“The Hunger Games” monopolizes the box office at its premiere

“The Hunger Games: The Ballad of Songbirds & Snakes” topped theaters in the United States and Canada in its first weekend of release with $44 million in box office salesaccording to estimates from Sunday studies.

It was a busy weekend at the theaters leading up to Thanksgiving and there was plenty to choose from. The public had “The Marvels”which plummeted 78% in its second weekend, as well as the national premieres of the family film “Trolls World Tour”Taika Waititi’s football comedy “Next Goal Wins” and the horror movie “Thanksgiving”.

“The Ballad of Songbirds & Snakes” is an interesting case study for a franchise that was dormant for eight years. Its $44 million in 3,776 theaters marks a low for “The Hunger Games” series. The four films starring Jennifer Lawrence They surpassed $100 million in their opening weekends – the high point was the first with $158 million in 2013, the low point was the last with $102.7 million in 2015.

But it’s a more nuanced story for Lionsgate, which operates differently from traditional studios by licensing its titles to international distributors, which helps cover a significant portion of the film’s budget. The producers kept it around $100 million, which was also offset by tax credits for filming in Germany.

With an additional $54.5 million from 87 international markets, The film already grossed $98.5 million upon release. The studio considers it a strong start for the prequel, which is based 64 years before Katniss Evergreen entered the scene, with a new cast led by Tom Blyth and Rachel Zegler.

“Historically, trying to make prequels, especially when the cast is not returning, can be a very challenging proposition”said Adam Fogelson, vice president of Lionsgate Motion Picture Group. “The fact that we’re here with basically $100 million opening weekend worldwide is, I think, a testament to the quality of the movie, the quality of talent that worked on the movie and a campaign that was so successful as well as efficient.”

The highest grossing

These are the ten highest-grossing movies this weekend in the United States and Canada, according to Comscore.

1. “The Hunger Games: The Ballad of Songbirds & Snakes” – $44 million

2. “Trolls Band Together” – $30.6 million

3. “The Marvels” – $10.2 million

4. “Thanksgiving” – $10.2 million

5. “Five Nights at Freddy’s” – $3.5 million

6. “The Holdovers” – $2.7 million

7. “Next Goal Wins” – $2.5 million

8. “Taylor Swift: The Eras Tour” – $2.4 million

9. “Priscilla” – $2.3 million

10. “Killers of the Flower Moon” – $1.9 million