‘Hunger Games: Mockingjay’ Rises To The Top

The Hunger Games: Mockingjay Part 1 nudged out Guardians of The Galaxy for the top spot as the highest grossing domestic release of 2014.

According to Variety, this is the second year in a row that the Hunger Games franchise has taken the number one slot.

Katniss and the other members of District 13 barely edged out Star-Lord and his band of misfits, with the films earning $333.2 million and $333.17 million, respectively, as of Wednesday evening.

This is fantastic news for the Hunger Games franchise, with its opening weekend having started with lower than anticipated sales. In the financial world, according to Forbes, Mockingjay Part 1 grossed almost $6.5 million less than its predecessor, Catching Fire, on opening weekend, leaving many to ponder whether the latest film would be dubbed a failure.

Globally, the film currently sits in fourth place as it awaits its February 8 release in China. Transformers: Age of Extinction currently holds on to first place with its worldwide sales exceeding $1 billion.

In other exciting news, Hunger Games fans received word that the film would be making its way to home theaters in the near future. The digital release date is set for February 17, with the Blu-Ray combo pack becoming available March 6.

This should fill the Hunger Games void until the November 20 theatrical release of the fourth and final installment, Mockingjay Part 2.

The films, based on the Hunger Games novels by Suzanne Collins and starring Oscar winner Jennifer Lawrence, take place in a dystopian society in which teenage heroine Katniss Everdeen becomes the symbol for a better existence. Audiences are privy to the evolution of a young girl who rises from a reluctant participant in a governmental orchestrated game to the death to the face and heart of a revolution.

Much like other YA novel movie adaptations such as the Twilight and Harry Potter series, fans have flocked to the films in record numbers, but it’s highly doubtful it will experience a three-peat for the coveted top spot, with the release of two other highly anticipated franchise sequels set to hit theaters this year.

According to an Inquisitr article published just last month, moviegoers are more excited for the release of Star Wars: The Force Awakens and the Avengers: Age of Ultron, with the final Hunger Games film coming in a respectable third.

Even if Mockingjay Part 2 doesn’t take the coveted top spot for domestic sales in 2015, it is destined to be a financial success, suggesting that when it comes to the Hunger Games, the odds are ever in their favor.

[Image courtesy of thelisttv]