This image released by Warner Bros. Pictures shows Martin Freeman, left, and John Callen in a scene from "The Hobbit: The Desolation of Smaug." “The Hobbit: The Desolation of Smaug” held off “Anchorman 2” on a busy weekend at the box office. According to final studio estimates Monday, Dec. 23, 2013, Peter Jackson’s “Hobbit” sequel took in $31.5 million in its second weekend of release. That topped Will Ferrell’s “Anchorman” sequel, which nevertheless opened strongly in second place. (AP Photo/Warner Bros. Pictures, Mark Pokorny)

NEW YORK, N.Y. - "Anchorman 2: The Legend Continues" couldn't overcome "The Hobbit: The Desolation of Smaug" at the box office.

Peter Jackson's "Hobbit" sequel led business at North American movie theatres for the second straight week, tallying $31.5 million over the weekend. Will Ferrell's "Anchorman 2" debuted with $26.2 million, according to final studio figures released Monday.

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The top 20 movies at U.S. and Canadian theatres Friday through Sunday, followed by distribution studio, gross, number of theatre locations, average receipts per location, total gross and number of weeks in release, as compiled Monday by Rentrak, are:

1. "The Hobbit: The Desolation of Smaug," Warner Bros., $31,505,278, 3,928 locations, $8,021 average, $127,550,695, 2 weeks.

2. "Anchorman 2: The Legend Continues," Paramount, $26,234,000, 3,507 locations, $7,480 average, $39,457,000, 1 week.

3. "Frozen," Disney, $19,642,107, 3,540 locations, $5,549 average, $192,034,117, 5 weeks.

4. "American Hustle," Sony, $17,901,068, 2,507 locations, $7,140 average, $19,014,436, 2 weeks.

5. "Saving Mr. Banks," Disney, $9,344,381, 2,110 locations, $4,429 average, $9,969,867, 2 weeks.

6. "The Hunger Games: Catching Fire," Lionsgate, $8,764,479, 2,949 locations, $2,972 average, $371,718,275, 5 weeks.

7. "Tyler Perry's a Madea Christmas," Lionsgate, $8,384,980, 2,194 locations, $3,822 average, $28,155,257, 2 weeks.

8. "Walking With Dinosaurs," 20th Century Fox, $7,091,938, 3,231 locations, $2,195 average, $7,091,938, 1 week.

9. "Dhoom 3," Yash Raj Films, $3,152,590, 239 locations, $13,191 average, $3,422,590, 1 week.

10. "Thor: The Dark World," Disney, $1,341,763, 1,116 locations, $1,202 average, $200,779,871, 7 weeks.

11. "Philomena," The Weinstein Company, $1,210,637, 738 locations, $1,640 average, $13,322,189, 5 weeks.

12. "Inside Llewyn Davis," CBS Films, $1,081,364, 148 locations, $7,307 average, $2,132,514, 3 weeks.

13. "The Book Thief," 20th Century Fox, $753,408, 680 locations, $1,108 average, $16,596,997, 7 weeks.

14. "Nebraska," Paramount, $564,000, 310 locations, $1,819 average, $4,370,000, 6 weeks.

15. "Homefront," Open Road, $527,352, 675 locations, $781 average, $19,783,727, 4 weeks.

16. "Delivery Man," Disney, $486,339, 663 locations, $734 average, $29,279,225, 5 weeks.

17. "Gravity," Warner Bros., $431,497, 302 locations, $1,429 average, $253,567,282, 12 weeks.

18. "The Best Man Holiday," Universal, $393,120, 351 locations, $1,120 average, $69,794,435, 6 weeks.

19. "Dallas Buyers Club," Focus Features, $382,846, 330 locations, $1,160 average, $15,156,122, 8 weeks.

20. "12 Years A Slave," Fox Searchlight, $370,090, 301 locations, $1,230 average, $37,080,316, 10 weeks

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Universal and Focus are owned by NBC Universal, a unit of Comcast Corp.; Sony, Columbia, Sony Screen Gems and Sony Pictures Classics are units of Sony Corp.; Paramount is owned by Viacom Inc.; Disney, Pixar and Marvel are owned by The Walt Disney Co.; Miramax is owned by Filmyard Holdings LLC; 20th Century Fox and Fox Searchlight are owned by News Corp.; Warner Bros. and New Line are units of Time Warner Inc.; MGM is owned by a group of former creditors including Highland Capital, Anchorage Advisors and Carl Icahn; Lionsgate is owned by Lions Gate Entertainment Corp.; IFC is owned by AMC Networks Inc.; Rogue is owned by Relativity Media LLC.

News from © The Associated Press, 2013