By this time next month, we’ll be able to wave goodbye to “Iron Man 3” as the highest-grossing film of 2013. “The Hunger Games: Catching Fire” will undoubtedly claim that title. But just how big will this second installment in the “HG” series be? Here’s a breakdown:
Last year’s “The Hunger Games” opened with a very impressive $152.5 million, a total that exceeded each of the “Twilight” films. Why? Because this saga, about teens (and now adults) fighting to the death on a TV show in post-apocalyptic Earth, has more mass appeal than the “Twilight” stories of young vampire and werewolf lovers. “THG” held the #1 spot at the box office for four straight weeks. No film has duplicated that achievement since. Its final grand total of $408 million put it at #3 for the year, behind only “Marvel’s The Avengers” and “The Dark Knight Rises”.
“Catching Fire” should be able to outgross that figure. Since last year, star Jennifer Lawrence won an Academy Award (for her riveting performance in “Silver Linings Playbook”). And a fellow Oscar winner- Phillip Seymour Hoffman, joins the already star-studded “Catching Fire” cast of Josh Hutcherson, Woody Harrelson, Elizabeth Banks, Lenny Kravitz, Liam Hemsworth, Donald Sutherland, and Stanley Tucci. Seymour Hoffman plays Quarter Quell head gamemaker Plutarch Heavensbee.
And there’s no denying that “The Hunger Games” brand has grown in the year and a half since the first release. I believe more people who skipped the first enstallment will take a shot at this one (and catch-up with the first film on DVD). Plus, the trailers for “Catching Fire” are very promising.
Still, I don’t see “Catching Fire” opening to “Avengers” numbers ($207m), but it’ll come pretty close. And with the Thanksgiving holiday right around the corner, it should follow with a very strong second week.
Opening Weekend Prediction: $172 million
Total Gross Prediction: $475 million