Box Office: The Hobbit: The Desolation Of Smaug Has $73.6 Million Opening Weekend

Early forecasts had The Hobbit: The Desolation of Smaug pulling in anywhere between $70 million to $85 million during its opening weekend. However, it appears as if the film will finish the weekend on the low end of those forecasts. The Hobbit: The Desolation of Smaug easily took the top spot at the domestic box office this weekend by a large margin, but its opening weekend total is now only projected at $73.6 million. That's more than a $10 million drop at the box office from the first Hobbit movies opening weekend. The Hobbit: An Unexpected Journey had a $84.6 million opening weekend back in December 2012. The Hobbit: The Desolation of Smaug had an opening day of $31.1 million on Friday, which also trailed behind the first Hobbit movies opening day. Even though The Hobbit: The Desolation of Smaug seems to be scoring better with critics and fans than the original, there is likely still some hangover effect from fans who were dissatisfied with the first film.