Today is The Hunger Games: Catching Fire’s technical opening day, but it already has showcased that the odds are ever in its favor after Lionsgate reported that the picture grossed an outstanding $25.3 million from Thursday night screenings, which began at 8pm.
These numbers show that anticipation is high for the well-marketed adaptation of Suzanne Collins’ beloved YA novels, as it is up a staggering 28 percent from the Thursday grosses of The Hunger Games, which opened at $152.5 million for its weekend. Granted Catching Fire also had more screens, as well as the more widely anticipated IMAX special screenings, but it is still a whopping $15.6 million more than what Iron Man 3 made on its Thursday night showings during the first weekend of May, and that is (for now) the biggest hit of 2013.
The Hunger Games: Catching Fire has also grossed an impressive $32 million already in 43 other territories, and it opens in another 65 this weekend alone.
So, did you go to the midnight shows? If you did, let us know what you thought of the movie in the comment section below!