“The Hobbit: The Desolation of Smaug” beat out “Frozen” in a battle as tight as the last lap of a NASCAR race to win its third straight weekend and cap a record year at the 2013 box office.
Peter Jackson’s second movie in his “Hobbit” trilogy, a prequel to the “Lord of the Rings,” will take in $29.8 million over the three days, and has rung up nearly $50 million since Christmas Day. It’s rolled up $190 million domestically and added another $98.3 million from abroad this weekend, to up its worldwide total to $614 million since opening on Dec.