Anchorman 2 barely beat out The Hobbit sequel in box office sales on Friday. Opening this past Wednesday, predictions had the Ron Burgundy sequel grossing upward of $40 million by the end of the weekend. Given Friday’s numbers, it’s not looking like the film will reach that goal.

Despite the lower box office numbers, Anchorman 2 still debuted in the number one position. Friday’s totals saw $8.7 million–just a tad above The Hobbit: The Desolation of Smaug, coming in at number two with $8.61 million. American Hustle came in third place, Frozen in fourth and Saving Mr. Banks in the number five spot round out the weekend’s top earners.

Anchorman 2 star Christina Applegate tweeted her excitement about the film’s opening this week. And even though it’s really too early to tell (it is the week before Christmas, and many people are way too busy making holiday preparations to see a movie) how the sequel will fare, her enthusiasm on behalf of the cast and crew will hopefully become contagious as the next few days go by.

So today is the day! #anchorman2 opens!!!

— christina applegate (@1capplegate) December 18, 2013

Will Ferrell has been touring the country doing news broadcasts and weather clips at TV stations–in full Ron Burgundy character–to ramp up enthusiasm for the show. Paul Rudd hosted SNL earlier in the month. It will be very interesting to see if Anchorman 2 has the kind of following as the original film–which incidentally came after its box office run.

Is Anchorman 2 on your Christmas week box office list? Christmas Day could be a do-or-die day for the film, and all its counterparts that opened this past week.

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