‘Hunger Games’ Box Office Numbers Are ‘Catching Fire’ With IMAX Records

The Hunger Games box office numbers have set IMAX theater records with the new sequel Catching Fire.

As previously reported by The Inquisitr, the worldwide Hunger Games: Catching Fire box office numbers were good but didn’t set any major records.

But it’s not like the movie came limping out of the games, either. The estimated $161.1 million over the weekend was enough to position Katniss firmly between Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows Part 1 and Star Wars: Episode 3 – Revenge of the Sith. which amounts to 12th place. It also had the 4th best opening in North American history (Fortunately, the Hunger Games box office numbers not being first place doesn’t mean death…)

The Catching Fire box office numbers were a little better when it came to IMAX records, grossing approximately $18 million in IMAX theaters worldwide and $12.6 million in 347 North American theaters. That’s enough money to set the highest record for the best three-day domestic opening. (Oops, James Bond’s Skyfall just got executed…)

Greg Foster, CEO of IMAX Entertainment, congratulated the filmmakers on making The Hunger Games: Catching Fire extra special on IMAX screens:

“We’re excited that fans are seeking out the IMAX format in record numbers as the ideal way to experience The Hunger Games: Catching Fire. I want to congratulate and thank our partners – producers Nina Jacobson and Jon Kilik, director Francis Lawrence, and Lionsgate – who realized the full potential of IMAX by using our capture technology in the arena sequences and proved once again that the Hunger Games series is a world-class franchise. Given the film’s ‘A’ Cinemascore and the use of IMAX differentiation, not to mention the Thanksgiving holiday in front of us, we’re optimistic about the film’s long-term prospects.”

And what exactly did they do so different this time around? Director Francis Lawrence said he tried in infuse emotional weight into the cinematic experience:

“I looked a lot at movies like ‘Apocalypse Now’ and ‘Platoon,’ movies about Vietnam. One of the things that really appealed is the idea of the consequence of war and the consequence of violence and many of the aspects of that, including things like PTSD. Katniss is different. Now that’s she’s been through the games once, she’s changed. There’s a darkness to her that might not have been there in the first movie. So, having it be winter and having the landscape be bleaker and bare and barren and cold, those kinds of choices helped me visualize some of those feelings.”

What did you think about the new look in Catching Fire? Are you surprised the Hunger Games box office numbers only set records in IMAX theaters?