Because nothing lasts forever, it seems North American audiences weren’t as excited to see Katniss back on the big screen as they have been in the past.
In case you live under a rock, Jennifer Lawrence and company returned this week as Katniss and her rebel army in the first part of the final chapter in Lionsgate’s Hunger Games saga: Mockingjay – Part 1. And with a supporting cast that includes Julianne Moore, Elizabeth Banks, Liam Hemsworth, the late Philip Seymour Hoffman, Josh Hutcherson and Woody Harrelson, many had pegged the flick to bust box office milestones set earlier this year by Transformers: Age of Extinction and Guardians of the Galaxy.
And while it looks like Mockingjay will most definitely bust Age of Extinction‘s record holding 100 million dollar debut, the weekend’s numbers are falling short of the saga’s first two installments.
So far, according to The Hollywood Reporter, Mockingjay has pulled in around $55 million domestically and an impressive $67.5 million internationally. What’s more, is that those numbers are through Friday alone. Projections have Katniss coming home with with something like $130 million stateside and up to $170 million overseas when the numbers are tallied on Monday.
Whether or not audiences were upset with the studio for splitting the final book in Suzanne Collins‘ trilogy in half may never be known, but the numbers don’t lie and, just last year, The Hunger Games: Catching Fire ‘s debut weekend pulled in more than $150 million in North America alone.
Only time will tell, but the clock is already ticking as The Hunger Games: Mockingjay – Part 2 hits theaters on November 20th, 2015.
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