Despite critical apathy and being completely ignored by the Golden Globes, the midnight screenings alone for The Hobbit have already grossed at $13m in the US and Canada, according to the LA Times, which sets the movie up particularly well for future earnings. 

Riding high on the continued wave of The Lord of the Rings success, Peter Jackson's latest Tolkien adaptation has everyone excited. The $13m gross is $5m more than LOTR: Return of the King equivalent midnight viewing, back in 2003. That number also adds to a further $27m of revenue from other countries including the UK, Germany and South Korea.

Neither the mixed reviews nor almost 3 hour running time put audiences off. In fact, the mixed reviews may actually add to those going to see the film this week, eager to make their own mind up about the movie they've been looking forward to for almost a decade. The lack of Golden Globe nominations, however, will be a real stinger. The original trilogy was never as popular with the Globes, with a total of 10 nominations and no wins, as with the Academy Awards, from which they got 30 nominations and 17 wins. However, with an expected excess of $100m of revenue in the US for its first week alone, that should certainly make up for it.