'The Hobbit 2' Maintains Box Office Grip Despite 'Anchorman 2' Challenge [Trailer]

It's official: The Hobbit: The Desolation of Smaug is the film to see this year to top off what has hopefully been a great 2013. Peter Jackson's epic sequel took flight 10 days ago and has since swept to top box office lists worldwide.

Fans Worldwide Have Flocked To See The Second 'Hobbit' Movie.

Though Anchorman 2: The Legend Continues was set for a strong start upon its release this weekend, the long-awaited sequel could still only muster second place in the rankings. Will Ferrell's comedy sequel, which sees news anchor Ron Burgundy return to make more mischief, had a strong performance with weekend takings estimated at $26.8 (£16.4) million according to box office mojo. Unfortunately for Burgundy and co., this wan't enough to overtake the storming Hobbit movie which managed $31.5 (£19.3) million.

Watch The 'The Hobbit: The Desolation Of Smaug' Trailer: <embed src='http://www.contactmusic.com/jwp/player.swf' height='528' width='636' bgcolor='0x000000' allowscriptaccess='always' allowfullscreen='true' flashvars="&autostart=false&backcolor=0x000000&controlbar=over&file=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.contactmusic.com%2Fm4v%2Ffilm%2Fthe-hobbit-the-desolation-of-smaug-trlr-1.m4v&frontcolor=0xeeeeee&image=http%3A%2F%2Fimages.contactmusic.com%2Fimages%2Fm4vstill%2Fthe-hobbit-the-desolation-of-smaug-640.jpg&lightcolor=0xeeeeee&logo=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.contactmusic.com%2Fjwp%2Fcm_logo_trans.png&ova.height=528&ova.pluginmode=HYBRID&ova.tag=http%3A%2F%2Fads.contactmusic.com%2Fadvertpro%2Fservlet%2Fview%2Fdynamic%2Furl%2Fzone%3Fzid%3D246%26pid%3D37&ova.visible=true&ova.width=699&ova.x=0&ova.y=0&plugins=http%3A%2F%2Flp.longtailvideo.com%2F5%2Fova%2Fova-jw.swf%2Cviral-h&screencolor=0x000000&skin=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.contactmusic.com%2Fjwp%2Fglow.zip&title=The%20Hobbit%3A%20The%20Desolation%20of%20Smaug%20%7C%20Movie%20Trailers&viral.callout=none&viral.onpause=false&viral.pluginmode=FLASH&

The Hobbit's widespread appeal could be attributed to its wide target age range, last year's exceptional The Hobbit: An Unexpected Journey and the longevity of the Lord of the Rings franchise. As a result, filmgoers old and young will make the trip to their movie theater to continue to story of Bilbo Baggins whilst settling into a meaty Christmas epic.

Though Anchorman 2 has a similarly impressive cast, the comedy operates in more of a niche genre than its action fantasy rival and will attract a narrower age range. Though it may have been overshadowed by The Hobbit, its takings are still newsworthy on their own and could secure a third instalment for the hapless news team.

Meanwhile, the Oscar-tipped crime drama _American Hustl_e snatched the No. 4 slot, with $19.1 (£11.68) million, falling in just behind Disney's animated hit, Frozen which took in $19.2 (£11.74) million but ahead of Disney's Saving Mr. Banks ($9.3m/£5.7m).

Watch 'The Anchorman 2: The Legend Continues' Trailer:

Anchorman's performance, as well as all the other holiday releases this year, will determine whether 2013 is a record breaking year for ticket sales. After Sunday's takings, total grosses for 2013 has risen 0.8 percent from a year earlier to nearly $10.37 (£6.3) billion, according to Rentrak. The record for total box office sales was $10.77 (£6.58) billion, set in 2012.

2013's figure is likely to be helped along by the other big name releases scheduled for this year, including The Secret Life of Walter Mitty and The Wolf of Wall Street.

We Could See Ron Burgundy & The 'Anchorman' Team Return For A Third Time After The Sequel's Success.