The Hobbit: The Desolation Of Smaug tops US box office for third week

The Hobbit: The Desolation Of Smaug has topped the US box office for a third week despite festive competition from The Wolf Of Wall Street.

The film took $30 million over the weekend, bringing its US total to $190 million.

Disney animation Frozen was at number two, switching places with Will Ferrell’s comedy Anchorman 2 at three.

Martin Scorsese’s Wolf of Wall Street was the biggest new release, at five.

Marking the director’s fifth collaboration with Leonardo DiCaprio, the black comedy is based on stock broker Jordan Belfort’s memoir of the same name.

The film took $19 million after opening at number two on Christmas Day with $9.15 million.

Analysts said it had suffered slightly due to its three-hour length – meaning it cannot be shown as many times in a day as its competitors.

The only other new entry in the top 10 was Keanu Reeves’ samurai film 47 Ronin, which weathered bad reviews to debut at number nine with $9.9 million.

Reuters reported that film company Universal had revised its profit estimates on Christmas Eve after it became apparent the film would not break even.

With two days left to go, the North American Box Office is on track to beat last year’s record takings of $10.8 billion, said chart trackers Rentrak.

Rentrack estimated ticket sales would top $10.9 billion by the New Year, boosted by several award-friendly films in the Top 10.

Chief among them is American Hustle, which has already gained seven Golden Globe nominations.

Directed by David O. Russell, American Hustle stars Jennifer Lawrence and Bradley Cooper, who appeared in his Oscar-winning Silver Linings Playbook, alongside Amy Adams and Christian Bale, from the similarly-lauded Russell drama The Fighter.

North American box office Top 5:

1. Hobbit: The Desolation of Smaug – $30 million

2. Frozen – $28.9 million

3. Anchorman 2: The Legend Continues – $20.2 million

4. American Hustle – $19.6 million

5. The Wolf Of Wall Street – $19 million

Source: Rentrak