Hunger Games Triumphs For Fourth Straight Week at the Box Office

The Hunger Games

became the first film since Avatar to win the box office for four consecutive weekends as weak openings by The Three Stooges, The Cabin in the Woods and Lockout gave Katniss little fight, according to Box Office Mojo. In spite of a nearly 37% decline from last week, The Hunger Games took in $21.1 million this weekend, enough to beat The Three Stooges' $17 million. It was good enough to make it the best opening for producers Peter and Bobby Farrelly in over ten years, but not enough to make a dent in The Hunger Games' seemingly-impenetrable hide. Lionsgate, who distributed The Hunger Games, also oversaw The Cabin in the Woods, the week's #3 movie, which made a shade under $15 million. It's the last time we'll see writer/producer Joss Whedon working with actor Chris Hemsworth until that distant day when, in less than three weeks, The Avengers opens nationwide. Only two films open wide this coming weekend, the romantic comedy Think Like a Man and Nicholas Sparks' The Lucky One. It's hard to say whether either of them has the potential to overtake The Hunger Games, but obviously each passing week increases the odds of a substantial enough dip in the film's weekend take to make even smaller films competitive. Fan-favorite writer Sparks' last outing, the Miley Cyrus-starring romance The Last Song, opened at $16 million in 2010, co-starring Hemsworth's brother Liam, who is also featured in The Hunger Games. Earlier that same year, Sparks had another open at $30 million, Dear John starring Channing Tatum, but other than that none of Sparks' movies have opened higher than The Last Song.