'Hobbit' holds on at No. 1 with $36.9M, Cruise's 'Jack Reacher' starts at No. 2 with $15.6M

LOS ANGELES, Calif. - "The Hobbit: An Unexpected Journey" easily defended its box-office title in North America, remaining the No. 1 film for a second weekend with $36.9 million.

A rush of newcomers mostly had modest openings, led by Tom Cruise's action tale "Jack Reacher" at No. 2 with $15.6 million.

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 Hollywood.com are:

1. "The Hobbit: An Unexpected Journey," Warner Bros., $36,940,000, 4,100 locations, $9,010 average, $150,093,000, two weeks.

2. "Jack Reacher," Paramount, $15,600,000, 3,352 locations, $4,654 average, $15,600,000, one week.

3. "This Is 40," Universal, $12,030,690, 2,913 locations, $4,130 average, $12,030,690, one week.

4. "Rise of the Guardians," Paramount, $5,900,000, 3,031 locations, $1,947 average, $79,694,000, five weeks.

5. "Lincoln," Disney, $5,525,774, 2,293 locations, $2,410 average, $116,673,598, seven weeks.

6. "The Guilt Trip," Paramount, $5,390,000, 2,431 locations, $2,217 average, $7,421,000, one week.

7. "Monsters, Inc." in 3-D, Disney, $4,774,686, 2,618 locations, $1,824 average, $6,259,667, one week.

8. "Skyfall," Sony, $4,700,000, 2,365 locations, $1,987 average, $279,972,000, seven weeks.

9. "Life of Pi," Fox, $4,017,237, 1,750 locations, $2,296 average, $76,373,481, five weeks.

10. "The Twilight Saga: Breaking Dawn — Part 2," Summit, $2,626,955, 2,000 locations, $1,313 average, $281,632,689, six weeks.

11. "Cirque du Soleil: Worlds Away," Paramount, $2,135,000, 840 locations, $2,542 average, $2,254,000, one week.

12. "Wreck-It Ralph," Disney, $1,819,036, 1,444 locations, $1,260 average, $171,741,561, eight weeks.

13. "Silver Linings Playbook," Weinstein Co., $1,781,196, 371 locations, $4,801 average, $19,861,238, six weeks.

14. "Dabangg 2," Eros International, $1,019,213, 166 locations, $6,140 average, $1,019,213, one week.

15. "Argo," Warner Bros., $903,000, 450 locations, $2,007 average, $106,439,000, 11 weeks.

16. "Red Dawn," Film District, $794,880, 1,011 locations, $786 average, $42,626,783, five weeks.

17. "Flight," Paramount, $709,000, 742 locations, $956 average, $90,989,000, eight weeks.

18. "Anna Karenina," Focus, $667,669, 331 locations, $2,017 average, $9,645,583, six weeks.

19. "Hitchcock," Fox Searchlight, $579,676, 535 locations, $1,084 average, $4,194,968, five weeks.

20. "Playing for Keeps," Film District, $424,105, 851 locations, $498 average, $12,410,463, three 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.