Catching Fire sets US box office ablaze in time for Thanksgiving - The Guardian

Fire ... The Hunger Games: Catching Fire trailer Link to video: The Hunger Games: Catching Fire - watch Jennifer Lawrence in the trailer^[1]

Catching Fire does just that

Some $307.7m (£190.6m) estimated worldwide, $161.1m (£99.79m) in North America and $146.6m (£90.8m) internationally from 63 territories. The stats say it all.

1. The Hunger Games: Catching Fire


2. Production year: 2013


3. Country: USA


4. Cert (UK): 12A


5. Runtime: 146 mins


6. Directors: Francis Lawrence


7. Cast: Donald Sutherland, Elizabeth Banks, Jena Malone, Jennifer Lawrence, Josh Hucherson, Liam Hemsworth, Sam Claflin, Stanley Tucci, Woody Harrelson, josh hutcherson


8. More on this film^[2]

Lionsgate's The Hunger Games: Catching Fire^[3] demolished the record books and overhauled the $142.8m (£88.45m) 2009 mark set by The Twilight Saga: New Moon^[4] , to set a new November opening weekend record and register the fourth biggest domestic launch in history.

$500m will fall within days

With the Thanksgiving holiday a mere three days away, Catching Fire will soar past the half-billion (£309.7m) threshold in North America with ease, given that repeat visits by devout fans tends to drive box office for these kinds of YA adaptations. Over $300m (£185.8m) in North America and $300m internationally by the end of next weekend is not out of the question.

Comedy does not travel well

International distribution executives will tell you this until they turn blue in the face: a comedy that works in one country doesn't necessarily have the chops to make money in foreign parts. The rule applies to the same movie. In the case of DreamWorks' Delivery Man^[5] , a remake of the 2011 French-Canadian smash Starbuck^[6] , it can apply to similar movies too. Delivery Man opened at No 4 on $8.2m (£5m), a somewhat lowly result for the story of a sperm donor whose 142 progeny sue him in a class action lawsuit.

Late arrival in the animation awards race

... and ice. A still from Disney's Frozen Photograph: AP

Disney pulled off an old distribution trick and staged a platform release for its Oscar hopeful Frozen^[7] . The movie opened in a single theatre and grossed a rather magnificent $238,000 (£147,429). Per-site averages are the numbers the folks in exhibition get excited about because they factor in the theatre count and offer some context to the overall gross. The movie will expand into more than 3,600 sites this week and while it certainly won't repeat the site average (which would result in an $856.8m [£530.7m] second weekend gross) the numbers are likely to be impressive.

BBC Films and Pathé's true-life drama Philomena^[8] is already a hit in the UK and reaches US shores with plenty of anticipation. The Weinstein Company is behind the movie in the US after shelling out $6.5m (£4.02m) for distribution rights in Cannes last summer on the basis of a seven-minute teaser trailer. Harvey Weinstein's instincts for a critical darling are about as good as it gets and he seems to be on the ball again. US audiences love Judi Dench and Steve Coogan has quite rightly earned a reputation as a force to be reckoned with, so big things could be in store.

Captain Phillips crosses $100m

Link to video: Captain Phillips: director Paul Greengrass on his thriller starring Tom Hanks^[9]

These milestones must always be taken in context because let's face it, if a movies cost $300m (£185.8m) to make and market then $100m (£61.9m) is merely a stepping stone en route to greater theatrical recoupment. However Captain Phillips^[10] is faring well, given that it is understood to have cost Sony Pictures around $55m (£34m) to make and possibly several dozen million for marketing. The theatres will take their cut of course, but Phillips should stay the course to profitability. Bear in mind the movie has amassed around $76m (£47m) outside of North America and will most likely do well on ancillary platforms, thanks to the presence of Tom Hanks in an awards-buzz role and its thriller credentials.

North American top 10, 22-24 November 2013

1. The Hunger Games: Catching Fire^[11] . $161.1m

2. Thor: The Dark World^[12] , $14.1m. Total: $167.8m

3. The Best Man Holiday^[13] , $12.5m. Total: $50.4m

4. Delivery Man^[14] , $8.2m

5. Free Birds^[15] , $5.3m. Total: $48.6m

6. Last Vegas^[16] , $4.4m. Total: $53.9m

7. Jackass Presents: Bad Grandpa^[17] , $3.5m. Total: $95.5m

8. Gravity^[18] , $3.3m. Total: $245.5m

9. 12 Years A Slave^[19] , $2.8m. Total: $29.4m

10. Dallas Buyers Club^[20] , $2.8m. Total: $6.5m

• The Hunger Games: Catching Fire - review

• Jennifer Lawrence on The Hunger Games^{[21] [22]}

References

1. ^{^} Video will start automatically on this page (www.theguardian.com)


2. ^{^} More on this film (www.theguardian.com)


3. ^{^} The Hunger Games: Catching Fire (www.theguardian.com)


4. ^{^} The Twilight Saga: New Moon (www.theguardian.com)


5. ^{^} Delivery Man (www.theguardian.com)


6. ^{^} Starbuck (www.theguardian.com)


7. ^{^} Frozen (www.theguardian.com)


8. ^{^} Philomena (www.theguardian.com)


9. ^{^} Video will start automatically on this page (www.theguardian.com)


10. ^{^} Captain Phillips (www.theguardian.com)


11. ^{^} The Hunger Games: Catching Fire (www.theguardian.com)


12. ^{^} Thor: The Dark World (www.theguardian.com)


13. ^{^} The Best Man Holiday (www.theguardian.com)


14. ^{^} Delivery Man (www.theguardian.com)


15. ^{^} Free Birds (www.theguardian.com)


16. ^{^} Last Vegas (www.theguardian.com)


17. ^{^} Jackass Presents: Bad Grandpa (www.theguardian.com)


18. ^{^} Gravity (www.theguardian.com)


19. ^{^} 12 Years A Slave (www.theguardian.com)


20. ^{^} Dallas Buyers Club (www.theguardian.com)


21. ^{^} The Hunger Games: Catching Fire - review (www.theguardian.com)


22. ^{^} Jennifer Lawrence on The Hunger Games (www.theguardian.com)