"The Hobbit" Earns $13 Million; Carole King Nabs Award

The latest celebrity news including "The Hobbit: An Unexpected Journey" rakes in $13 million in midnight showings and Carole King is awarded with Library of Congress award. Roselle Chen reports.

Published

6 months ago

Categories

Entertainment

Topics

Movies, Celebrity

People

Hugh Jackman, Carole King, Ang Lee

Places

United States of America

Companies

The Star Tribune Company, Warner Bros.

Transcript

"The Hobbit: An Unexpected Journey" racked up $13 million in midnight showings, with Warner Bros. poised to plunder the box office this weekend. The film's take makes it the biggest December midnight opening in history. Warner Bros. says it will be happy with a $70 million opening weekend, but most analysts believe it will debut in the $100 million range in the U.S. Carole King will be awarded the Library of Congress Gershwin Prize for Popular Song. The multi-Grammy Award winner was the first female solo artist to sell more than 10 million copies of a single album, with her 1971 release "Tapestry." The prize honors individuals for lifetime achievement in popular music. Hugh Jackman had a busy day on December 13, so it's no surprise that he fell back asleep after he received a 5:45 a.m. wake up call, telling him he was nominated for a Golden Globe for the musical "Les Miserables." The star told The Ellen DeGeneres Show that it was the best wake-up call he's ever had in his life, but once he hung up, he had no problems hitting the sack again. The actor received a star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame later that day. Director Ang Lee welcomed news that his latest movie, "Life of Pi," had received three Golden Globe nominations. Lee said that the fact the movie had been nominated for Best Drama, Best Director and Best Original Score was encouraging. The Oscar-winner's latest project is his most visually ambitious to date, making extensive use of digital effects in 3D.