Hobbit Precious in $84.8M Debut

The Hobbit: An Unexpected Journey sailed through its first weekend with an $84.8 million haul, shattering the previous record for December but rather underperforming expectations that had pegged the $250 million blockbuster at somewhere between $120 million and $140 million. The good news: Those who did turn out loved the Lord of the Rings prequel, giving it an average CinemaScore of A and increasing the odds of a word-of-mouth surge, reports the LA Times. Rounding out the top five were Rise of the Guardians ($7.4 million), Lincoln ($7.2 million), Skyfall ($7 million), and Life of Pi ($5.4 million).