Part 2 took over as number one movie, but high expectations make this mark a disappointment!
[dropcap size=small]A[/dropcap]fter this last weekend, The Hunger Games: Mockingjay Part 2 became the fifth movie this year to eclipse $100 million on opening weekend with just over $101 million. Yet, Part 2 is down $20 million compared to opening weekend of The Hunger Games: Mockingjay Part 1.
If it makes any difference, Part 2 came out an hour earlier than Part 1 on Thursday night when they were released to theaters. But you would think that Part 2 would have the advantage because it’s the finale of a great story, right? Part 2 came out in between two of the most popular movies in 2015 in Spectre and Star Wars VII: The Force Awakens. So it’s possible that this could have been a marketing problem for the movie. What may have been more damaging to the finale is the fact that Part 1 did not do as well as anticipated in its release as well.
Part 2 did manage to surpass their estimated $247 million worldwide with $2.5 million, but Part 1 made $27.4 more over their opening weekend, with a total of $273.8 million. That doesn’t seem like it should be a big difference, but consider the fact that China wasn’t able to see Part 1 for the first 3 months after it’s release, while Part 2 was released to China this weekend. So if you put that into the difference between these opening weekend numbers, it’s a bigger difference.
Combining the budget of Part 1 and Part 2 ranges from $285-$300 million domestically, depending on the source. Both movies did manage to surpass $1 billion worldwide, but we would be kidding ourselves if Lionsgate wasn’t expecting more from the two movies. Part 1 finished with $237 million domestically, while Part 2 looks to range $250-$275 million domestically.
The Hunger Games: Mockingjay Part 2 is still in theaters if you haven’t seen it yet. Be sure to check it out while its still in theaters!
