“The Hunger Games” Could Open Bigger Than “Breaking Dawn” In USA Box Office

We had previously reported the first set of tracking records indicate “The Hunger Games” could open bigger than “Twilight” in USA box office sales.

New set of tracking record is in and Lionsgate marketing is evidently working for The Hollywood Reporter reports experts are now predicting “The Hunger Games” could possibly open bigger than “Twilight: Breaking Dawn Part 1” US $138.1 million debut back in November 2012.

This is certainly great news for do keep in mind when “Twilight: Breaking Dawn Part 1” was released, it had already established its fanbase which is unlike “The Hunger Games” where it’s the first movie of what could be the launch of a new franchise.

Here’s what The Hollywood Reporter has to say:

Hunger Games, which opens March 23, is even tracking better than The Twilight Saga: Breaking Dawn Part 1. That film opened in November to US$138.1 million, the fifth-best debut of all time domestically, but had the advantage of bowing the weekend before Thanksgiving, when some kids are out of school.

Box-office observers say it’s difficult to predict exactly how much Hunger Games will make, offering a more conservative estimate of US$100 million to US$120 million. They say it’s difficult to predict a number when tracking becomes this big and a film gets into the US$100 million-plus range.
Hunger Games certainly has a shot at taking the crown for best March opening from Alice in Wonderland, which debuted to US$116.1 million in 2010.

…

Tracking data released Monday showed definite interest in Hunger Games jumping from 55 percent to 60 percent in the past week, awareness went from 75 percent to 83 percent, unaided awareness from 14 percent to 21 percent and awareness from 75 percent to 83 percent.
“Numbers don’t get much higher than this,” said one rival studio executive. “Hunger Games is tracking like a sequel, even though it isn’t a sequel. It’s three times higher than the first Twilight.”

Interest among younger women in Hunger Games is now at 45 percent, compared with 36 percent for Breaking Dawn. Among female over the age of 25, interest is 29 percent, versus 27 percent for Breaking Dawn.

One advantage that Hunger Games has over Summit Entertainment’s blockbuster Twilight franchise is male interest.

Monday’s tracking showed that Interest in Hunger Games among males younger than 25 was a healthy 28 percent, compared to 10 percent for Breaking Dawn. Interest among males over 25 was 20 percent, versus 8 percent for the fourth Twilight film.

“These are huge, stupid numbers,” one box-office observer said.

Visit The Hollywood Reporter for the full story.

Outlook for “The Hunger Games” movie is certainly rosy and we can’t wait to see the numbers for “The Hunger Games” box office sales in USA, locally as well as worldwide!

‘The Hunger Games’ will be released in Singapore on 22 March 2012. Book “The Hunger Games” tickets from Cathay Cineplexes now!

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Deadline: “The Hunger Games” Could Possibly Open Bigger Than “Twilight” In USA

According to an exclusive from Deadline, first set of tracking numbers for “The Hunger Games” has arrived and they are looking great! “The Hunger Games” movie is predicted to possibly open to US$70+ million in box office sales which is bigger than “Twilight” debut weekend box office sales of US$69.6 million back in 2008.

“The Hunger Games” movie first set of tracking numbers:

With 23% ‘First Choice’ and 54% ’Definite Interest’, those are numbers every film studio can only dream about. One studied provided me with a guesstimate that the first film based on the Suzanne Collins bestselling books could open to $70+M — which would make this bigger than the the Twilight debut. “It’s every bit as strong As Twilight and, numerically, stronger,” one rival studio told me this morning. Seasonality may play a factor because The Hunger Games is opening in March, not summer. “But the numbers, while they definitely skew to young females, look strong across all quadrants.” Said another studio: “It’s a great start.”

What exactly are tracking numbers?

The Daily Beast has a great explanation on this commonly used tactic in Hollywood to survey public interest for a movie.

The audience studies are called “tracking” reports, and they have become the crystal ball for movie marketing. Three times a week, a Los Angeles organization called the National Research Group (some studios use L.A.’s rival research firm, MarketCast) telephones about 400 random Americans, asking them not only what movies they are aware of, but also which they intend to pay to see. The data is sorted demographically into six different age brackets (the youngest is 12-16 and the oldest 45-59, as the senior set apparently doesn’t count), with additional categories for gender and race. Every new movie in wide release pops up on the surveys three weeks before its debut. In the final days before the movie opens, NRG estimates its first weekend’s box office. Each studio spends hundreds of thousands of dollars a year paying for the surveys, scrutinizing the votes the way the Gore team did Florida ballots.

