'Hobbit' box office elite win $73,7 million

ISTANBUL - Reuters

Made for $250 million, ‘Desolation of Smaug’ sees the unlikely band of heroes chased by giant carnivorous spiders and brutish Orcs, challenged by arrow-wielding elves and the desperate humans of Lake Town, and finally, the great Dragon of Erebor, Smaug.

Hitting the Turkish movie theaters on Dec 12, “Hobbit: The Desolation of Smaug” wins big in the country. While the film has attracted Tolkien lovers to the cinemas, Turkish TV critics also gave full credit to the film. On the day the film first hit Turkish theaters, crowds filled the halls thanks to the new Jackson film, reported daily Hürriyet. The films also acheived international success at the box office. 

According to Associated Press, per studio estimates on Dec. 15, Warner Bros. “Hobbit: The Desolation of Smaug” was No. 1 at the weekend box office with $73.7 million, besting last weekend’s No. 1 film, Disney’s animated fable “Frozen.”

 Melting down to the No. 2 position, “Frozen” earned $22.2 in its third weekend, bringing its impressive overall domestic ticket total to nearly $164.4 million. Despite its first place position, “The Desolation of Smaug” fell short of topping its prequel’s debut. “The Hobbit: An Unexpected Journey,” which opened same weekend last year, gained $84.6 million. It earned $131.2 million in international sales, reported AP. 

“Hobbit’ rules this date and Warner Bros. has linked this brand to this time of year very effectively,” said box-office analyst Paul Dergarabedian of Rentrak, said AP.

“We had an excellent weekend,” said Dan Fellman, president of domestic distribution at Warner Bros. “Of course, it could have been a little better, but the weather back East was really tough last night and probably took a couple million dollars out of my pocket. But our box office will survive. We are right on target to do very similar numbers to the last ‘Hobbit,’ which grossed a $1 billion worldwide (overall).”

According to Reuters, the Warner Bros. production is expected to be one of the year’s highest-grossing worldwide with projections of $1 billion in ticket sales. Industry experts predict it will ring up $80 million in its opening weekend at the North American box office.

A reserved hobbit

Bilbo, a reserved hobbit forced out of his comfort zone, has come into his own in the second film. But his possession of the mysterious ring he stole from Gollum’s cave in the first installment - the same ring that leads to an epic saga in the “Lord of the Rings” trilogy - is taking a hold on his soul.

“He can feel that he needs it and he can feel that he really does not want to relinquish it, and he doesn’t know why. I think that confuses him and troubles him that he has this strong feeling of a trinket,” British actor Martin Freeman, who plays the hobbit in the live-action 3D film, told Reuters. 

Hobbits are fictional human-like creatures in author J.R.R. Tolkein’s fantasy novel “The Hobbit,” said Reuters. 

Made for $250 million, “Desolation of Smaug” sees the unlikely band of heroes chased by giant carnivorous spiders and brutish Orcs, challenged by arrow-wielding elves and the desperate humans of Lake Town, and finally, the great Dragon of Erebor, Smaug.

British actor Benedict Cumberbatch voiced the dragon and also helped create the movements of the giant mythical reptile through motion capture, a special-effects film technique, researching the characteristics of komodo dragons, serpents and bats to embody Smaug’s slithering and flight.

“I wanted his pitch to be a lot lower ... really placing it in the body and trying to make it sound old, warm but incredibly powerful,” the actor said.