The Hobbit: An Unexpected Journey hits box office gold

The Hobbit: An Unexpected Journey hits box office gold

In news which will be of little surprise to people living in New Zealand, The Hobbit: An Unexpected Journey has hit box office gold.

(Just like Bilbo below in this still from The Hobbit: The Desolation of Smaug)

In its opening night alone, it's amassed a wealth of $$782,695, beating out the likes of The Fellowship of the Ring and The Return of The King.

Here's the full release:

THE HOBBIT: AN UNEXPECTED JOURNEY TRAVELS WELL AT THE NEW ZEALAND BOX OFFICE

13 December 2012 – Auckland, New Zealand

The eagerly anticipated first film in The Hobbit Trilogy was released in cinemas yesterday and has already enamoured audiences all across the country.

The Hobbit: An Unexpected Journey, a production of New Line Cinema and Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer Pictures (MGM), opened to a box office result yesterday of $782,695, making it the biggest non-holiday Wednesday opening of all time. 

The box office takings compare favourably against The Lord of the Rings Trilogy on the records charts, with Lord of The Rings: The Fellowship of the Ring grossing $720,933 on its opening day and The Lord of The Rings: The Two Towers grossing $757,887.

Many fans took the opportunity to be amongst the first in the world to experience the film on the big screen at Midnight on December 12^th, with several cinemas reporting unprecedented demand and sell-out midnight sessions up and down the country.

Joel Pearlman, Managing Director of Roadshow Film Distributors, stated, “We are thrilled that the film has already resonated so positively with so many New Zealanders.”

“It is a spectacular and immersive visual experience,” Pearlman says.  “The film is available to be enjoyed in a variety of formats depending on each audience member’s preference.”

The Hobbit: An Unexpected Journey has released on 203 screens, in 98 different locations nationally from Kaitaia to Invercargill.  It makes this film the biggest release on-screen on record in New Zealand.  Included in the total are 39 locations showing the film in the new High Frame Rate 3D (HFR 3D) format.