The highly anticipated sequel The Hunger Games: Catching Fire absolutely dominated the box office this weekend, beating out last weekend’s #1 film Thor: The Dark World, as well as recording the highest-grossing November opening ever. The film brought in an estimated $161 million, which was just shy of beating out Iron Man 3 for the best opening weekend of 2013. Iron Man 3 brought in $174 million during its’ opening weekend.
Catching Fire now easily holds the record for the best November opening weekend. The previous record holder was Twilight Saga: New Moon with $142.8 million. This record also puts the film at number four on the list of best opening weekends of all time. The film placed just higher than The Dark Knight Rises which had $160.9 million and it placed just below Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows: Part 2 which recorded $169.2 million.
The Los Angeles Times reports that the original Hunger Games had an opening weekend of $152 million, but they anticipate that the sequel will be a larger success due to the film drawing a broader audience than the first film.
They report that the audience for this film is 12% more male than the original film which raises the overall male viewership to 41%. The New York Times mentions how The Hunger Games has been compared to Twilight, as a popular movie series, but one with a limited appeal to certain demographics.
However, Catching Fire has been appealing to crowds that would be considered “young” and “old”. The film industry bases this on people over and under the age of 25. The film is also making a splash in the International box office and due to the very positive critical reception that the film has been receiving. It has become apparent that The Hunger Games: Catching Fire is well on its way to being one of the most successful movies of all time.
Photo Courtesy of Lionsgate
