Hobbit still #1, Anchorman 2 #2

The Hobbit: The Desolation of Smaug ultimately won the weekend over all newcomers. Anchorman 2 put up the biggest fight, with endless marketing in multiple venues. American Hustle had about the same per-screen success, and it's been getting positive award buzz. Saving Mr. Banks was counting on the same sort of buzz, but as far as family movies go, Hobbit still seems to be winning. Still, I expect Banks to have strong legs through January.

The one outright flop was Walking with Dinosaurs, which decided to not make a nature-style film about dinosaurs but instead went the same route as Disney's forgettable 2000 movie Dinosaur, and give the dinosaurs human voices.

The studio Yash Raj continues to have limited-run success with its niche market films. I never see any box-office sites talk about their films, but hey, look, Dhoom 3 cracked the top ten on just 236 screens.

The competition gets stiffer this week when The Wolf of Wall Street, The Secret Life of Walter Mitty, Grudge Match and 47 Ronin open on Christmas Day.