Box Office: 'Anchorman 2' Has Classy Debut But Can't Top 'The Hobbit'

1. The Hobbit: The Desolation of Smaug- $31.4/$127.5M
Peter Jackson's latest journey into the land of hobbits and orcs slipped 57% from last week but still had enough muscle to best Ron Burgundy.  It's still doing considerably less business than the first film on the domestic side, which will make it nearly impossible to best its $1B worldwide total.
2. Anchorman 2: The Legend Continues- $26.7M/$40M
It took nine years for Paramount to get off their duffs and give fans an Anchorman sequel, largely because it took time to become the pop culture phenomenon we know it to be. And it appears that Ron Burgundy fan base has remained rock solid, giving the film a $26.7M three-day weekend and $40M since it  opened Wednesday. That's still less than Anchorman's' $28M back in 2004, but one has to expect the sequel to have long legs during the holiday season, and it's guaranteed to be huge on the home entertainment market.
3. Frozen- $19.16M/$191.5M
4. American Hustle-  $19.1M/$20.2M
After an insanely huge run in limited release last week, David O. Russell's American Hustle expanded nationwide and it's off to a start that compares favorably to last year's Silver Linings Playbook. That film was bolstered by star power, a crowd-pleasing plot, and solid Oscar buzz, and American Hustle actually has more firepower at its disposal. This is an event picture, the type families will gather together to check out after the holiday festivities, so expect it to hang around for a long time and do very well.
5. Saving Mr. Banks- $9.3M/$9.9M
Also expanding into wide release not faring so well is Disney's making-of Mary Poppins biopic, Saving Mr. Banks. It's possible this one could be a solid holiday destination, as well, but so far the returns aren't looking good. Perhaps it's being overshadowed by the crush of flashier new movies, but that's not going to get any better next week when a number of others emerge.
6. The Hunger Games: Catching Fire- $8.7M/$371.7M
7. Tyler Perry's A Madea Christmas- $8.5M/$28.3M
8. Walking with Dinosaurs- $7.3M
Movies with dinosaurs tend to be a reliable cash cow no matter who or what the movie is about, which just goes to show the extreme level of failure for 20th Century Fox's Walking with Dinosaurs. Very loosely based on the BBC series from the late '90s, the $85M 3D film has been crushed by bad reviews and has no chance of competing with Frozen for the family-friendly market. Opening at over 3200 theaters it has the lowest per site average in the top 10 with only $2200.
9. Dhoom 3- $3.3M
In a year that has seen ethnically-targeted movies take a major step forward domestically, Dhoom 3's surprising $3.3M opening weekend is the biggest ever for a Bollywood film.
10. Thor: The Dark World- $1.3M/$200.7M

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Box Office: 'Desolation of Smaug' Burns up 'Frozen'; 'A Madea Christmas' Opens Small

1. The Hobbit: The Desolation of Smaug- $73.6M
The middle chapter of Peter Jackson's latest Tolkien trilogy, The Desolation of Smaug, opened strong with $73.6M, performing well in midnight sneaks and IMAX, which accounted for $9M of the total. The film even did well overseas, as the New Zealand-based production was expected to, adding another $53M to the total. So what's the problem? Well, detractors will be quick to point out that the domestic debit is $11M less than An Unexpected Journey last year, although this isn't too surprising. Many considered that film a disappointment, so some hold-over was anticipated. You won't hear Jackson complaining, though, as the film moves into 4th place on the all-time list for December premieres.
2. Frozen- $22.1M/$164.3M
3. Tyler Perry's A Madea Christmas- $16M
Perhaps creeped out by an ad campaign with kids sitting on Madea's lap, Tyler Perry's A Madea Christmas opened to the smallest debut ever for a Madea film at $16M. These movies have long had a very loyal, dedicated audience who turn out annually for junk like Madea's Witness Protection and Madea Goes to Jail to an average $25M opening. And yet somehow Perry couldn't make this work even with the holiday theme, suggesting some of the sheen is coming off his favored character. Still, these movies don't cost much and generally do strong business on DVD/Blu-Ray, so Perry and Lionsgate aren't sweating this.
4. The Hunger Games: Catching Fire- $13.1M/$356.9M
5. Thor: The Dark World- $2.7M/$198.1M
6. Out of the Furnace- $2.3M/$9.4M
7. Delivery Man- $1.8M/$27.9M
8.  Philomena- $1.7M/$11M
9. The Book Thief- $1.67M/$14.8M
10. Homefront- $1.63M/$18.4M

