Most fans of The Hunger Games didn’t have to until today to see Catching Fire, Lionsgate’s adaptation of Suzanne Collins’ second book in the trilogy. They got to see the film during Thursday night screenings, putting it on track to easily beat the first film’s box office debut.
Catching Fire showings began last night at 8 p.m. and Deadline is reporting that it grossed $25.25 million from those early screenings. That’s 28 percent better than The Hunger Games’ early showings, although that film didn’t get early 8 p.m. screenings.
By comparison, Thor: The Dark World only grossed $7.1 million from its early Thursday screenings. Iron Man 3 launched with a $15.6 million and opened with $174.1 million.
The new film, which brings back Jennifer Lawrence, Josh Hutcherson and Liam Hemsworth, is expected to make at least $175 million, which would easily propel it past the first film’s $152 million opening last year.
According to The Hollywood Reporter, Catching Fire has already opened overseas in 65 markets, grossing $32 million. Lionsgate claims that in most markets, it had double the opening for the first film, which only made $283.2 million internationally by the end of its run. Catching Fire is expected to be much bigger with foreign audiences and could reach the $300 million mark worldwide by Sunday.
image: Lionsgate