'The Hobbit: The Battle of the Five Armies' surpasses sales of first two movies despite less than favorable early reviews; Movie to hit Spain, Italy, and Korea December 17, and China, January 23

By Staff Writer

Dec 17 2014, 00:50 AM EST

"The Hobbit: The Battle of the Five Armies" holds new records and surpasses sales of its predecessors even on IMAX sales. It is predicted to reach $1B sales when it hits Chinese theaters in January.

"The Hobbit: The Battle of the Five Armies" is doing better than predicted, with Deadline reporting that the movie is "climbing $4.6M above projections." According to the article, 3D sales comprise 71% of the $122.2M profit being reported for the movie on Monday.

Citing Deadline, Jobs & Hire also mentions the conclusion to the "Hobbit" movies raking in hundreds of millions over the weekend, surpassing the sales of the previous two films for the franchise.

"Sales came from a total of 15,000 screens and 37 markets in the international scene," Jobs & Hire explains.

The last "Hobbit" movie also earned $6.4 million sales in IMAX, a bigger figure than the $5.03 million earnings of "The Hobbit: An Unexpected Journey." According to Jobs & Hire, this is "the best milestone for IMAX records."

"The Hobbit: The Battle of the Five Armies" is a box-office hit particularly in Germany where it is considered the best opening weekend. "The Hobbit" grossed $20.5 million in Germany and $15.5 million in the UK.

Also according to Jobs & Hire, the movie holds the number one spot in Japan, with earnings of $2.46 million. "It was also the biggest opening ever for New Zealand with $1.8 million sales," the article continues.

It is expected to earn more once it hits theaters in US, Spain, Italy, and Korea on December 17. It is also slated for a December 26 release in Australia, and China will have it in January 23, Jobs & Hire reports. While Deadline predicts "The Hobbit" will be well on its way to reaching $1B in international sales, "lagging" domestic sales could have the movie relying on Chinese sales to reach the mark.

Despite the high earnings of the movie, Inquisitr says that early reviews of the movie are not as good as what people would expect. According to Inquisitr, the movie seems "to show a franchise struggling to live up to its predecessor."