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 Walt Disney's animated film "Frozen" was second with ticket
sales of $28.8 million in its third week, ahead of Will
Ferrell's quirky comedy "Anchorman 2: The Legend Continues" that
collected $20.2 million at domestic theaters.
"American Hustle," which reunited director David O. Russell with
his "Silver Linings Playbook" stars Bradley Cooper and Jennifer
Lawrence, was fourth with $19.6 million in ticket sales at
theaters in the U.S. and Canada, according to studio estimates.
Sony, the distributor of "American Hustle," also said it had
grossed $3 billion worldwide as of this weekend.
Director Martin Scorsese's "The Wolf of Wall Street" was fifth
with $18.5 million after finishing a close second to "The
Hobbit" on Christmas Day, according to estimates compiled by
Rentrak. The nearly three hour movie received good reviews but
registered only a "C" rating from CinemaScore, a site that
measures audience reaction.
"The Hobbit: The Desolation of Smaug," the second of three
movies based on J.R.R. Tolkien's 1937 novel, has collected more
than $190 million in ticket sales since its December 13 release,
according to Rentrak. Its worldwide sales total more than $614
million, according to distributor Warner Brothers.
"47 Ronin," the Keanu Reeves samurai adventure film that
Universal Pictures made for $175 million, opened with $9.9
million in ticket sales. That was on par with the industry's $17
million to $20 million projections for total ticket sales of
$20.6 million since its Christmas Day release.
On Dec. 24, Reuters reported that Universal, a unit of cable
giant Comcast Corp, had taken unspecified writedowns when it
became apparent the film would not take in the amounts it had
spent to make and market it.
Nikki Rocco, president for domestic distribution at Universal
Pictures, acknowledged that the opening of "47 Ronin" was
disappointing, but said the studio would move on to greener
pastures regardless of the film's performance.
"Of course it's very disappointing and you don't want to open a
picture at this level, but exit polls are decent and we think it
will find its way," Rocco said.
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 "The Wolf of Wall Street," which stars Leonardo
DiCaprio in the biographical story of a drug-snorting Wall Street
scam artist, sold $18.5 million worth of tickets after critics gave
it generally positive reviews. The film and DiCaprio have both been
nominated for a Golden Globe Award.
"The Secret Life of Walter Mitty," which stars and was directed by
Ben Stiller, collected $13 million in ticket sales. The film was
first developed in the early 1990s, and for a while Steven Spielberg
was signed to direct it. Fox cast Stiller in the title role in 2011.
This year is set to surpass 2012 as a record year
for the box office by nearly 1 percent, according to Rentrak. Total
gross sales were $10,811,701,260 billion in 2012, while 2013 is on
track to exceed $10.9 billion. ___
"The Secret Life of Walter Mitty" was distributed by Fox, a unit of
21st Century Fox.
"Frozen" was released by Walt Disney Co. "American Hustle" was
distributed by Sony.
"The Hobbit: The Desolation of Smaug" was released by Warner
Brothers, a unit of Time Warner Inc.
"Anchorman 2: The Legend Continues" and "The Wolf of Wall Street"
were distributed by Paramount Pictures, a unit of Viacom.
"The Hunger Games: Catching Fire" was released by Lions Gate
Entertainment Corp.
"47 Ronin" was released by Universal Pictures, a unit of Comcast
Corp.
(Reporting by Ronald Grover and Andrea
Burzynski; editing by Eric Beech and Christopher Wilson)
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