Peter Jackson's The Hobbit trilogy will bid farewell on a high-note after The Hobbit: The Battle of the Five Armies enjoyed US$90.6 million in domestic gross on its first five days, Variety reports.

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The film already earned US$350 million at the international box office, already surpassing the first two installments in many major markets, especially North America.

The film debuted Wednesday at 3,875 locations, quickly beating expectations that it will earn US$70 million on its opening week. For its first three days, the film already grossed US$56.2 million, despite strong competition from two major family releases: Annie and Night at the Museum: Secret of the Tomb.

The first two installments, The Hobbit: An Unexpected Journey and The Desolation of Smaug debuted without any major-release film to compete with.

Despite the numerous smash hits this year, the total box office earnings for 2014 dropped four percent compared to last year's, an upsetting indication that ticket sales tend to go sluggish through the holidays.

The third installment of Night at the Museum was a huge victim of holiday sluggishness as it earned only a modest US$17.3 million, well below compared to estimates that it would earn US$26 million on its opening weekend, despite enjoying a wide release throughout 3,785 theaters. The film's opening gross also also trailed behind its predecessors, Night at the Museum, which grossed US$30.4 million in 2006, and Night at the Museum: Battle of the Smithsonian, which premiered with US$54.2 million gross in 2009.

Annie, meanwhile, grossed US$16.3 million, slightly above US$15 million that was predicted it would earn. The film was supposed to premier Christmas day, but Sony decide to show it at an earlier date to generate greater awareness heading into the holiday.

While Five Armies' did a great job in the box office, it could not, however, failed to beat The Lord of the Rings, finale, The Return of the King, which earned a five-day gross of US$124 million in 2003.

Last weekend's box-office king Exodus: Gods and Kings dropped to No. 4 spot after seeing its gross drop by 65% to US$8.1 million, so far earning a total of US$38.7 million. The film still has a lot recoup and it has to play better in foreign markets to recoup its US$140 million budget.

Rounding up the top five is The Hunger Games: Mockingjay - Part 1, which earned US$7.7 million to a total domestic gross of US$289.2 million.

TagsThe Hobbit, The Hobbit: The Battle of the Five Armies, the hobbit trilogy, the hobbit tops box office