Hunger Games Poised to Break More Records

Well, we knew that "The Hunger Games" was going to break the March opening weekend record by "Alice in Wonderland" ($116.1 million).  We also predicted just shy of $139 million for the opening weekend, which some folks called us crazy for doing.  And the film even surpassed that with $155 million for the three day take.   But we don't think this film is stopping at a March opening weekend record (and the highest non-sequel and non-summer opening weekend ever). "The Hunger Games", as we've said all along, would (and has) appealed to more than just young audiences.  Sure, 61% were women, but 56% of the audience was 25 and older.  And that age is going to go up this week.  Why?  Because word of mouth and outstanding reviews are going to push a quite a few adults to see the film.  Folks that didn't have a clue about the story now do, and they're about to hit theaters in droves.  Also, there are a ton of folks that either weren't able to see the film over the weekend because of lack of tickets (the theater near me had 33 showings Friday-Sunday and EVERY ONE was sold out in advance) or because they just don't want to deal with crazy crowds on opening weekends.  Also, we're going to see more dads hitting theaters with their kids and wives.  I personally know multiple fathers that are now going to see "The Hunger Games" with their families just because the film has done so well.  These are men that know little about the story—just what they've heard from their kids. Speaking of kids, there are going to be repeat viewings by a ton of 12-18 year olds.  I'm talking 3-4 times for a lot of kids.  Young audiences are OBSESSED with this story, and with the film being done so well, they're even more amped to go back and see it again and again. So what does this add up to for "The Hunger Games?" We think $350 million is a shoo-in for a domestic gross, and $400 million isn't out of the realm of possibility.  But even more exciting is that we think this film will not take the dastardly 50%+ cut at the box office from week 1 to week 2.  And you know what that means?  We're calling it right now: "The Hunger Games" will break the record for the largest grossing 2nd weekend ever.  That record is currently held by "Avatar" with $75,617,183 (thanks to BoxOfficeMojo for that number).  And when it happens, we'll need to put this film down as something pretty darn special.