While The Hunger Games had been predicted for success at the US box office for some time now, no one was quite sure what the eventual number would be. So now comes the time for puns and gags, including “Hunger Games? Hunger GAINS, more like!” and “catnip for Katniss!” as the film earned a hefty $155 million in its opening weekend. Fact fans and pub trivia bores will now be able to note that it’s the third biggest opening ever, behind Harry Potter And The Deathly Hallows: Part 2 and The Dark Knight. And these are just the studio estimates: the final figures could see it earn a little more, even though it won’t challenge the top two.
There were no other wide releases foolhardy enough to go up against the new behemoth, so the majority of the chart is made up of veterans. **21 Jump St **continued to do well, dropping just one place to second and making $21.3 million. Dr Seuss’ The Lorax was third with $13.1 million, John Carter fell to fourth and $5 million, while Act Of Valour established a beachhead at fifth, holding on for $2 million.
Project X slipped to sixth, taking $1.95 million, while A Thousand Words was in seventh with $1.92 million. The only other new release to trouble the top 10 was largely unknown drama October Baby, about a young woman who discovers she’s the adopted survivor of an attempted abortion. The film opened in 390 cinemas to a total of $1.7 million and eighth place. **Safe House **was ninth with $1.4 million while Journey 2: The Mysterious Island rounded out the top 10, adding $1.3 million for a running US total of just over $97.1 million.
To see if the statistical odds will ever be in your favour, head to Box Office Mojo.