U.S. and Canadian ticket buyers bought up an estimated $155 million worth of tickets to see The Hunger Games over the weekend, making it the third-largest domestic debut ever, behind only Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows -- Part 2 , which opened last year with $169.19 million and The Dark Knight with $158.41 million in 2008. The film exceeded the predictions of pundits, who pegged the film to earn $110-115 million. It easily became the highest-earning film ever to open in March, beating the previous record holder, 2010's Alice in Wonderland , which opened with $116.1 million. Last week's No. 1 movie, Sony's 21 Jump Street , slipped to second place with $21.3 million, followed by Dr. Seuss' The Lorax with $13.1 million.

The top ten films for the weekend, according to studio estimates compiled by Box Office Mojo 1. The Hunger Games , $155 million; 2. 21 Jump Street , $21.3 million; 3. Dr. Seuss' the Lorax , $13.1 million; 4. John Carter , $5 million; 5. Act of Valor , $2.1 million; 6. Project X , $2 million; 7. A Thousand Words , $1.9 million; 8. October Baby , $1.7 million; 9. Safe House , $1.39 million; 10. Journey 2 The Mysterious Island , $1.37 million.

26/03/2012