'Hunger Games: Mockingjay' Conquers Box Office with Year's Best Opening at $123 Million

“The Hunger Games: Mockingjay – Part 1” conquered the weekend box office with a year’s best $123 million opening, but it failed to match the heights of the previous installments in the blockbuster young adult franchise.

With Jennifer Lawrence returning as Katniss Everdeen, the debut of “Mockingjay” came in well below the two previous entries in the sci-fi adventure series based on Suzanne Collins‘ best-selling trilogy. “The Hunger Games: Catching Fire” opened to $158 million on this weekend last year, and “The Hunger Games” opened with $152.5 million in March of 2012.

Distributor Lionsgate Entertainment rolled out “Mockingjay” in 85 foreign markets as well this weekend and it dominated overseas, bringing in a whopping $152 million and opening at No. 1 in virtually every territory. The $275 million first-weekend global total for “Mockingjay” is under that of “Catching Fire” but over the $218 million of “The Hunger Games.”

Also read: What the 'Hunger Games: Mockingjay' Moviegoers Are Saying: 11 of the Funniest Reactions to the Threequel

“Mockingjay” handily beat the previous best opening of 2014, the $100 million June debut of Paramount’s “Transformers: Age of Extinction.” But it was under the projections of the studio and analysts, who foresaw a three-day total between $130 million and $150 million. Still, it was the 15th biggest opening of all time, and the best since that of “Catching Fire.” No franchise has had the first three films open above $120 million before.

Disney Animation’s “Big Hero 6” was a distant second with $20 million, raising its domestic total past $135 million after three weeks. Christopher Nolan‘s space epic “Interstellar” was third with $15.1 million and has taken in $120.6 million in its third week. Last week’s No. 1 movie, the Jim Carrey-Jeff Daniels comedy sequel “Dumb and Dumber To,” was fourth with $13.8 million.

The overall box office was off roughly 13 percent from the comparable week last year, when “Catching Fire” led the way.

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Audiences — 60 percent women and 52 percent under the age of 25 — gave the Francis Lawrence-directed “Mockingjay” an “A-” CinemaScore. That’s just below the “A” grades that both “The Hunger Games” and “Catching Fire” received from first-night moviegoers. The critics liked the first two films a little better, too. “Mockingjay” is at 68 percent positive on Rotten Tomatoes, while “The Hunger Games” had an 84 percent rating on Rotten Tomatoes and “Catching Fire” was at 89.

“Mockingjay” was in a saturation-level 4,151 theaters domestically but wasn’t shot in 3D and isn’t showing in IMAX theaters, and so it did not get the boost in grosses from those ticket upcharges. The giant screen company opted to stick with Christopher Nolan’s space epic “Interstellar” in its third week instead.

Josh Hutcherson, Liam Hemsworth, Woody Harrelson, Elizabeth Banks, Stanley Tucci, Jena Malone and the late Philip Seymour Hoffman co-star in “Mockingjay,” along with franchise newcomers Julianne Moore and Natalie Dormer.

Lionsgate split the final book in the trilogy into two films, and they were shot back-to-back at a reported cost of $250 million. “Mockingjay — Part 2” is set to open on Nov. 20, 2015.

