Murray Close/Lionsgate
When "The Hunger Games: Mockingjay - Part I" comes out this weekend, it should do something no other film this year has been able to do - make well over $100 million opening weekend.
So far, there has only been one movie in 2014 that has had a $100 million opening weekend. That was Paramount's "Transformers: Age of Extinction," the fourth installment of Michael Bay's ongoing franchise back in June.
That's unusual.
Last year, three movies crossed the $100 million mark opening weekend - "Iron Man 3," "Man of Steel," and "The Hunger Games: Catching Fire."
2012 had four movies debut to over $140 million ("The Avengers," "The Dark Knight Rises," "The Hunger Games," and the final "Twilight" film).
The last time we've only seen only two movies open above $100 million opening weekend was in 2009 when "The Twilight Saga: New Moon" ($142 million) and "Transformers: Revenge of the Fallen" ($108 million) came out.
What's the deal with 2014?
For one thing, more movies have debuted in the $90-$100 million range than previous years. Those five films include "Godzilla," "Guardians of the Galaxy," and sequels "Captain America 2" ($95 million), "The Amazing Spider-Man 2" ($91 million), and "X-Men: Days of Future Past" ($90 million).
There also weren't as many event films. Next year, we'll have "The Avengers" sequel, the final "Hunger Games" movie, and a new "Star Wars" film. "Fast and Furious 7" was originally set for a July 2014 release but was pushed back to April 2015 after the death of Paul Walker in late 2013. The last sequel, "Fast 6," made $120 million opening Memorial Day Weekend.
"Mockingjay" has been one of the most anticipated movies of 2014. Tickets for the sequel have been on sale since the end of October. After tickets went on sale, both Fandango and MovieTickets.com reported the movie had the largest first day advance ticket sale of the year. The film accounts for over 90% of Fandango's ticket sales this weekend.
BoxOffice.com estimates the film will debut to $150 million.
A quick look at the film's two previous openings shows "Mockingjay" could and should easily open higher.
Here are the numbers to beat:
| Movie | Year | Opening Weekend | Worldwide Gross | Estimated Budget |
| "The Hunger Games" | 2012 | $152 million | $691 million | $78 million |
| "The Hunger Games: Catching Fire" | 2013 | $158 million | $864 million | $130 million |