The Hobbit: The Desolation of Smaug beat out Anchorman 2: The Legend Continues at the box office this past weekend.

According to studio assessments on Sunday, Peter Jackson's Hobbit sequel took in $31.5 million in its second weekend of release.

Although the sequel is not expected to surpass the success of the first Hobbit movie, The Desolation of Smaug is thriving overseas. It has now made more than $400 million globally, including $96 million transnationally over the weekend.

The Warner Bros Hobbit sequel surpassed Paramount Pictures' Anchorman follow-up, which opened close behind in second place.

Will Ferrell's comedy made $26.8 million over the three-day weekend and $40 million since opening night last Tuesday.

Anchorman 2 actually overtook The Hobbit on Friday, however, it failed to best Peter Jackson's movie over Saturday and Sunday.

The original, Anchorman: The Legend of Ron Burgundy, opened with $28.4 million, but only grossed $5.3 million internationally in 2004.

"'Anchorman' will have a much larger footprint internationally than the last 'Anchorman' did," said Paramount's Don Harris, head of domestic distribution. "Will Ferrell has done a really good job of turning this character into something that travels around the world."

On Christmas Day, several anticipated films of the season will debut on Wednesday, including Martin Scorsese's "The Wolf of Wall Street," Ben Stiller's "The Secret Life of Walter Mitty," the Justin Bieber documentary "Justin Bieber's Believe", the Robert De Niro and Sylvester Stallone boxing comedy "Grudge Match," and Keanu Reeves' "47 Ronin."