I'm pretty sure Lionsgate suspected The Hunger Games was going to have an exorbitant opening weekend--just not this big.
In just three days The Hunger Games raked in $155 million. That is the third highest total behind only Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows Part 2 and The Dark Knight.* Needless to say it is also the largest opening ever for a March film, destroying the previous record of $21.5 million held by Diary of a Wimpy Kid 2. I guess the death, explotation, and torture of innocent children plays well. Just joking.
All kidding aside this is a coup not only for the franchise but for Lionsgate as a production company. Furthermore, I think it is a giant step forward for strong female characters in films, so suck on it sparkly vampires and brooding pining pasty white girls!
Look out for the inevitable merchandising that's about to explode from this franchise and just like Stallone after Rocky, Jennifer Lawrence's movie life is never going to be the same. This is one of those roles that propels someone into a twenty year career. Maybe not so much for Josh Hutcherson but hey you never know. (I'd reference Taylor Lautner here but to do so would be an insult to Hutcherson's acting ability which is far superior to Lautner's.)
With the recent success of the first film people are already clamouring about the next.** I'm here to tell you that the release date for Catching Fire is set for November 22, 2013, and that the rumors that the final book will be split into two is correct. I will stipulate that I wouldn't be surprised if Lionsgate moved the release date to sometime in the summer however, as this has "summer blockbuster" written all over it. As for the splitting of the final book Mockingjay into two movies, I don't really believe it's necessary like with the last Harry Potter book. Producers and movie execs will ostensibly say that is because "there are so many plot details that we just don't want to leave anything out." That may be a nice side benefit but let's be real, why make $300 million domestically on one film when you can make $600 million on two? That's not cynical. It's realistic.
Personally I don't care whether or not they split the final film into two as long as they do the other films justice like they did with The Hunger Games. And as long as they have Stanley Tucci again with just as much crazy hair and teeth as the first film.
*If The Hunger Games made this much money in 3 days, how much will The Dark Knight Rises make I wonder?
**I've decided not to go into the accusations of racism in The Hunger Games that are starting to filter through various media outlets. To do so I think lends credence to highly illogical, ill thought out, and sensationalist arguments. Rest assured however that if it gets really bad I will address it--with extreme prejudice.
November 2013!? Why does that seem like it’s a lifetime away? Seriously, I hope I live long enough to see this series through to its conclusion. I hereby demand consistent updates on casting, filming, etc. from this blog.
ReplyDeleteIt’s been 5 days now since I went to see the movie, which as I’ve already said, I wasn’t even keen on doing. When I walked out, I was impressed, and gave it a 7 of 10 – as Corrye has noted, I’m a tough critic, so that was a good score. The past few days, I have been thinking a lot about the film, the franchise, and what it means – and it has caused me to revise not only my grade for the film, but my whole grading system.
First, a few more random notes: as Corrye has already stated, I can’t even describe how happy I am that Katniss Everdeen has become the new/infinitely better Bella Swan. As a man with a young daughter, I know that she is naturally going to seek out people, even fictional ones, to look up to and emulate. I’d prefer these to be real people, but as fictional characters go, Katniss is a damn good choice…
…a morbid observation, but it has to be made: what happens to the role of President Snow if Donald Sutherland doesn’t make it all the way through?
…I wish there had been more shots of the scenery in the film. Granted, there was a lot, but I felt a bit cheated in that we only saw glimpses of the Capital. I’m looking forward to the next three films to feed this hunger (no pun intended)…
…I’ll be interested to see, a few years from now, how many kids are named “Katniss” and “Peeta”…
…finally, I’ll admit it: I’m more excited about this movie, what it means, and what it could be as a franchise, than I ever thought possible.
Now, to my revised grade:
I will be the first to admit that I am not well-versed in the technical aspects of movie making, i.e., cinematography, lighting, sound effects, score, etc. Obviously, if something is really good or bad, I’ll know that, but I can’t really judge one average film against another in those areas. What I can do is judge a film based on how much it affects me, both immediately and in the long-term. (Which is why I shouldn’t ever give out a rating just after walking out of the theater – I need time to ruminate).
So, going forward, my rating system is going to be based on three questions: did I like it, did it affect me in some way, and if so, how long did that feeling last? Was it fleeting, lasting only the day? Or was it, in some way, life changing?
When I saw The Hunger Games, one of the first things I thought after the games began was, “you know, if I had to run for my life right now, I doubt I’d get very far”. And that inspired me, because since then, I’ve been on a mission to get in better shape. Granted, it’s only been 5 days, but my motivation level hasn’t waned in the slightest, which is something I can honestly say has never been the case on my previous, pitiful attempts
I can’t say that the film made me do a complete 180 in terms of lifestyle, but it absolutely pushed me that extra couple of degrees. This, combined with the obvious, excellent aspects of the film itself (first and foremost, Jennifer Lawrence, whose performance I don’t have the words to do justice), leads me to give The Hunger Games only my third ever 10/10.