Peter Jackson's 'The Hobbit' Scores Record $84.8 Million Weekend

New Line and MGM's The Hobbit: An Unexpected Journey has kicked off the holiday season in high style, opening to $84.8 million, the top three-day opening of all time for the month of December. The first in Peter Jackson's planned trilogy, Hobbit opened to $138.2 million overseas for a worldwide total of $223 million. The movie came in ahead The Lord of the Rings: The Return of the King in 2003 ($125.9 million). Hobbit received an A CinemaScore from moviegoers, portending good word-of-mouth. Warner Bros., which owns New Line, is distributing the 3D fantasy adventure, which could earn as much as four times its opening weekend gross through New Year's Day (Christmas films can have especially strong multiples).