Peter Jackson's epic bow looks likely to take $1 billion at the box-office.
It was the result we all expected: The Hobbit: The Battle of the Five Armies is No.1 at the Christmas box-office, but Peter Jackson's finale didn't have it all its own way on its second weekend, with Angelina Jolie's war drama Unbroken and, notably, Disney's Into the Woods both taking in excess of $40 million.
Peter Jackson's The Hobbit: The Battle of the Five Armies looks set to take $1 billion worldwide after a strong showing at the U.S box office
Jackson's final trip to Middle Earth has grossed $170 million in the US and is poised to take $600 million worldwide. That means it will inevitably take over $1 billion.
More: read our full review of The Hobbit: Battle of the Five Armies
Still, Jolie's Unbroken - the story of second world war pilot Lou Zamperini - taking $47.3 million on debut is probably the talking point of the weekend and the spectacular total will bring solace to the director who only scored lukewarm reviews for the movie earlier this month.
Anna Kendrick is one of the headline names starring in Disney's Into the Woods
Rob Marshall's Into the Woods, an adaptation of the Sondheim musical, took $46.1 million on the back of strong reviews. The movie boasted the likes of Johnny Depp, Meryl Streep and Anna Kendrick on its posters and it's now the second biggest ever bow for a Broadway musical adaptation after Mamma Mia!
More: The Hobbit: The Battle of the Five Armies is the best in the trilogy.
The Top 5 was rounded out by Night of the Museum: Secret of the Tomb ($27.9 million) and the musical remake of Annie ($21.2 millon). The low budget crime drama The Gambler, starring Mark Wahlberg, opened with $14 million while Oscar-tipped picture The Imitation Game hit the Top 10 for the first time with $11 million after expanding from its limited release.
Watch the trailer for The Hobbit: Battle of the Five Armies:
Peter Jackson's expanded take on J.R.R. Tolkien's The Hobbit comes to a conclusion in a...
The Lonely Mountain has been reclaimed from the dragon Smaug. The dwarves of Thorin Oakenshield...
Bilbo Baggins, Gandalf and the mini-army of dwarves led by Thorin are facing an evermore...
With wittier action and a few more sharply defined characters, this second episode in Peter...
Bilbo Baggins has narrowly escaped several deadly confrontations with the likes of trolls, stone giants...
Bilbo Baggins, Gandalf and their company thirteen dwarves have managed to leave the Misty Mountains...
Corruption, self-interest and rampant bigotry are so clearly portrayed in this riveting documentary that if...
This first chapter of Peter Jackson's new Tolkien trilogy takes us back to the familiar...
Bilbo Baggins is a hobbit, who lives a quiet life in The Shire. His peace...
This film is packed with involving performances, even though Jackson takes a bloated approach to...
With a relentless pace and seamless effects, this offbeat alien invasion thriller combines non-stop action...
Need I provide a pithy introduction to The Two Towers, the second installment in The...
You think Harry Potter had expectations? It's a beloved book, sure, but it was...