The numbers are invaluable because they reveal who is interested in a movie and, more important, who isn’t. That data then determines how advertising money should be spent, and whether new commercials should be deployed.

Based on these first set of tracking numbers, things are certainly looking good for “The Hunger Games”! We can only hope public interest and awareness for “The Hunger Games” movie will continue to grow as we are only 20 days from release of “The Hunger Games” movie in Singapore and 21 days away in USA!

‘The Hunger Games’ will be released in Singapore on 22 March 2012.

Don’t forget to follow us on Twitter (@HungerGamesSG) as well as ‘Like’ us on Facebook for the latest updates!

Via The Hob.

Suzanne Collins’s Thoughts After Watching “The Hunger Games” Movie

We had read Josh Hutcherson’s reactions on Twitter after watching “The Hunger Games” movie.

It appears Josh Hutcherson, who plays Peeta Mellark in the movie, is not the only one who had already seen the completed “The Hunger Games” movie.

Suzanne Collins

Suzanne Collins, the author of “The Hunger Games” trilogy, has just revealed through an open letter from official “The Hunger Games” trilogy Facebook page operated by Scholastic on her thoughts about “The Hunger Games” movie after watching it.

Dear Readers,

I’ve just had the opportunity to see the finished film of The Hunger Games. I’m really happy with how it turned out. I feel like the book and the film are individual yet complementary pieces that enhance one another. The film opens up the world beyond Katniss’ point of view, allowing the audience access to the happenings of places like the Hunger Games control room and President Snow’s rose garden, thereby adding a new dimension to the story.

Director Gary Ross has created an adaptation that is faithful in both narrative and theme, but he’s also brought a rich and powerful vision of Panem, its brutality and excesses, to the film as well. His world building’s fantastic, whether it be the Seam or the Capitol. It’s amazing to see things that are suggested in the book fully developed and so brilliantly realized through the artistry of the designers.

And, my God, the actors. The cast, led by the extraordinary Jennifer Lawrence, is absolutely wonderful across the board. It’s such a pleasure to see how they’ve embodied the characters and brought them to life.

So I’d like to sincerely thank all the many people who devoted their time and talents to the film, especially producers Nina Jacobson and Jon Kilik, and the excellent teams at Color Force, Larger Than Life, and Lionsgate.

I hope you enjoy the film!

Suzanne Collins

Looks like Suzanne Collins is certainly very pleased with the final product! As we know, Suzanne Collins is very much involved during the production process of “The Hunger Games” movie by collaborating with Gary Ross for the screenplay while she is also listed as an executive producer for “The Hunger Games” movie.

22 March 2012 can’t arrive sooner enough for us!

‘The Hunger Games’ will be released in Singapore on 22 March 2012.

Don’t forget to follow us on Twitter (@HungerGamesSG) as well as ‘Like’ us on Facebook for the latest updates!

Suzanne Collins Is An Executive Producer For ‘The Hunger Games’ Movie

We know that Suzanne Collins, author of ‘The Hunger Games’ trilogy, is incredibly involved in the production process of ‘The Hunger Games’ movie according to news reports. She had written the screenplay with Gary Ross by working on a draft Billy Ray did for ‘The Hunger Games’ movie and it appears she will do so for ‘Catching Fire’ except that it’s with Oscar winning scriptwriter Simon Beaufoy along with Gary Ross. Suzanne Collins had also attended castings way back then before ‘The Hunger Games’ started filming.

However, even though Suzanne Collins appears to be very active in ‘The Hunger Games’ production process, fans couldn’t help but wondering how much say she has and also to what extent is she working with Lionsgate and Color Force to produce ‘The Hunger Games’ movie.

While ‘The Hunger Games’ new poster featuring Katniss Everdeen and Peeta Mellark was released during middle of December last year, many fans have missed an important detail. In the fine prints on the poster, Suzanne Collins (boxed in red) is listed as an executive producer along with Robin Bessell and Louise Rosner.

Click to enlarge the image below.

Suzanne Collins listed as one of the executive producers

What do you think of Suzanne Collins being an executive producer for ‘The Hunger Games’ movie? Sound off in the comments below!

‘The Hunger Games’ will be released in Singapore on 22 March 2012.

Don’t forget to follow us on Twitter (@HungerGamesSG) as well as ‘Like’ us on Facebook for the latest updates!

Source: Annika via Down With The Capitol.