SAN DIEGO, April 29, 2012 – While The Hunger Games dropped out of its number one spot into essentially a three-way tie for second place in this weekend’s movie box office results, the big news for the film came as it passed a new milestone in its sixth weekend in theaters.
This spring blockbuster has now overtaken the box office earnings of Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows-Part 2 at the same time in its run, which was the biggest moneymaker in the Harry Potter film franchise. Deathly Hallows-Part 2 had earned $366 million dollars in its sixth week of release; The Hunger Games has now earned a total of over $372 million.
The Hunger Games has now made $601 million worldwide, which isn’t anything near the kind of money the Harry Potter film franchise made, but it’s a worthy successor and its fans share the same fervor for the world of Panem as Potter fans did for Hogwarts.
The film version of the first in the series of popular novels by Suzanne Collins also returned this weekend for a second week-long run in 100 IMAX digital theaters across North America through May 3. The film made $13.2 million in its original one-week run, a nice addition to its box office numbers. Many ticket buyers are expected to be the hardcore fans seeing it a second and even a third time.
The promotional poster for the IMAX edition of The Hunger Games, rereleased into theaters this week. Photo: Lionsgate.
More movie studios are producing IMAX 2D and 3D format films and blowing up popular releases for IMAX’s screens, so there are more features to choose from. Twenty-one films are being released in the format this year according to the IMAX Corporation. So IMAX theaters are no longer stuck running a dud for weeks on end. The Hunger Games replaced Wrath of The Titans and Titanic 3D, not complete box-office bombs but nowhere near the draw or buzzmakers that a second run of this promising franchise can produce.
This new IMAX run will also prime moviegoers for the release of the second film in the Hunger Games series, Catching Fire, now scheduled for November 22, 2013.
It’s doubtful The Hunger Games series will overtake the worldwide box-office numbers of the Harry Potter series. It’s at a disadvantage with its four planned films versus the seven Potter films. The series will probably top the total revenue generated by the five films of the Twilight series. The first film has won critical acclaim, positive word of mouth among a wide age range. It’s something no adult has to apologize for enjoying with its dose of Big Adult Themes exploring a post-apocalyptic society, government control, and sanctioned societal violence.
As a result, all of Hollywood is letting out a huge sigh of relief. A successor film franchise has finally been born after numerous failed attempts to find something, anything that can fill the seats like Harry, Dumbledore, Bella and Edward. It looks like Katniss, Gale, Peeta and the rest of the Tributes got the job done.
Gayle Lynn Falkenthal, APR, is President/Owner of the Falcon Valley Group in San Diego, California. Read more Media Migraine in the Communities at The Washington Times. Follow Gayle on Facebook and on Twitter @PRProSanDiego.
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Copyright © 2012 by Falcon Valley Group
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