The Hobbit: The Desolation of Smaug debuts with $73.7 million at domestic box-office

The Hobbit: The Desolation of Smaug, directed by Peter Jackson, opened with a roaring $73.7 million in the domestic front topping the list of this weekend’s releases. As per latest reports, Disney’s animated flick Frozen has taken the second position defeating underperformer Tyler Perry's A Madea Christmas. Frozen took in $22.2 million while Tyler Perry's comedy could only manage $16.16 million on its debut.

Smaug, which has been highly appreciated with an A- Cinemascore, has been announced as the fourth-biggest December opening ever, following An Unexpected Journey ($84.6 million), I Am Legend ($77.2 million) and Avatar ($77 million). Smaug has definitely survived a huge box-office competition from Frozen and The Hunger Games: Catching Fire. Smaug, a New Line Cinema, MGM and Warner Bros. production, released in 3,903 theatres with 60 percent male and 40 percent female audience. J.R.R. Tolkien's 1937 fantasy novel’s adaptation, Smaug, follows hobbit Bilbo Baggins (Martin Freeman) as he starts his journey with a group of dwarfs to fight off the dragon Smaug (voiced by Benedict Cumberbatch). The film also stars Evangeline Lilly, Orlando Bloom, Lee Pace and Luke Evans.

The adventure film has also opened in 49 international markets including France, Germany, Italy, Spain, the U.K., Mexico, Brazil and Korea. Internationally the film is a winner too, as it has grossed a massive $131.2 million taking its global total to $205 million in its first weekend. The second position holder Frozen, which is still going strong in its third week, added $22.2 million in its domestic collections for a total of $164.4 million. Internationally, the film has also added $31.5 million this weekend after it released in new territories including Russia, the Netherlands and Vietnam. The worldwide total has been recorded as $266 million. To a huge disappointment A Madea Christmas had a worst debut with $16.16 million. In its fourth week The Hunger Games: Catching Fire earned $13.15 million taking the No. 4 spot. Thor: The Dark World has taken the fifth place in its sixth week in theatres. This weekend the Chris Hemsworth starrer earned $2.7 million domestically taking the total to $198.1 million and its worldwide gross is $619.9 million till date. David O. Russell's American Hustle had a limited release in six theatres and it has been extremely successful with $690,000, for a per-location average of $115,000. The Christian Bale-Amy Adams-Bradley Cooper-Jennifer Lawrence starrer is scheduled to expand next week to 2,500 locations.