Hunger Games Poised To Break New Box Office Record

If the penultimate movie in the Hunger Games series, ‘The Hunger Games: Mockingjay Part 1’, does the business that analysts reckon, it’ll be in line to set a new box office record.

The movie – the third in the massive young adult franchise – is heading for a huge opening weekend haul of $150 million (£95 million), and it if it makes it, it will be the first series to have all of its movies make in excess of that figure.

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It’ll also be the biggest debut movie of the year, smashing the $100 million (£63.8 million) opening set by ‘Transformers: Age of Extinction’ over the summer.

Speaking to The Wrap, BoxOffice.com’s Phil Contrino said: “The historical significance of this is underplayed. ‘The Hunger Games’ doesn’t get spoken of in the same realm as ‘Harry Potter’ or ‘The Dark Knight,’ but it should.”

Indeed, the figures show that the first two ‘Harry Potter’ films in the long-running series debuted with $88 million (£56 million) and then $90 million (£57.5 million) on their opening weekends, while Christopher Nolan’s ‘Dark Knight’ Batman movies made $158 million (£100 million) and $161 million (£103 million).

So far, the franchise has hauled in a vast amount of money for its studio, Lionsgate.

In the space of two movies, it’s made $1.5 billion, and with two more movies to go, it will likely top the $3.3 billion made by the five ‘Twilight’ movies – which had an extra movie in its formidable arsenal.

Contrino reckons that while Suzanne Collins book trilogy rounds off the story, that the possibility of more ‘Hunger Games’ movies isn’t such an outlandish idea.

“If this one can match or come close to ‘Catching Fire’ and the next one can come near $1 billion (£956 million) worldwide — and I think it will — does anyone really think they won’t find a way to make another one?” he added.

However, one possible stumbling block for the film and its bottom line could lie in the Far East.

It’s emerged that ‘Mockingjay Part 1’ has had its opening date in China bumped from November 21 to January 2015.

The China Times is reporting speculation that the subject matter – that of revolution – has spooked the Chinese authorities, following so soon after unrest in Hong Kong.

The emerging market in China has been a shot in the arm for Hollywood studios in recent years, with films like Transformers: Age of Extinction’ making over $300 million (£192 million) in the country alone.

So far, Lionsgate has not commented on why the Chinese release date has been shifted.

'The Hunger Games: Mockingjay Part 1' is out across the UK on November 20.

Image credits: Lionsgate

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