The final Hobbit installment fought its way to the top of the U.K. box office, taking $15 million in its opening weekend and pushing U.K. success story Paddington into second place.
The Hobbit: The Battle of Five Armies debuted higher than the second film in the trilogy, The Desolation of Smaug, which took $14.5 million in its first week last year, but below that of An Unexpected Journey’s $18.1 million in 2012.
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Paddington’s third-week revenue of $4.5 million brought its total to $22.4 million, making it distributor StudioCanal’s biggest release of all time in the U.K.
In its fourth week, The Hunger Games: Mockingjay, Part 1 landed in the third spot with $1.7 million, taking its overall box office in Britain to $42.6 million, followed by The Penguins of Madagascar with $1.6 million and The Imitation Game, which brought in $800,000.
by Alex Ritman