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Keeping the above in mind, I would again stress that as of this moment, Skyfall has earned more domestic revenue than The Hobbit. Theoretically, Skyfall’s box office pace must be better than that of The Hobbit. After all, the James Bond movie earned more on opening weekend as well as slightly more after their respective first weeks in theaters.

This is where the majesty of the Twelve Days of Box Office comes into play. A movie with stronger legs should start to display them immediately. Skyfall did so by earning $125.8 million over its next 17 days in theaters. That is a pace of $7.4 million a day. Because I am sure the thought has popped in your head, yes, Skyfall earned some of this revenue during the notoriously grim post-Thanksgiving box office period.

Do not obsess on that aspect because Skyfall earned much more during Thanksgiving week itself, which is one of the most lucrative periods on the annual box office calendar. In fact, during the Wednesday-through-Friday portion of Skyfall’s second full week, it grossed 15% more than the previous week. Skyfall’s first month of box office was solid across the board.

Contrast the data above to The Hobbit. During that movie’s first seven days, it grossed $113.2 million. Over the following 17 days, the domestic total was $150.7 million. The amount is 20% more than Skyfall managed during the same timeframe despite the fact that the latest Bond thriller had higher demand overall. The Hobbit also had a better pace during those next 17 days, grossing an average of $8.9 million a day. Without the holiday season’s box office inflation, there is no logical explanation as to how a movie that opened lower and claimed less overall demand somehow did better during the same key box office stretch.

Looking at the situation from a different perspective, Skyfall’s take for days eight through 24 was (again) $125.8 million against a first week tally of $119.8 million. So the amounts are similar with only a $6 million (i.e. 5%) difference. The Hobbit’s situation is dramatically different. It was less popular at the start with $113.2 million then spiked with an increase of $37.5 million after the first week. Its days eight through 24 represent a 33% increase from the first seven. This notable skew is late December box office inflation in action. Movies in release all receive this artificial boost in appeal as consumers have the ample free time to catch a flick.

There will be a second part to this analysis in a few days that will include more titles. Before then, I want to examine the Skyfall/The Hobbit comparison from one other angle to demonstrate the impact of the skew for the Twelve Days of Box Office. The key aspect is again weekly performance. This time, I will not lump in the totals.

Skyfall’s totals for its first six weeks in theaters are as follows. We already know about the $119.8 million in week one. The total for week two is $65.8 million, and this amount includes the Thanksgiving inflation. Even with that boost, there is still a 45% drop during the second full week. In week three, Skyfall declined 34% to $43.4 million. The cause for this is the Thanksgiving weekend skew.

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