19 Biggest Box-Office Bombs and Bummers in 2014: From 'The Giver' to 'Winter's Tale' (Photos)

Kellan Lutz starred in the first of this year's two movies starring the Greek hero, "The Legend of Hercules." The $8.8 million January opening weekend for the $70 million sword-and-sandals epic was no toga party. It finished with $61 million worldwide, well under the $243 million that Paramount's "Hercules," starring Dwayne "The Rock" Johnson, managed months later for Paramount.
Lionsgate
Even Aaron Eckhart's world-class abs couldn't bring the action horror film "I, Frankenstein" to life. It cost $65 million to make but opened to $8.6 million in January and couldn't crack $20 million domestically for Lionsgate.
Lionsgate
Colin Farrell and his horse never got out of the gate in the Akiva Goldsmith romance "Winter's Tale." Its production budget was $60 million and it opened to less than $10 million over the four-day Presidents Day weekend for Warner Bros. and mustered just $30 million domestically.
Warner Bros.
"They Suck at School" was the tagline for "Vampire Academy," the Mark Winters-directed adaptation of Richelle Mead's young adult fantasy novel. Ditto the box office: Its $3.9 million February debut for the Weinstein Company was the 11th-worst ever for a release on more than 2,500 screens, and it ended with $15.3 million worldwide.
The Weinstein Company
Paul W.S. Anderson's volcano saga "Pompeii" blew in February, and Kiefer Sutherland, Kit Harrington and Emily Browning couldn't save it. It had a $100 million production budget and opened to just $10 million on its way to a tepid $23 million domestic haul for Sony's TriStar.
TriStar
Maybe Madea would have helped? “Tyler Perry‘s The Single Moms Club,” the mogul's swan song with distributor Lionsgate, opened in March with $8.3 million, the worst debut of the prolific directing career of Perry, who is getting out of the movie biz for now to focus on his TV work at the OWN Network.
Lionsgate
The $5.2 million March debut of Open Road's action thriller "Sabotage" was star Arnold Schwarzenegger's worst opening in nearly three decades.
Open Road
"Haunted House 2" opened in April to $8.8 million and topped out at $17.3 million domestically -- less than the original film made in its first weekend for Open Road.
Open Road
The British horror film "The Quiet Ones" scared up just $8.5 million in its April opening for Lionsgate, on its way to a feeble $17.8 million global total.
Lionsgate
"Mom's Night Out," a faith-based comedy starring Patricia Heaton, couldn't cash in on the boom for Christian movies and topped out with $10 million in May for Sony TriStar.
TriStar
The James Brown biopic "Get On Up" had good reviews and a strong lead performance from Chadwick Boseman, but couldn't hit the high notes at the box office and finished with just $31 million for Universal.
Universal
A leaked version of a hacked copy of "Expendables 3" hitting the Internet weeks before its opening didn't help, but Sly Stallone's over-the-hill gang may have been hurt as much by franchise fatigue. The $190 million action sequel shot blanks in its $15.8 million August opening, and couldn't crack $40 million domestically.
Lionsgate
Seth MacFarlane's comedy Western "A Million Ways to Die in the West" got bucked at the box office, debuting with $16.7 million in May and topping out with $86 million worldwide for Universal. "Ted 2" anyone?
Universal
"The Giver" brought in an $45 million domestically in August for the Weinstein Company and another $22 million abroad, but those numbers were disappointing given the popularity of Lois Lowry's young adult bestseller.
Weinstein Company
Liam Neeson's "A Walk Among Tombstones" came out in one week before Denzel Washington's "The Equalizer," another R-rated action tale, and it was no contest at the box office. "Tombstones" topped out with $53 million worldwide in September, while Sony's "The Equalizer" is headed for $200 million.
Universal
After a heavenly start to the year, the market for faith-based movies went to hell. Freestyle Releasing's "The Identical," which starred Ray Liotta and Ashley Judd, delivered a dismal $1.5 million in its September debut and was out of theaters two weeks later.
Freestyle Releasing
The Nicholas Sparks adaptation "The Best of Me" has brought in just $25 million since opening in October for Relativity Media, making it by far the lowest-grossing film adaptation of the famed romance novelist's books.
Relativity Media
Audiences failed to connect with Paramount's "Men, Women & Children," writer-director Jason Reitman's take on technology affecting our lives. It opened to an embarrassing $306,367 from 617 theaters in October and grossed just $705,908 before being yanked from theaters.
Paramount
The sci-fi tale "Transcendence" marked the fourth box-office bomb in a row for Johnny Depp, on the heels of "The Lone Ranger," "Dark Shadows" and "Rum Diaries." "Transcendence" opened to $10.8 million in April and topped out at $23 million domestically for Warner Bros., not enough given its $100 million production budget.
Warner Bros.

1 of 19

Cameron Diaz, Johnny Depp, Seth MacFarlane and Sly Stallone all had movies that missed the mark at the multiplexes

Kellan Lutz starred in the first of this year's two movies starring the Greek hero, "The Legend of Hercules." The $8.8 million January opening weekend for the $70 million sword-and-sandals epic was no toga party. It finished with $61 million worldwide, well under the $243 million that Paramount's "Hercules," starring Dwayne "The Rock" Johnson, managed months later for Paramount.

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19 Biggest Box-Office Bombs and Bummers in 2014: From 'The Giver' to 'Winter's Tale' (Photos)

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