LOS ANGELES/NEW YORK (Reuters) - The dwarves and hobbits of "The Hobbit: The Desolation of Smaug" proved too much for the much-publicized sequel "Anchorman 2: The Legend Continues," as the hit fantasy film topped movie charts in the United States and Canada for a second straight week, earning $31.5 million over the weekend.
Kicking off Hollywood's year-end push of high-profile movie releases, the "Anchorman" crew led by Will Ferrell was unable to dethrone last week's winner and took in $26.8 million for the No. 2 spot, according to sales estimates from Rentrak.
"Anchorman" opened on Wednesday following a months-long marketing onslaught and rang up a five-day total of $40 million through Sunday. Ferrell appeared in character seemingly everywhere as the self-important Ron Burgundy, pitching the Dodge Durango in TV commercials, interviewing Peyton Manning for ESPN The Magazine, and co-anchoring a local newscast in Nebraska.
The 3D "Hobbit" sequel stars Martin Freeman as Bilbo Baggins, who leads a band of dwarves on an epic quest that leads to a clash with a fire-breathing dragon named Smaug.
Paramount Pictures, a unit of Viacom Inc, released "Anchorman 2." Time Warner Inc's Warner Bros. distributed the "Hobbit."
(Reporting by Lisa Richwine and Chris Michaud; Editing by Mohammad Zargham)