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 Kicking off Hollywood's year-end push of high-profile movie
releases, the "Anchorman" crew led by Will Ferrell was unable to
dethrone last week's winner and took in $26.8 million for the
No. 2 spot, according to sales estimates from Rentrak.
Oscar-contending crime drama "American Hustle" grabbed the No. 4
slot, racking up $19.1 million, just behind Disney's animated
hit, "Frozen" which took in $19.2 million.
"Anchorman" opened on Wednesday following a months-long
marketing onslaught and rang up a five-day total of $40 million
through Sunday. Ferrell appeared in character seemingly
everywhere as the self-important Ron Burgundy, pitching the
Dodge Durango in TV ads, interviewing Denver Broncos quarterback
Peyton Manning for ESPN The Magazine and co-anchoring a local
newscast in Nebraska.
The campaign reintroduced Burgundy a decade after the original
"Anchorman" in 2004. The first film took in a solid $90 million
at worldwide box offices and gained popularity on DVD to become
a cult classic.
In the sequel, the former San Diego anchor joins a cable news
channel startup in 1980s New York. Paul Rudd, Steve Carell and
David Koechner return as members of his wacky news team.
Box office forecasters predicted "Anchorman 2" would bring in
$35 million to $40 million from Friday through Sunday. The movie
cost $50 million to make.
"Forty million over five days is a sensational start," said Don
Harris, president of domestic theatrical distribution for
Paramount Pictures, the Viacom Inc unit that released the film,
adding that was in line with studio expectations.
Jeff Bock, senior box office analyst for Exhibitor Relations Co
said the sequel was "already creating newsworthy grosses abroad,
debuting with $13.4 million in just six territories. That tally
crushes the miniscule lifetime cumulative of the original" of
just $5 million.
Bock said the strong global results would "possibly pave the
way" for a third Anchorman film.
The performance of "Anchorman" and other holiday releases will
decide if Hollywood reaches a ticket sales record this year.
Through Sunday, total grosses for 2013 has risen 0.8 percent
from a year earlier to nearly $10.37 billion, according to
Rentrak. The record for total box office sales was $10.77
billion, set in 2012.
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 On Christmas Day on Wednesday, studios release five
films including Leonardo DiCaprio drama "The Wolf of Wall Street"
and Ben Stiller comedy "The Secret Life of Walter Mitty."
This weekend, the 3D "Hobbit" sequel brought its
worldwide total to $404 million, distributor Warner Bros. said. The
second installment follows hobbit Bilbo Baggins and a band of
dwarves on a quest that leads to a clash with dragon Smaug.
"American Hustle" expanded nationwide after a limited opening and
stellar reviews for its ensemble cast of Christian Bale, Bradley
Cooper, Amy Adams and Jennifer Lawrence. The movie, produced by Sony
Corp's movie studio for $40 million, is loosely based on a real-life
1970s bribery scandal that led to the conviction of seven members of
the U.S. Congress and several local and federal officials.
Walt Disney Co's animated musical "Frozen" features the voice of
Kristen Bell as a Scandinavian princess in a story inspired by "The
Snow Queen" fairy tale.
Another Disney film, the critically praised
live-action drama "Saving Mr. Banks," finished in fifth place during
its first weekend of nationwide release, taking in $9.3 million.
The $35 million production tells the story of how Walt Disney
brought children's book "Mary Poppins" to the big screen, with Tom
Hanks as Disney and Emma Thompson as author P.L. Travers, who
resisted the movie idea for two decades.
Animated "Walking with Dinosaurs" managed only No. 8 with $7.3
million at domestic theaters. The $80 million movie distributed by
20th Century Fox tells the story of an underdog dinosaur who becomes
a hero.
The No. 9 spot was grabbed by a surprisingly strong start from
Indian film "Dhoom 3," which opened in only 236 locations and took
in $3.3 million to become the biggest U.S. opening of a Bollywood
film.
(Editing by Mohammad Zargham)
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