In its first box office test, “The Hunger Games: Catching Fire” has shattered the opening numbers put up by the original Jennifer Lawrence adventure thriller in Brazil.
It took in $6.2 million, more than doubling the $3 million haul of the first film. Lionsgate chose to begin its worldwide rollout of film, expected to be a blockbuster, in Brazil to take advantage of a long holiday weekend there. On Friday, “Catching Fire” will open in the U.S. and 65 international markets.
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Lionsgate is hoping the sequel becomes a global phenomenon and has staged a series of high-profile events in the run-up to the release. M0nday’s Los Angeles premiere will cap a series of red-carpet debuts in London, Berlin, Paris, Madrid and Rome, where a crowd of more than 10,000 turned out.
The PG-13-rated “Catching Fire” is directed by Francis Lawrence and based on the book by Suzanne Collins.
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Lawrence returns as Katniss Everdeen, and is joined by co-stars Josh Hutcherson, Liam Hemsworth, Woody Harrelson, Elizabeth Banks, Lenny Kravitz, Philip Seymour Hoffman, Jeffrey Wright, Sam Claflin, Jena Malone, with Stanley Tucci and Donald Sutherland.