'The Hobbit' holds on to first place with $32M

The Associated Press, Monday, December 31, 2012, 3:13pm (PST)

LOS ANGELES (AP) — A tiny hobbit has a mighty hold on the box office, staying on top for a third-straight week and wrapping up a year that saw a record-breaking $10.8 billion in total annual grosses.

The Warner Bros. fantasy "The Hobbit: An Unexpected Journey" remained at No. 1 with $32 million for a total of $221.7 million, according to final studio figures Monday. That's slightly down from the Sunday estimate of just under $33 million but enough to retain first place in a holiday weekend that featured the much-anticipated debuts of awards contenders "Django Unchained" and "Les Miserables."

The top 20 movies at U.S. and Canadian theaters Friday through Sunday, followed by distribution studio, gross, number of theater locations, average receipts per location, total gross and number of weeks in release, as compiled Monday by Hollywood.com are:

1. "The Hobbit: An Unexpected Journey," Warner Bros., $31,960,000, 4100 locations, $7,795 average, $221,743,000, three weeks.

2. "Django Unchained," Weinstein Co., $30,122,888, 3010 locations, $10,008 average, $63,443,153, one week.

3. "Les Miserables," Universal, $27,281,735, 2814 locations, $9,695 average, $66,720,160, one week.

4. "Parental Guidance," Fox, $14,554,053, 3367 locations, $4,323 average, $29,342,745, one week.

5. "Jack Reacher," Paramount, $14,010,000, 3352 locations, $4,180 average, $44,661,000, two weeks.

6. "This Is 40," Universal, $12,501,060, 2914 locations, $4,290 average, $36,431,350, two weeks.

7. "Lincoln," Disney, $7,337,362, 1966 locations, $3,732 average, $131,867,159, eight weeks.

8. "The Guilt Trip," Paramount, $6,700,000, 2431 locations, $2,756 average, $21,102,000, two weeks.

9. "Monsters, Inc. 3-D," Disney, $6,447,437, 2618 locations, $2,463 average, $18,573,901, two weeks.

10. "Rise of the Guardians," Paramount, $4,900,000, 2055 locations, $2,384 average, $90,230,000, six weeks.

11. "Skyfall," Sony, $4,600,000, 1637 locations, $2,810 average, $289,600,000, eight weeks.

12. "Silver Linings Playbook," Weinstein Co., $4,079,314, 745 locations, $5,476 average, $27,330,036, seven weeks.

13. "Life of Pi," Fox, $3,780,269, 1178 locations, $3,209 average, $86,650,453, six weeks.

14. "Cirque du Soleil: Worlds Away," Paramount, $2,400,000, 840 locations, $2,857 average, $7,407,000, two weeks.

15. "The Twilight Saga: Breaking Dawn — Part 2," Summit, $2,359,289, 1191 locations, $1,981 average, $286,039,065, seven weeks.

16. "Wreck-It Ralph," Disney, $1,855,213, 913 locations, $2,032 average, $175,505,332, nine weeks.

17. "Argo," Warner Bros., $1,015,000, 345 locations, $2,942 average, $108,474,000, 12 weeks.

18. "Anna Karenina," Focus, $525,790, 218 locations, $2,412 average, $10,705,866, seven weeks.

19. "Flight," Paramount, $460,000, 400 locations, $1,150 average, $91,922,000, nine weeks.

20. "Hyde Park on Hudson," Focus, $429,694, 84 locations, $5,115 average, $1,737,996, four weeks.

___

Online:

http://www.hollywood.com

___

Universal and Focus are owned by NBC Universal, a unit of Comcast Corp.; Sony, Columbia, Sony Screen Gems and Sony Pictures Classics are units of Sony Corp.; Paramount is owned by Viacom Inc.; Disney, Pixar and Marvel are owned by The Walt Disney Co.; Miramax is owned by Filmyard Holdings LLC; 20th Century Fox and Fox Searchlight are owned by News Corp.; Warner Bros. and New Line are units of Time Warner Inc.; MGM is owned by a group of former creditors including Highland Capital, Anchorage Advisors and Carl Icahn; Lionsgate is owned by Lions Gate Entertainment Corp.; IFC is owned by AMC Networks Inc.; Rogue is owned by Relativity Media LLC.