UK box office top ten and analysis for the weekend of Friday 4th - Sunday 6th January 2013...
![The Hobbit An Unexpected Journey movie poster]( "The Hobbit: An Unexpected Journey movie poster")
It's a new year, but there's a familiar face atop the UK box office chart as Peter Jackson's The Hobbit: An Unexpected Journey edged out The Impossible to claim the first box office title of 2013 and take first place for the fourth weekend in a row - the only film of 2012 to do so. Nevertheless, The Impossible put up a strong fight, posting an opening haul of £4,034,470, which was just £40k short of The Hobbit (albeit with three days of preview screenings included), while Ang Lee's Life of Pi continued to perform well in third, adding another £3.35m for a total of £17.86m to date.
In fourth place, Dustin Hoffman's British comedy drama Quartet debuted with a solid £2,294,917 (including three days of previews), while the Tom Cruise action thriller Jack Reacher was the only other film to break seven figures, pulling in £1.68m in fifth. Meanwhile, as a result of the two newcomers, the rest of the chart all fell two spots apiece from last time out, with Pitch Perfect, Parental Guidance, Rise of the Guardians, Skyfalland Tinker Bell and the Secret of the Wings rounding out the top ten and getting the UK box office off to a fantastic start.
Number one this time last year: Mission: Impossible - Ghost Protocol
1. The Hobbit: An Unexpected Journey - £4,075,781 weekend; £44,870,320 total (4 weeks)
2. The Impossible - £4,034,470 weekend (New)
3. Life of Pi - £3,353,579 weekend; £17,857,428 total (3 weeks)
4. Quartet - £2,294,917 weekend (New)
5. Jack Reacher - £1,682,561 weekend; £7,160,319 total (2 weeks)
6. Pitch Perfect - £917,135 weekend; £4,928,013 total (3 weeks)
7. Parental Guidance - £884,319 weekend; £3,371,022 total (2 weeks)
8. Rise of the Guardians - £725,281 weekend; £11,247,265 total (6 weeks)
9. Skyfall - £541,401 weekend; £101,572,493 total (11 weeks)
10. Tinker Bell and the Secret of the Wings - £516,952 weekend; £3,375,684 total (4 weeks)
Incoming...
After preview screenings this past Friday and Saturday, horror sequel Texas Chainsaw 3D (cert. 18) opens wide on Wednesday, while Thursday sees the release of Ruben Fleischer's hotly-anticipated crime thriller Gangster Squad (cert. 15), which features an impressive ensemble cast including Sean Penn, Ryan Gosling, Emma Stone and Josh Brolin. However, the real challenge to The Hobbit's hold on the chart will likely come on on Friday with the arrival of Tom Hooper's adaptation of Les Misérables (cert. 12A), starring Hugh Jackman, Russel Crowe, Anne Hathaway and Amanda Seyfried. You can read our Les Misérables review here.
In fourth place, Dustin Hoffman's British comedy drama Quartet debuted with a solid £2,294,917 (including three days of previews), while the Tom Cruise action thriller Jack Reacher was the only other film to break seven figures, pulling in £1.68m in fifth. Meanwhile, as a result of the two newcomers, the rest of the chart all fell two spots apiece from last time out, with Pitch Perfect, Parental Guidance, Rise of the Guardians, Skyfalland Tinker Bell and the Secret of the Wings rounding out the top ten and getting the UK box office off to a fantastic start.
Number one this time last year: Mission: Impossible - Ghost Protocol
1. The Hobbit: An Unexpected Journey - £4,075,781 weekend; £44,870,320 total (4 weeks)
2. The Impossible - £4,034,470 weekend (New)
3. Life of Pi - £3,353,579 weekend; £17,857,428 total (3 weeks)
4. Quartet - £2,294,917 weekend (New)
5. Jack Reacher - £1,682,561 weekend; £7,160,319 total (2 weeks)
6. Pitch Perfect - £917,135 weekend; £4,928,013 total (3 weeks)
7. Parental Guidance - £884,319 weekend; £3,371,022 total (2 weeks)
8. Rise of the Guardians - £725,281 weekend; £11,247,265 total (6 weeks)
9. Skyfall - £541,401 weekend; £101,572,493 total (11 weeks)
10. Tinker Bell and the Secret of the Wings - £516,952 weekend; £3,375,684 total (4 weeks)
Incoming...
After preview screenings this past Friday and Saturday, horror sequel Texas Chainsaw 3D (cert. 18) opens wide on Wednesday, while Thursday sees the release of Ruben Fleischer's hotly-anticipated crime thriller Gangster Squad (cert. 15), which features an impressive ensemble cast including Sean Penn, Ryan Gosling, Emma Stone and Josh Brolin. However, the real challenge to The Hobbit's hold on the chart will likely come on on Friday with the arrival of Tom Hooper's adaptation of Les Misérables (cert. 12A), starring Hugh Jackman, Russel Crowe, Anne Hathaway and Amanda Seyfried. You can read our Les Misérables review here.