The Hunger Games: Catching Fire To Surpass Iron Man 3 As The Biggest Stateside Earner Of 2013

By Rudie Obias | Published

This article is more than 2 years old

The Hunger Games: Catching Fire VS. Iron Man 3The Hunger Games: Catching Fire will be available on Blu-ray/DVD this March. If you want to watch (or re-watch) the sequel film, it is currently playing in theaters across the country. While Catching Fire was one of the success stories of the year, the Hunger Games sequel film will now surpass Iron Man 3 as the highest-grossing movie in the United States in 2013.

According to ScreenCrush, Catching Fire will be the biggest movie of 2013 once all the dust settles. So far Catching Fire has grossed $407.7 million domestically, while Iron Man 3 has taken in $409 million in the States. With a difference of about $1.3 million, and with the Hunger Games sequel still in over 2,000 theaters, Catching Fire will soon surpass Iron Man 3. The Marvel movie left theaters long ago and can currently be purchased on Blu-ray/DVD, whereas Catching Fire still has at least a month left in theaters.

I would like to point out that Iron Man 3 has grossed $1.2 billion worldwide, making it the highest-grossing film, overall, in 2013, while Catching Fire has only taken in $831.1 million worldwide. It seems that international audiences are bigger fans of Tony Stark than Katniss Everdeen. However, considering that Iron Man 3 was in 3D and Catching Fire was not, it makes the Hunger Games sequel a more impressive domestic earner, playing on fewer screens and without an added surcharge. Catching Fire was presented in IMAX, but there are definitely more 3D screens in the United States than IMAX ones. Rounding out the top five highest domestic grossers are Despicable Me 2, Disney’s Frozen, and Man of Steel.

The Hunger Games: Catching Fire is, by far, Lionsgate’s biggest earner in 2013. While the studio has high hopes with the science fiction young adult adaptation Divergent, which opens on March 21, Lionsgate is banking on The Hunger Games: Mockingjay – Part One to top Catching Fire later in 2014. Considering that Mockingjay is one of the most-anticipated movies of 2014, it’s easy to imagine Lionsgate grossing more than $1 billion in box office receipts from both movies. I bet Lionsgate executives wish they had split Catching Fire into two movies, or Mockingjay into a whole new trilogy.

Mockingjay takes place after Katniss Everdeen has been disqualified from the 75th Hunger Games. She agrees to be the face of the new revolution against the Capitol, while Gale Hawthorne rises to a leadership role. Peeta Mellark continues to be a victim of President Snow’s brainwashing after being captured during the deadly competition. Although it’s unclear where in Mockingjay‘s story the first movie will end and the second will begin, there’s a natural break in the story just before the rebels invade the Capitol. Prepare for another awkward cliffhanger ending.

Mockingjay features returning stars Jennifer Lawrence, Josh Hutcherson, Liam Hemsworth, Woody Harrelson, Elizabeth Banks, Philip Seymour Hoffman, Donald Sutherland, Sam Claflin, Jeffrey Wright, Jena Malone, Meta Golding, while Julianne Moore, Stef Dawson, Natalie Dormer, Evan Ross, Lily Rabe, Patina Miller, and Mahershalalhashbaz Ali are new additions to the film’s cast.

Catching Fire will be released on Blu-ray/DVD on March 11. The Hunger Games: Mockingjay – Part One hits theaters everywhere on November 21, while Part Two will open on November 20, 2015.