BOX OFFICE: THE HOBBIT: AN UNEXPECTED JOURNEY Earns $12.4 Million In Midnight Showings

BOX OFFICE: THE HOBBIT: AN UNEXPECTED JOURNEY Earns $12.4 Million In Midnight Showings

Peter Jackson's return to Middle-Earth is already taking the North American box office by storm, earning an impressive $12.4 million from midnight showings. Hit the jump for details on that and a rough estimate for how The Hobbit: An Unexpected Journey will perform this weekend!

News
By JoshWilding - Dec 14, 2012 09:12 AM EST
Filed Under: Fantasy
Source: The Wrap


According to The Wrap, The Hobbit: An Unexpected Journey made $12.4 million at midnight screenings last night. Shown at 3,100 theatres across North America, these figures actually make Peter Jackson's adaptation of the J.R.R. Tolkien novel the biggest December midnight opening in history. While Warner Bros. are conservatively estimating a $70 million opening weekend, it's thought that it will in fact debut closer to $100 million when it rolls out to 4,045 screen in the US. Are you planning to watch the movie this weekend? If so, will you be checking it out in 48fps? IMAX? 2D? 3D? Be sure to sound off with your thoughts in the usual place!





The adventure follows the journey of title character Bilbo Baggins, who is swept into an epic quest to reclaim the lost Dwarf Kingdom of Erebor from the fearsome dragon Smaug. Approached out of the blue by the wizard Gandalf the Grey, Bilbo finds himself joining a company of thirteen dwarves led by the legendary warrior, Thorin Oakenshield. Their journey will take them into the Wild; through treacherous lands swarming with Goblins and Orcs, deadly Wargs and Giant Spiders, Shapeshifters and Sorcerers.

Although their goal lies to the East and the wastelands of the Lonely Mountain first they must escape the goblin tunnels, where Bilbo meets the creature that will change his life forever…Gollum.

Here, alone with Gollum, on the shores of an underground lake, the unassuming Bilbo Baggins not only discovers depths of guile and courage that surprise even him, he also gains possession of Gollum’s "precious" ring that holds unexpected and useful qualities … A simple, gold ring that is tied to the fate of all Middle-earth in ways Bilbo cannot begin to know.


STARRING:

Martin Freeman as Bilbo Baggins
Ian McKellen as Gandalf the Grey
Richard Armitage as Thorin Oakenshield
Andy Serkis as Gollum
Hugo Weaving as Elrond
Benedict Cumberbatch as Smaug
Luke Evans as Bard the Bowman
Christopher Lee as Saruman the White
Cate Blanchett as Galadriel
Elijah Wood as Frodo Baggins
Orlando Bloom as Legolas

RELEASE DATE: December 14th, 2012.


About The Author:
JoshWilding
Member Since 3/13/2009
Comic Book Reader. Film Lover. WWE and F1 Fan. Rotten Tomatoes-approved critic and ComicBookMovie.com's #1 contributor.
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valeriesghost
valeriesghost - 12/14/2012, 9:54 AM
Box office numbers no longer impress me. WIth Imax and 3D showings jacking up the price per ticket it is no longer a good indicator of how well the movie actually did IMO. I hope this movie is good, but i have my trepidations. I just don't see how they can make a short book into three movies without there being too much additional story delving from the original and scenes drawn out further then they should. I was okay with making it into 2 movies, but since it was announced it will be three my enthusiasm has dwindled significantly.
gmckoy
gmckoy - 12/14/2012, 9:54 AM
The movie was great, the only flaw i saw was the action scenes were a tad bit blurry and could have been better, mind you i saw it in 24 fps in imax, 48 fps is coming out next week in the theatre i saw it in

