‘The Hobbit: Battle of the Five Armies’ Dominates With $117.6 Million International

Despite all the hate Peter Jackson’s Hobbit films have been getting, the final installment in the new J.R.R. Tolkein trilogy has beat out the competition with its international release. The Hobbit: Battle of the Five armies earned $117.6 million in its opening weekend across the globe.

According to Variety, The Hobbit: Battle of the Five has debuted in 38 different territories, including Japan, Mexico and Russia. Battle of the Five Armies has yet to release in the United States, but will be showing starting December 17. The new Hobbit film also dominated in the IMAX market, which accounted for $6.4 million in its opening weekend.

Showings of The Hobbit: Battle of the Five Armies in Germany brought in a total of $19.5 million, the highest of all the territories. The United Kingdom came in second, earning The Hobbit$15.2 million. France and Russia paid $14.5 million and $13.4 million respectively to see the trilogy’s conclusion. The film was the highest-earning Warner Bros. picture in the history of Russia.

While some previous reports suggested reviews of The Hobbit: Battle of the Five Armies were not promising, some other reports claim this Hobbit film is by far the best of the three. Not only that, some film critics are suggesting that Battle of the Five Armies is just as good as Peter Jackson’s original three Lord of the Rings films, which could explain why its opening weekend has been so profitable.

One thing is for sure, the new Hobbit film has already far out-performed the previous Hobbit movies, according to Deadline. Things could only get better for the third Hobbit film when it finally comes to the United States, where Lord of the Rings is fairly popular. Past Hobbit films did especially well in the United States, despite being widely criticized for added content that wasn’t in The Hobbit book and a drawn-out story line.

Films that trailed behind The Hobbit: Battle of the Five Armies in the foreign charts included Exodus: Gods and Kings in second place with $18.8 million and The Hunger Games: Mocking Jay — Part 1 in third place, earning $16 million. Penguins of Madagascar and Interstellar made fourth and fifth place, earning $14.7 and $11.4 million respectively.

At this rate, The Hobbit: Battle of the Five armies is anticipated to break the $1 billion mark once it is released worldwide, although it may require a release in China to arrive at that landmark. Battle of the Five Armies hits China on January 23.

[ Photo provided by IMAX.com ]