LOS ANGELES, California (AP) — The Hunger Games has filled fan appetites with a $155 million opening weekend that puts it near the top of the domestic record book.
The huge haul marks the third-best debut ever in terms of revenue, behind the $169.2 million opening for last year's Harry Potter finale and the $158.4 million opening of 2008's The Dark Knight.
While it's already a blockbuster on its North American home turf, The Hunger Games had a much slower start overseas. The film took in a modest $59.3 million in 67 markets, including Great Britain, Germany, France, Russia and Australia.
Still, the film amassed a worldwide total of $214.3 million in just a few days.
In the US it also was by far the biggest start for a film opening outside the busy summer and holiday seasons. According to Sunday studio estimates, The Hunger Games came in nearly $40 million ahead of the previous March record-holder, 2010's Alice in Wonderland at $116.1 million.
The Hunger Games slid into the number three spot on the domestic revenue chart ahead of Spider-Man 3, which opened with $151.1 million in 2007. Factoring in today's higher tickets prices, The Hunger Games sold fewer tickets over opening weekend than Spider-Man 3, though.
Fans camped out for the first screenings of The Hunger Games which began just after midnight Friday.
Though it features a female lead, The Hunger Games drew more balanced crowds, with girls and women accounting for 61 per cent of audiences, according to distributor Lionsgate.
Despite its teen fan base, it also did well among older movie-goers. Fans 25 and older made up 56 per cent of the crowds.
The Hunger Games stars Jennifer Lawrence as a teen who is one of 24 youths forced to compete in a televised death match in a post-apocalyptic North American society.
The film is based on the first novel in the best-selling trilogy by Suzanne Collins. Lionsgate plans to release part two, Catching Fire, in November 2013, and hopes to do the finale, Mockingjay, as a two-part film instalment.
Hunger Games rakes in $155m
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