Box Office Report: ‘Hunger Games’, ‘Hunger Games’, ‘Hunger Games’… That’s All Folks!

Last week I made mention that this weekend would be dominated by The Hunger Games. I never like to revel in such an easy victory, but for this week I will grant myself a little pardon.

The weekend was dominated by the new film that captured everyone’s hearts. The Hunger Games brought in a staggering $155 Million at the box office.  In just three days the film has already become the highest grossing film from Lionsgate productions ever.

The monstrous opening number is the third highest all time, coming in third behind Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows Pt 2 and The Dark Knight. The number was also the highest among all non-sequels and non-franchises of all time.

The numbers really tell an interesting tale, with the sales dropping a very soft amount from day to day. Usually a film that makes this sort of bank has a big drop off on the weekend from day to day. This usually happens because fans of these movies rush to see it.

However, for this film the numbers held very strong, which speaks to the broad appeal The Hunger Games has. It’s target audience is so wide that it is playing well all across the weekend.

Of course there were other movies in release this weekend, 21 Jump Street had a rather solid hold after last weekend’s nice debut, bringing in $21.3 Million. The film is a bona fide hit and should play out a strong run.

The other huge hit of the spring was The Lorax which held well given the more direct competition of The Hunger Games. It came in third with an estimated $13.1 Million, which lags behind Despicable Me, but keeps the film solidly in the huge win column.

Next weekend brings two films directly vying for different portions of The Hunger Game’s target audience, Wrath of the Titans and Mirror, Mirror. While we wish those new films luck, the incumbent looks like an early favorite next weekend too.

1 The Hunger Games $155,000,000
2 21 Jump Street $21,300,000
3 Dr. Seuss’ The Lorax $13,108,505
4 John Carter $5,014,000
5 Act of Valor $2,062,000
6 Project X (2012) $1,950,000
7 A Thousand Words $1,925,000
8 Safe House $1,389,850
9 Journey 2: The Mysterious Island $1,373,000
10 This Means War $1,000,000