The country listened to the hype regarding The Hunger Games for more than a month, and when it was finally time for fans of the popular book to make their voices heard, they did—in a big way.
The Hunger Games made a heroic splash at the box office, with the big screen adaptation of Suzanne Collin’s best selling book earning one of the best opening day’s in history, bringing in an estimated $68.25 million on Friday.
Buoyed by a successful midnight opening ($19.74 million midnight gross) The Hunger Games, centered on the book’s heroine, Katniss Everdeen, now ranks fifth all-time for an opening day.
It didn’t have quite the showing that Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows Part 2 did at 91.1 million, last year, but it landed in shouting distance of several Twilight films, which ranged from $68.5 million to $72.7 million.
The movie was aided by strong reviews from critics. It also received an “A” CinemaScore, according to box office tracking website, Box Office Mojo.com.
The film is now poised for a huge opening weekend. Box Office Mojo noted that the movie should finish somewhere between $135 million to $160 million.
Collins’ trilogy has captured the imagination of teenagers who have supported the book for years. The movement then grew once parent’s started immersing themselves in the books. The book now has a devoted legion of fans.
Apparently, young adults are into survival of the fittest—type movies.
The movie stars Jennifer Lawrence who is forced to compete in fight-to-the death event that is televised every year. Lawrence’s character Katniss, finds herself in the deadly battle after she offered to replace her younger sister, who was originally selected through a lottery system to compete in the event.
