HOBBIT DOWN; BOX OFFICE UP VS 2012

With $73.6 million in total ticket sales this weekend, The Hobbit: The Desolation of Smaug fell far short of the $84.6 million that the original Hobbit took in during the comparable weekend a year ago. But overall, the box office displayed lots of strength as it approached the holiday season, when a slew of new releases is set to send the year out with a bang. This weekend’s runners-up showed much more strength than last year’s over the same weekend. For example, No. 2 on the list this year was Disney’s Frozen with $22.6 million, while No. 2 on last year’s list was DreamWorks Animation’s Rise of the Guardians with $7.1 million. Overall, the box office was up 14 percent from the same week in 2012.