crayon gratia: 'Hunger Games' Passes $300 Million At Box Office

Tuesday, April 10, 2012

'Hunger Games' Passes $300 Million At Box Office

Film manages to fend off challenges from 'American Reunion' and 'Titanic 3D.'
By Ryan J. Downey

Lenny Kravitz, Woody Harrelson and Josh Hutcherson in "The Hunger Games"
Photo: Lionsgate

"The Hunger Games" won the box office for a third consecutive weekend, fending off challenges from tried-and-true romance and raunchy humor alike. Neither "American Reunion," the latest installment of the "American Pie" franchise, nor the 3-D re-release of "Titanic" were able to knock Jennifer Lawrence and company from atop the box-office perch as "Games" collected another $33.5 million and passed the $300 million mark.

"American Reunion" debuted at #2 with $21.5 million while "Titanic 3D" earned $17.3 million. "Wrath of the Titans" was #4 during its second weekend in theaters with $15 million for a $58.8 million total. "Mirror Mirror" rounded out the top five with $11 million for a $36.4 million total.

"The Hunger Games" ranked right behind "Avatar" in the all-time list of non-sequels to cross the $300 million mark in the shortest amount of time. Its estimated $302.8 million in North American receipts is more than the final totals of most of the "Harry Potter" movies and all of the entries in the "Twilight" series. Box-office prognosticators have estimated that "Games," based on the popular young adult novel, will eventually earn at least $350 million.

The fourth theatrically released "American Pie" movie, which followed 2003's "American Wedding" and a string of direct-to-DVD "American Pie Presents" spinoffs, did poorly relative to other entries. The $21.5 million earned by "American Reunion" was much lower than the opening weekends for "American Pie 2" ($45.1 million) and "Wedding" ($33.4 million). Only the original "Pie" earned a "fresh" rating on film-review aggregator site Rotten Tomatoes; "Reunion" is the worst reviewed of the series. "There are almost no laughs, save what [Seann William] Scott valiantly squeezes out of Stifler's antics," wrote the Wrap's Alonso Duralde. "The entire film is a mistake," wrote the San Francisco Chronicle's Amy Biancolli.

"American Reunion" did manage to land the highest Easter weekend opening for an R-rated film in several years and also collected an impressive amount overseas, where it opened in 28 countries. The film's $19.3 million abroad was more than "American Wedding" made nine years ago.

"Titanic" is the second-highest-grossing film of all time, behind "Avatar." Both, of course, were directed by James Cameron, who personally oversaw the 3-D conversion of the new theatrical re-release. The opening weekend for "Titanic 3D" was lower than that of other recent 3-D re-releases, including "Star Wars: Episode I - The Phantom Menace" as well as Disney's "The Lion King" and "Beauty and the Beast."

The 10-day haul for "Wrath of the Titans" is less than the opening weekend of the film's predecessor, "Clash of the Titans," which was a remake of the early '80s fantasy film. Speaking of the '80s (this time, the late '80s), "21 Jump Street" crossed the $100 million mark on Friday. The comedic take on the TV cop show has made an estimated $109.6 million. "Mirror Mirror," which dropped 39 percent over the weekend, is the first of two Snow White films on the way this year. "Snow White and the Huntsman," which is due this summer, has enjoyed more positive buzz.

This weekend's new releases include well-reviewed horror flick "The Cabin in the Woods," a long-gestating project written by "Avengers" director Joss Whedon and his old pal from the "Buffy" days Drew Goddard (who also directed); futuristic prison thriller "Lockout"; "Blue Like Jazz," based on the popular semi-autobiographical book by hipster Christian theologian Donald Miller; and a brand-new version of "The Three Stooges."

Check out everything we've got on "The Hunger Games," "Titanic 3D" and "American Reunion."

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