UPDATE 5.30 pm PST: Deadline reports that The Hobbit has already taken in $27.3 million from 42 international markets, and estimates that it may end the weekend with over $200 million worldwide.

Movietickets.com reports that ticket sales for The Hobbit accounted for 91% of all of their sales leading into Friday, with 18% purchasing tickets for standard 3D, 8% for HFR 3D, and 7% IMAX.

If these HFR numbers hold up, then we’re looking at a much stronger per-screen average for HFR 3D theaters when compared to standard 3D or 2D.

Original: The Hobbit: An Unexpected Journey is poised to break the record for a December opening, having taken in $12.4 million from midnight showings.

The current December record holder is I Am Legend, which made $77.2 million in its opening weekend. Avatar, which took in $3.5 million from midnights, is #2 with $77 million. So it’s pretty clear that The Hobbit is going to break the record.

Stay tuned for more on The Hobbit’s box office. We should be hearing soon about the number/proportion of sales that came from HFR 3D screenings.

source: comingsoon.net