besides that it was epic, great storyline and did justice to the book, i love origin stories, it builds it well for lotr, jackson did a great job, great cinematography and the acting was good.
valeriesghost
valeriesghost - 12/14/2012, 9:55 AM
plus, some of the dwarves don't have beards and that is just [frick]ed up.
Xeriath
Xeriath - 12/14/2012, 9:56 AM
I really don't get the critics on this one.. I saw it last night in IMAX 3D and absolutely loved it. My theater gave it a huge applause at the end. Martin Freeman is a scene stealer. Probably going to check it out again in 48fps just to check out the new technology.
gmckoy
gmckoy - 12/14/2012, 9:56 AM
@valerieghost

it needs 3 parts, i thought the same at first but after seeing i realize they need 3 parts to the story, it would be impossible to fit everything into 2 parts and do it properly, jackson called it right
gmckoy
gmckoy - 12/14/2012, 9:58 AM
@andyroolll

yea im thinking the same, will see it in 48 fps, lights came on in the last 10 mins and they gave everyone a free pass :) one of the best parts of the movie bc i didn't even move from the screen lol
bhorwith22
bhorwith22 - 12/14/2012, 10:00 AM
I'm nowhere near a theater that has it in HFR. The closest one to me is Salt Lake City, which also has it in 48FPS in both Dolby Atmos and IMAX, but not at the same theater, sadly.
gmckoy
gmckoy - 12/14/2012, 10:02 AM
@bhorwith22

forget about the 48fps, the movie is great regardless of what you watch it in, it could be available on vhs and it would still look great...
Gnyah123
Gnyah123 - 12/14/2012, 10:03 AM
i bet its good i still havent seen any of the lord of the rings...should i? isnt this a prequel to the 3??
i seen parts but not he whole thing...

and how was the crowds reaction to the man of steel? i know they went crazy..
ToTheManInTheColdSweat
ToTheManInTheColdSweat - 12/14/2012, 10:06 AM
The Hobbit was a [frick]ing disappointment, there's a reason it's at 66% RT. Jackson stretched it too [frick]ing long, it doesn't need 3 movies (It's 320 Pages for [frick]s sake), just two at most. Movie was like a goddamn videogame, hero meets and defeats Boss #1, now progress to level II.

Why the [frick] did we have to spend 2 [frick]ing hours hanging with the dwarves, what the [frick] is up all those cheese wheels And [frick] Gollum and his goddamn "riddles". Peter Jackson should've advertised The Hobbit exactly like the book - like a goddamn light hearted adventure not LOTR Pt. II. Hype meet Backlash.

That said, it was an alright movie. I'll give it a "C+" at best.
ManofSteel23
ManofSteel23 - 12/14/2012, 10:24 AM
I LOVED! this film my ONE and only flaw was that some scenes did seem dragged out,like the gollum riddles,it lasted for about 10 mins lol with it cutting to the dwarfs and back
DudeGuy
DudeGuy - 12/14/2012, 10:31 AM
Just saw it! I loved it!!
Ranger14
Ranger14 - 12/14/2012, 10:35 AM
I always wait a couple weeks to see a film. Don't like crowds.

It's 66% on RT because critics are discounting it more on their bias toward the 48 fps format then the actual film itself, at least from a lot of the reviews I read.

For those saying it should be only one movie, you apparently havne't read about what the content is going to be in the next two films. Each having one of the major battle scenes in them. It was a solid call by Jackson.