It was a pretty good weekend for two major movies in limited release. First is American Hustle, the star-studded ABSCAM caper from David O. Russell scoring $690K in only six sites. Disney's Mary Poppins biopic Saving Mr. Banks performed less well, perhaps because its audience was at American Hustle, earning $421K at 15 theaters.

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Santa's On Lockdown In First Trailer for 'Tyler Perry's A Madea Christmas'

Tyler Perry has moved on from old granny housedresses to dolling himself up as Mrs. Santa Claus in A Madea Christmas, the latest comedy from the multi-hyphenate but not multi-talented filmmaker. The first trailer has been released and it's immediately unbelievable because no parent would let their kid sit on the lap of any Santa that looked like Madea.

Written and directed by Perry, so you know who to hold responsible, the film has Madea spreading some holiday good will by helping a friend pay her daughter a visit in the country, just as the town is preparing for its annual Christmas Carnival. None of that is in this footage, though, which is basically just a string of extremely unfunny one-liners ("How about a stocking full of Jenny Craig?") as Madea deals with the perils of her new job. At least she's getting $5 per child for it.

Starring Chad Michael Murray, Kathy Najimy, Anna Maria Horsford, Tika Sumpter, Eric Lively, JR Lemon, Alicia Witt, Lisa Whelchel and Larry the Cable Guy, A Madea Christmas opens on December 13th.

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Tyler Perry Joins David Fincher's 'Gone Girl' As First 'A Madea Christmas' Poster Arrives

There are essentially two sides to the Tyler Perry media empire, and both have reached wildly different levels of success. On the one hand, Perry has secured himself as a giant in the field of African-American cinema, with his Madea franchise the extremely lucrative centerpiece. Of course it revolves around him dressing like Mrs. Doubtfire, but you can't blame the guy for doing whatever it takes to bring in the green. And then there's the other side, which sees Perry attempting to prove he's a legit actor who can do more than tuck in his junk under a dress. So far he's been less than convincing, but he's about to get another chance to impress as part of David Fincher's anticipated adaptation of Gone Girl.

Deadline reports that Perry, Patrick Fugit, Kim Dickens (At Any Price), and Carrie Coon have joined the big screen version of Gillian Flynn's bestselling novel. Ben Affleck is set to play Nick Dunne, a former New York City journalist who returns home to Missouri to start over, only to have his wife Amy (Rosamund Pike) vanish on their fifth wedding anniversary. Considering their troubled marriage, he's immediately made the prime suspect. Perry will play Nick's high-powered defense attorney, with Fugit and Dickens as detectives investigating the case. Coon, a Tony-nominated Broadway vet, will make her feature debut as Nick's twin sister. Neil Patrick also seems to finally be confirmed as Desi, a mysterious figure from Amy's past. Gone Girl should begin filming soon and hit theaters next year.

Even if Perry fails to impress in Gone Girl, a distinct possibility given his track record, he's still got Madea to fall back on. The first poster for his latest cross-dressing effort Tyler Perry's A Madea Christmas has been released, and you can probably figure out the plot all by yourself. Family secrets are revealed as Madea spends the holiday with a friend at her daughter's rural home. *yawn*  Opening on December 13th, the film stars Kathy Najimy, Chad Michael Murray, Anna Maria Horsford, Tika Sumpter, Eric Lively, Alicia Witt, Larry the Cable Guy, and The Facts of Life's Lisa Whelchel.

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