Box office achievements are becoming almost a daily occurrence for Lionsgate’s megahit “The Hunger Games.” The Gary Ross adaptation of Suzanne Collins’ novel has now grossed a remarkable $189 million in just seven days. That makes it the fastest grosser for a non-summer release as it trails just “The Dark Knight,” “Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows, Pt. 2,” and “Pirates of the Caribbean: Dead Man’s Chest” among all-time one week wonders.
Some of the films “Hunger Games” has passed in its wake include “Spider-Man 3,””Transformers: Revenge of the Fallen,” “Toy Story 3” and ever major release in the “Twilight Saga.”
“Hunger Games” should easily stay on top of the box office charts this weekend even with two new releases on deck. Warner Bros.’ “Wrath of the Titans” won’t hit the $61 million opening its predecessor “Clash of the Titans” found in 2010, but it should surpass the $40 million mark. Relativity’s “Mirror, Mirror” has become a kid and family play and is looking at $25-30 million for the three-day. Combined with at least a $60 million weekend for “Hunger Games,” that will be another massive haul at the box office for Hollywood outside of the traditional summer or holiday movie seasons. The U.S. box office is now up 19% compared to this time last year. That’s incredible news for the industry as it heads into a summer full of potentially record setting blockbusters.
As for other releases this weekend, the championed doc “Bully” opens in New York and Los Angeles and both “Jeff Who Lives At Home” and “Salmon Fishing in the Yemen” are also expanding into at least 400 theaters each.
Look for continuing box office updates all weekend long on HitFix.