Peter Jackson's The Hobbit: An Unexpected Journey easily held onto the top spot in its second week at the North American box office, adding another $36.7 million to bring its domestic haul to$149.9 million. Worldwide, the first part of the trilogy has grossed $433.9 million to date.
Jack Reacher, which stars Tom Cruise as author Lee Child's hulking action hero, opened at a distant second with $15.6 million, followed in third by the Judd Apatow comedy This Is 40 with $12 million. DreamWorks Animation's Rise of the Guardians, whose $5.9 million brought its domestic total to $79.7 million, and Steven Spielberg's Lincoln, whose $5.6 million brought its tally to $116.8 million, rounded out the Top 5.
Zero Dark Thirty, Kathryn Bigelow's controversial film about the decade-long search for Osama bin Laden, opened in just five theaters, but brought in an impressive $410,000. It opens nationwide Jan. 11.