‘Hobbit’ Tops ‘Frozen’ Abroad, Lifts Global Box-Office Haul to $756M

Tolkien tale takes in $58M to Disney film’s $52.5M overseas this weekend; Fox’s ‘Walter Mitty” is third with strong $31.5M

“The Hobbit: The Desolation of Smaug” was the No. 1 film at the foreign box office this weekend, just holding off Disney’s “Frozen.”

The second film in Peter Jackson’s trilogy took in another $58 million from 62 markets abroad over the weekend and is now up to $527 million from overseas. Coupled with its $229 million domestic haul, its global total is now up to $756 million after a month in release, with China and Japan debuts set for February.

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Warner Bros.’ “Smaug” remained No. 1 in Germany for the fourth consecutive week, and that’s the leading foreign territory so far with $75 million. The Tolkien tale has brought in $60 million from the U.K. and $46 million from France.

Disney’s “Frozen,” meanwhile, brought in $52.5 million from 49 foreign markets to raise its international total to $342 million. With $297 million from North America, the snow princess tale is up to nearly $640 million worldwide. That makes it the second-highest grossing Disney Animation release of all-time, behind only “The Lion King.”

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Fox’s Ben Stiller comedy “The Secret Life of Walter Mitty” was third with a strong $31.5 million from 56 foreign markets. It is up to nearly $115 million globally since opening on Christmas Day, with $69 million of that coming from overseas.

A $13.1 million opening in Russia helped Universal’s Keanu Reeves samurai epic “47 Ronin” take in $20.5 million from 34 territories. It’s at $51.3 million overseas and $31.2 million domestically.

 

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