NEW YORK, (Reuters) – The last movie of Peter Jackson’s three “Hobbit” films rode to a second consecutive win atop U.S. and Canadian weekend box office charts, selling $41.4 million worth of tickets to triumph over new releases “Unbroken” and “Into the Woods.”
“The Hobbit: The Battle of the Five Armies” grabbed another $13.1 million from Christmas day screenings for a combined four-day total through Sunday of $54.5 million and a domestic haul of $168.5 million since its Dec. 17 release, according to estimates from tracking firm Rentrak. Director Angelina Jolie’s World War Two drama “Unbroken” finished second with $31.7 million after winning the box office duel on Christmas, narrowly edging out another new film, the musical “Into The Woods” which claimed the No. 3 spot with $31 million.
“Unbroken,” Jolie’s second directorial effort, tells the real-life story of Olympic runner Louis Zamperini’s two years as a prisoner of war in Japan.
“None of us ever would have thought a picture like this — an inspirational story about a World War Two hero and Olympian — would have performed at this level,” said Nikki Rocco, president for domestic distribution at Universal Pictures, the Comcast Corp unit that released the film.
“We would have been happy at $25 million,” Rocco said, adding that the release had capped Universal’s most profitable year.
“Into The Woods,” the adaptation of Stephen Sondheim’s Broadway musical which puts a dark spin on fairy tales, stars Meryl Streep, Emily Blunt and Johnny Depp.
