'The Hobbit' Maintains Winning Ways; Studios Eye Robust FY12 Revs (TWX) (LGF)

December 24, 2012 8:36 AM EST Send to a Friend
One of the biggest movies over the weekend was "Lord of the Rings: Weekend at Lonely Mountain""The Hobbit: An Unexpected Journey," capping a very-lucrative year for the likes of film studios and theaters across the U.S.

Reports from Hollywood.com have the movie grossing $36.7 million in its second weekend of release, still outpacing other movies for viewers' attention. "The Hobbit" beat-out five new releases, including Judd Apatow's "This is 40" and a non-Mission Impossible action movie starring the venerable Tom Cruise.

Hollywood.com sees theaters taking in about $10.8 billion for the year, a positive for names like Sony Corp (NYSE: SNE), Viacom (Nasdaq: VIAB), Lionsgate (NYSE: LGF), and Time Warner (NYSE: TWX). The number is up about 5 percent from the same period last year, while overall attendance is also up 5 percent.

Notably, "The Hobbit" was released via Time Warner. It is the first 3-D film to be released with a projected 48 frames per second (take that, James Cameron!). The higher rate helps smooth out the viewing experience. (Recently, it was mulled that Apple (Nasdaq: AAPL) might incorporate a higher frame rate in its upcoming television set for the same reason, as well as to reduce viewer fatigue.)

In total, "The Hobbit" has brought in about $150 million since is December 14th release.

Theater's on watch include Carmike Cinemas (Nasdaq: CKEC), IMAX Corp. (NYSE: IMAX), Cinemark (NYSE: CNK), and The Marcus Corp (NYSE: MCS).

Shares of Time Warner are indicated for a lower open Monday.


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