The Hobbit: The Desolation of Smaug tops the UK and US Christmas box office

Peter Jackson's sequel took $92m over Christmas Day and Boxing Day

Knives out: Martin Freeman in a scene from The Hobbit: The Desolation of Smaug (AP)

The title of Christmas box office number one has gone to The Hobbit: The Desolation of Smaug after the second instalment of the JRR Tolkien fantasy franchise beat Disney's Frozen to remain in the UK and US top spot for 25 December.

Despite solid competition from American Hustle, The Secret Life Of Walter Mitty and Anchorman 2: The Legend Continues, Peter Jackson's sequel to The Hobbit: An Unexpected Journey, starring Martin Freeman as Bilbo Baggins, took $92 million over Christmas Day and Boxing Day.

Is Bilbo Baggins a girl?

In the blockbuster's first week of release, it raked in a huge $318 million in global ticket sales, with mixed critical reviews causing little dent in takings.

Ben Stiller's Walter Mitty was in third place behind The Snow Queen-inspired Frozen, while Will Ferrell's comic reprise of Ron Burgundy in Anchorman 2 came fourth. Jennifer Lawrence and Bradley Cooper's reunion crime drama, American Hustle, was in fifth place for the festive period.

Completing the top ten at the UK and US box office [takings combined] were Philomena, The Railway Man, The Hunger Games: Catching Fire, Cloudy With A Chance Of Meatballs 2 and Dhoom 3.

One notable flop was pop star Justin Bieber's Believe concert movie, which entered the US box office in just 14th place, despite trending worldwide on Twitter.