The Hunger Games' historic box-office take: By the numbers

Katniss Everdeen blows past industry expectations, raking in $155 million over the weekend — the highest debut ever for a non-sequel film

"The Hunger Games" fans show off memorabilia
(Image credit: Rune Hellestad/Corbis)

The Hunger Games made a killing at the box office this weekend, raking in $155 million domestically — far more than the $140 million the most optimistic forecasters had projected. Indeed, it was an opening weekend for the record books: The mammoth haul marks the third-best debut ever, the biggest ever for a film that isn't a sequel, and the biggest ever for a film that opened outside the lucrative summer window. "This is the birth of a franchise," says David Spitz, head of Lionsgate distribution. "To launch in this fashion is mind-boggling." Here, a look at how the success breaks down:

$155 million

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