ToTheManInTheColdSweat
ToTheManInTheColdSweat - 12/14/2012, 10:40 AM
@Yossarian, A-[frick]ing-MEN.
dadisatish
dadisatish - 12/14/2012, 10:43 AM
movie was great.....dont miss it.....
Robe
Robe - 12/14/2012, 11:00 AM
I think the critics have been eating Radagast's mushrooms, this movie is amazing!
Fracture
Fracture - 12/14/2012, 11:04 AM
Watched it in regular 24fps and you can it's been filmed at a higher fps rate. Like on the slow scenes it's really smooth and kinda has that 120hz look. But on the fast action scenes, really choppy.
GLprime2814
GLprime2814 - 12/14/2012, 11:06 AM
Movie was fantastic, so much from the book was added it surprised me.
SauronsBANE
SauronsBANE - 12/14/2012, 11:17 AM
Really wanted to love it, but...
...I just couldn't. I knew coming in that it wouldn't be on as large a scale as the LOTR and that it'd be more personal, as I've read the book for the Hobbit and the LOTR books, while also viewing the extended editions multiple times. I consider myself one of the "hardcore" fans. A lot of reviews state that the casual fan won't like it as much, while the rest of us would absolutely love it. I found the exact OPPOSITE to be true unfortunately. My casual fan friends who haven't read the books or even seen all of the LOTR seemed to enjoy it a lot, while I just couldn't get past many of the unnecessary changes that Peter Jackson was compelled to make. I won't go on a whole rant now, but I was disappointed. The movie did have its moments, but all of the little things added up in a big way, and i can't fathom giving the movie more than a 6.5 out of 10 at the most.
REDSTORM
REDSTORM - 12/14/2012, 11:22 AM
I saw it at midnight in a pretty much empty theater. Honestly, I thought it was great. I've never read the book, but the movie was the most fun I've had at the theater all year.
Facade
Facade - 12/14/2012, 11:29 AM
I will wait until mid week to see it. I'll likely see it in 48 1st then 24.
yourdaddy
yourdaddy - 12/14/2012, 11:33 AM
ugh.

so much [frick]ing whining on this thread.
just shut the [frick] up and get the [frick] out if you don't want to watch it.

it doesn't matter what the rotten tomatoes numbers are or what the critics are saying. and it doesn't [frick]ing matter if the numbers don't "impress" you anymore because they've got too many advantages. just watch it and form your own opinion you brainless sheep.

i loved it. freeman was awesome as bilbo. gollum was awesome. the world was awesome. can't wait to marathon the whole series in extended bluray
Show4God1
Show4God1 - 12/14/2012, 11:38 AM
Im seeing it at 805 tonight, but not in 3D and surely not in 48fps. 3D hurts my eyes and causes my head to hurt. and ive read mixed reviews on the 48fps film, so id rather be safe!

Whoelsebutkevin
Whoelsebutkevin - 12/14/2012, 12:06 PM
I saw it in 48 fps IMAX 3D, which was the way to see it. It took bout 20 mins to get used to the new format but once your eyes settle its absolutely beautiful. Movie was great, bit slow sometimes but otherwise great movie. Its a perfect prequel to LoTR.
ComfortablyNumb
ComfortablyNumb - 12/14/2012, 12:10 PM
Seeing it tomorrow at noon. PUMPED!! So ready to return to Middle-Earth!
KAPOW
KAPOW - 12/14/2012, 12:12 PM
It was so good I could have easily stayed in the theatre and watched it twice (back to back), i saw it 24fps and it was perfect, I want to see it in 48fps next but as far as 3D goes I'm not that fussed.
LAXtremest
LAXtremest - 12/14/2012, 12:28 PM
I just watched LOTR 1 a couple of nights ago for the first time and it's pretty damn good. Will watch the next two and then check this one out.
datNAMEtho
datNAMEtho - 12/14/2012, 12:33 PM
Amazinggggg!!!!!! I'll see it in 48 FPS in IMAX coming sunday!!! Can't wait!
Robe
Robe - 12/14/2012, 12:44 PM
I saw it in 3D and it looked great, I normally don't like 3D but it works for this movie.
LAWLZY96
LAWLZY96 - 12/14/2012, 12:45 PM
I don't understand the critics. Sure it was about a half-hour too long, but other than that it was incredible!
AlexDeLarge87
AlexDeLarge87 - 12/14/2012, 1:08 PM
Going to see it next week. Cant wait. :)
UrbanKnight
UrbanKnight - 12/14/2012, 1:14 PM
Imax won't be at 48fps, right?
Id like to watch it that way.
Ashleyh8su
Ashleyh8su - 12/14/2012, 1:39 PM
I find myself saying it could've been shorter... but I honestly can't think of things they could cut. It was a great movie and my only hope is that PJ uses the next 2 to better separate the dwarves from eachother. Beyond Thorin and Balin... I couldn't tell any of them apart.
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