26 Dec – Another epic has taken over "The Hobbit: An Unexpected Journey" place at the top of Malaysia's box office charts, which is martial arts superstar Jackie Chan's "CZ12". While "CZ12" is may not match up to Peter Jackson's film adaptation of J. R. R. Tolkien's "The Hobbit" in terms of scale, it does boast some amazing stunts and credits, with Chan earning two Guinness World Records for his directorial and starring film. "CZ12", also known as "Armour Of God III: Chinese Zodiac", has Chan reprising his role as the adventurer and treasure hunter Asian Hawk, who is seeking to repatriate twelve bronze heads of the animals of the Chinese zodiac that were looted from the Old Summer Palace in the Second Opium War. "The Hobbit: An Unexpected Journey" falls to second for the weekend gone by (20 – 23 December). In third place is Christopher McQuarrie's "Jack Reacher", which just made its debut. It is an adaptation of Lee Child's 2005 novel "One Shot", featuring Tom Cruise as the title character. The film begins with a sniper killing five people in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, after which the police arrest a man named James Barr, a former army sharpshooter. Although the case looks to be open-and-shut, Barr asks them to contact Jack Reacher, a drifter and former Army Military Police officer, to prove his innocence. Working as an investigator for Barr's defence attorney, Reacher unravels a case involving a hired killer and a Russian known only as "the Zec".
On the other hand, in US, "The Hobbit: An Unexpected Journey" managed to hold on to the top spot with USD 150.1 million, although that 10-day gross is noticeably lower than that of "The Return Of The King" ($190.8 million) and "The Two Towers" ($168.1 million). "Jack Reacher" took second place here, while Judd Apatow's "This Is 40" debuted in third place. The latter is a comedy film spin-off of Apatow's 2007 film "Knocked Up", and stars Paul Rudd and Leslie Mann as the middle-aged married couple Pete and Debbie. The film continues to follow their lives as they both deal with turning 40, with each of their jobs and their children Sadie and Charlotte adding stress to their relationship. In Singapore, "Chinese Zodiac" also dominated in first place, followed by "The Hobbit: An Unexpected Journey". Rounding up the top three is Rich Moore's "Wreck-It Ralph". New movies that opened over the week in Malaysia are "Adutha Kattam", "Triad", "Strawberi Cinta", "My Sassy Hubby", "Alex Cross", "Dracula" and "Khiladi 786". New movies that opened over the week in Singapore are "Playing For Keeps", "Wreck-It Ralph", "CZ12", "388 Arletta Avenue (2D)" and "Dabangg 2".
Box office takings for the weekend just gone (20 December - 26 December 2012)