"The Hobbit" stretches winning streak into 2nd weekend

 LOS ANGELES, Dec. 23 (Xinhua) -- Peter Jackson turns out to have a wider moviegoer-pleasing appeal than Tom Cruise and Judd Apatow, as his middle-earth epic² "The Hobbitt: An Unexpected Journey" continued its hold of No. 1 ranking over the weekend, beating out the pair's debuts³ with ease.

The latest fantasy from the "The Lord of the Rings" director will roll up 36.7 million U.S. dollars in ticket sales during Friday-Sunday period, distributor Warners Bros. predicted, which represented a 57 percent sharp drop from the last weekend when it stormed the North America box office with 84.8 million dollars in ticket receipt. The movie also saw an expansion of total number of venues⁴ screening the fantasy, as 4,100 venues in the United States and Canada were tallied⁵.

The film, a prequel to the blockbuster "Lord of the Rings" franchise⁶ and the first of a trio which launched Jackson's new 3-D project, is on track for a nearly 150 million dollar gross since it opened in North America 10 days ago. It has raked in more than 350 million dollars worldwide.

Premiering in second place is "Jack¹ Reacher," a crime film starring Tom Cruise which fetched an estimated 15.6 million dollars in sales from 3,352 locations, a performance well in line with pre-release expectations.

The Paramount⁷ adaptation of Lee Child's 2005 best-selling novel "One Shot" mainly appeals to older filmgoers, as 76 percent of those who have seen it was over 25 years old and 60 percent male. They assigned the Tom Cruise vehicle, written and directed by Christopher McQuarrie, an "A-" CinemaScore rating. The movie, which has a 60 million dollar budget, features Cruise as a former army military police officer who investigates a case.

The film also roped in 2.5 million dollars from 7 markets worldwide.

Trailing "Jack Reacher" in the third place is "This Is 40," an R-rated comedy from writer and director Judd Apatow, which is projected to bag 12 million dollars from 2,913 venues. Women made up 57 of the comedy's audience, who liked the comedy film and gave it a "B-" CinemaScore rating.

Rounding out the 10 most popular films in North America this weekend were "Rise of The Guardians⁸" (USD 5.9 million), "Lincoln" (USD 5.6 million), "The Guilt⁹ Trip" (premiering at USD 5.4 million) , "Monsters, Inc. 3D" (premiering at USD 5 million), "Skyfall" ( USD 4.7 million), "Life of Pi" (USD 3.8 million), and "The Twilight¹⁰ Saga¹¹: Breaking Dawn - Part 2" (USD 2.6 million).

1 jack   

n.插座，千斤顶，男人；v.抬起，提醒，扛举；n.（Jake）杰克

参考例句：

• I am looking for the headphone jack.我正在找寻头戴式耳机插孔。
• He lifted the car with a jack to change the flat tyre.他用千斤顶把车顶起来换下瘪轮胎。

2 epic   

n.史诗，叙事诗；adj.史诗般的，壮丽的

参考例句：

• I gave up my epic and wrote this little tale instead.我放弃了写叙事诗，而写了这个小故事。
• They held a banquet of epic proportions.他们举行了盛大的宴会。

3 debuts   

演员首次演出( debut的名词复数 )

参考例句：

• He never really debuts the idea of taking money from his parents any longer. 他从此就再也没有认真起过向父母要钱的念头。
• This young soprano debuts next month at the metropolitan opera. 这位年轻的女高音歌唱家下个月将在纽约大都会歌剧院举行首演。

4 venues   

n.聚集地点( venue的名词复数 )；会场；（尤指）体育比赛场所；犯罪地点

参考例句：

• The band will be playing at 20 different venues on their UK tour. 这个乐队在英国巡回演出期间将在20个不同的地点演出。
• Farmers market corner, 800 meters long, 60 meters wide livestock trading venues. 农牧市场东北角，有长800米，宽60米的牲畜交易场地。 来自互联网

5 tallied   

v.计算，清点( tally的过去式和过去分词 )；加标签（或标记）于；（使）符合；（使）吻合

参考例句：

• The girl tallied them with her eyes for a moment. 新娘用目光把这些化妆品清点了一下。 来自教父部分
• His account of the accident tallied with hers. 他对事故的陈述和她的相吻合。 来自辞典例句

6 franchise   

n.特许，特权，专营权，特许权

参考例句：

• Catering in the schools is run on a franchise basis.学校餐饮服务以特许权经营。
• The United States granted the franchise to women in 1920.美国于1920年给妇女以参政权。

7 paramount   

a.最重要的，最高权力的

参考例句：

• My paramount object is to save the Union and destroy slavery.我的最高目标是拯救美国，摧毁奴隶制度。
• Nitrogen is of paramount importance to life on earth.氮对地球上的生命至关重要。

8 guardians   

监护人( guardian的名词复数 )； 保护者，维护者

参考例句：

• Farmers should be guardians of the countryside. 农民应是乡村的保卫者。
• The police are guardians of law and order. 警察是法律和秩序的护卫者。

9 guilt   

n.犯罪；内疚；过失，罪责

参考例句：

• She tried to cover up her guilt by lying.她企图用谎言掩饰自己的罪行。
• Don't lay a guilt trip on your child about schoolwork.别因为功课责备孩子而使他觉得很内疚。

10 twilight   

n.暮光，黄昏；暮年，晚期，衰落时期

参考例句：

• Twilight merged into darkness.夕阳的光辉融于黑暗中。
• Twilight was sweet with the smell of lilac and freshly turned earth.薄暮充满紫丁香和新翻耕的泥土的香味。

11 saga   

n.(尤指中世纪北欧海盗的)故事，英雄传奇

参考例句：

• The saga of Flight 19 is probably the most repeated story about the Bermuda Triangle.飞行19中队的传说或许是有关百慕大三角最重复的故事。
• The novel depicts the saga of a family.小说描绘了一个家族的传奇故事。