The Hobbit: The Battle of the Five Armies opens #1 – Roadshow Media Release
THE HOBBIT: THE BATTLE OF THE FIVE ARMIES SMASHES RECORDS ON ITS WAY TO THE TOP OF THE AUSTRALIAN BOX OFFICE
Peter Jackson’s final Middle-earth adventure takes staggering $5.59million on opening day
THE HOBBIT: THE BATTLE OF THE FIVE ARMIES soared to #1 at the Australian box office yesterday with a record-breaking $5.59m for the biggest opening day of the year. Big Hero 6 opened #2 yesterday with $1.3m and Night at the Museum 3 was #3 grossing $1.1m.
The third and final film in Peter Jackson’s epic The Hobbit trilogy claimed the top spot and the second biggest Boxing Day ever, edging out the previous Middle-earth adventure, The Hobbit: The Desolation of Smaug, which earned $5.554m on 628 screens the same day last year.
The result is also Australia’s fourth largest opening day of all time behind Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows: Part Two ($7.092m on 727 screens), The Avengers ($6.004m on 621 screens) and The Hobbit: An Unexpected Journey ($5.901m on 631 screens).
Shot in 3D 48 frames-per-second, The Hobbit: The Battle of the Five Armies was released in Australia on 605 screens including High Frame Rate 3D (HFR 3D) in select cinemas, other 2D and 3D formats, and IMAX®.
The film has taken more than $350million internationally and grossed $90.63m in the United States for the largest opening weekend for any film in The Hobbit canon.
The Hobbit: The Battle of the Five Armies brings to an epic conclusion the adventures of Bilbo Baggins (Martin Freeman), Thorin Oakenshield (Richard Armitage) and the Company of Dwarves. The Dwarves of Erebor have reclaimed the vast wealth of their homeland, but now must face the consequences of having unleashed the terrifying Dragon, Smaug, upon the defenseless men, women and children of Lake-town.
As he succumbs to dragon-sickness, the King Under the Mountain, Thorin Oakenshield, sacrifices friendship and honor in his search for the legendary Arkenstone. Unable to help Thorin see reason, Bilbo is driven to make a desperate and dangerous choice, not knowing that even greater perils lie ahead. An ancient enemy has returned to Middle-earth. Sauron, the Dark Lord, has sent forth legions of Orcs in a stealth attack upon the Lonely Mountain.
As darkness converges on their escalating conflict, the races of Dwarves, Elves and Men must decide—unite or be destroyed. Bilbo finds himself fighting for his life and the lives of his friends as five great armies go to war.
The Hobbit trilogy tells a continuous story set in Middle-earth 60 years before The Lord of the Rings, which Academy Award-winning filmmaker Peter Jackson and his team brought to the big screen in the blockbuster trilogy that culminated with the Oscar-winning The Lord of the Rings: The Return of the King.
The international ensemble cast is led by Evangeline Lilly, Luke Evans, Lee Pace, Benedict Cumberbatch, Billy Connolly, James Nesbitt, Ken Stott, Aidan Turner, Dean O’Gorman, Graham McTavish, Stephen Fry, and Ryan Gage. The film also stars Cate Blanchett, Ian Holm, Christopher Lee, Hugo Weaving, Orlando Bloom, Mikael Persbrandt, Sylvester McCoy, Peter Hambleton, John Callen, Mark Hadlow, Jed Brophy, William Kircher, Stephen Hunter, Adam Brown, John Bell, Manu Bennett and John Tui.
The Hobbit: The Battle of the Five Armies opened on December 26, 2014 and is rated M.
Source: Roadshow Media Release
About the Author
Damien Straker is a freelance writer and film critic. He studied at the University of Sydney and graduated with an Arts Honours degree in Film Studies. He is a pop culture aficionado and enjoys talking about all films, 90s TV shows, ninjas and watching Rugby League. His favourite film directors are Alfonso Cuarón, Clint Eastwood and Alexander Payne.
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