"The Hobbit: The Battle of the Five Armies" continues to exceed expectations in the U.S. and even at the international box office.
After reigning supreme at the U.S. box office for the third consecutive week, the third and final installment of the "Hobbit" franchise has also set the bar higher by crossing the $500 million mark internationally at the weekend box office, reports Times of India.
Peter Jackson's film, which is based on J.R.R. Tolkien's books, raked in a generous $220.8 million in U.S. ticket sales and a whopping $678.6 million in the worldwide tally.
The success of the last film in the trilogy franchise is of course quite undeniable since its predecessors made relatively smaller records at the U.S. box office: "The Hobbit: An Unexpected Journey" with $31.9 million and "The Hobbit: The Desolation of Smaug" with 29 million.
The second instalment of the prequel trilogy actually finished with $527 million, but since "The Battle of the Five Armies" is yet to debut in China, the latter is expected to make it past the $700 million mark, according to Box Office Mojo.
Meanwhile, North American audiences helped "Hobbit 3" secure the top spot at the domestic box office for the third time by chipping in $21.9 million to the film's earnings for this week.
Disney's "Into The Woods" followed in suit with $19.1 million while Angelina Jolie's World War II-themed flick, "Unbroken," came third with $18.4 million.
The weekend's only major release, "The Woman in Black 2: Angel of Death," debuted at the fourth spot with $15.1 million, IGN has learned.
"Night at the Museum: Secret of the Tomb" landed the fifth spot with an estimated $14.5 million.
The Middle Earth-set prequel stars Martin Freeman, Ian McKellen, Richard Armitage, Benedict Cumberbatch, Orlando Bloom, Cate Blanchett, Evangeline Lilly, Luke Evans, Huge Weaving, Manu Bennett, Christopher Lee and Elijah Wood, among others.