Wolf" earned $9.2 million. The contest for third place was close, too; "Anchorman 2" won with $8.1 million, not far ahead of "The Secret Life of Walter Mitty," which grossed $7.8 million. "American Hustle" was not far behind with $7.4 million, and Keanu Reeves' "47 Ronin" slipped into seventh place with $7 million.
Two hold-overs, "Frozen" and "Saving Mr. Banks," came next, easily outpacing "Grudge Match," which could only manage ninth place. The boxing comedy starring Sylvester Stallone and Robert DeNiro took in a disappointing $4 million.
The biggest loser for the day, though, was Justin Bieber, whose concert film "Believe" took in only $1.3 million. Beliebers didn't exactly turn out in huge numbers for the film's opening, and movie goers in general were more interested in talking reptiles ("Walking with Dinosaurs") and Tyler Perry in drag ("A Madea Christmas"). "Believe" was in 14th place on Christmas Day, and its opening-day take was far below the pace set by Bieber's 2011 concert doc, "Never Say Never," which earned $29.5 million in its opening weekend.