It feels as if the entire world was interested in seeing the same picture, which has been Hollywood’s dream for decades. Lionsgate’s “The Hunger Games” broke all records, grossing an astonishing $214 million worldwide, of which $155 million came from th U.S.
The screen version of Suzanne Collins’ best selling book, directed by Gary Ross, is now the third-highest three-day domestic debut ever.
The film bowed in 67 day-and-date territories via local distributors, totaling $59.3 million. The film is projected to be No. 1 in virtually every market where it opened.
“Hunger Games” shattered several other notable benchmarks in North America. The movie stands as the highest non-summer domestic opening, beating “Alice in Wonderland.” It is also the all-time biggest debut for a non-sequel pic.
“Hunger Games” alone earned more than all films combined during the comparable 2011 frame, boosting this weekend’s overall figures up a 78%.
Many insiders questioned how high the film could reach this weekend, citing early expectations as high as $115 million to $125 million. But with unstoppable audience buzz, based on popularity for Suzanne Collins’ bestselling trilogy, coupled with positive reviews and strong word-of-mouth, “Hunger Games” managed to outstrip even the most optimistic pre-weekend tracking predictions.
“We’re now No. 3 among the top domestic openings — the first being Warner Bros. and the third, Lionsgate. That’s just mind-blowing,” enthused Lionsgate marketing topper Tim Palen. “The fact that we didn’t test the film or the trailer is a testament to Jon Feltheimer. “He has the best gut in the business,” Palen added.
Lionsgate distribution head David Spitz pointed to the film’s minuscule 25% Friday-to-Saturday drop as a relatively unheard of achievement, especially given the film’s record-setting $19.7 million midnight take lumped into Friday’s gross. Typically, films with massive pre-release buzz that lead to hefty Thursday midnights, like the “Twilight” franchise, drop between 45% and 50% from Friday to Saturday. “That positions us to be in the marketplace for a long time,” Spitz said.
“Hunger Games,” which received an A CinemaScore rating, drew a surprisingly robust male contingency, at 40%. That was likely boosted by a $10.6 million Imax share, since the mega-screen exhibitors caters mostly to male auds. Over-25 auds contributed 56% of the film’s opening, while 44% came from moviegoers under 25.
