The world is watching indeed. Lionsgate's The Hunger Games [HGAME] banked an estimated $155.0 million to set multiple box office recrods. The opening ranks third all times behind only Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows: Part II's $169.2 million and The Dark Knight's $158.4 million. The mark is the biggest debut ever for a non-sequel and for outside of summer.. The Hunger Games surpassed all the Twilight films from which the sci-fi film has drawn comparison by appealing to a much broader demographics. Males made up 39% of the audience, while 56% were over the age of 25. With positive word of mouth and little drop-off within the weekend, business may not be as front-loaded as the sequels in the record books.
21 Jump Street [21JST] finished a distant second at $21.3 million. The action comedy declined 41% from its opening weekend.
The Lorax [LOARX] grossed another $13.1 million to bring its total to $177.3 million.
Opening in just 390 theaters, October Baby [OCTBB] earned $1.7 million to chart at number eight.
| Rank | TITLE | F-S-S | TOTAL |
| 1 | THE HUNGER GAMES | $155,000,000 | $155,000,000 |
| 2 | 21 JUMP STREET | $21,300,000 | $71,051,000 |
| 3 | DR. SEUSS' THE LORAX | $13,108,505 | $177,338,515 |
| 4 | JOHN CARTER | $5,014,000 | $62,347,000 |
| 5 | ACT OF VALOR | $2,062,000 | $65,941,724 |
| 6 | A THOUSAND WORDS | $1,925,000 | $14,926,000 |
| 7 | PROJECT X | $1,950,000 | $51,752,000 |
| 8 | OCTOBER BABY | $1,718,427 | $1,718,427 |
| 9 | SAFE HOUSE | $1,389,850 | $122,569,165 |
| 10 | JOURNEY 2: THE MYSTERIOUS ISLAND | $1,373,000 | $97,155,000 |
| 11 | CASA DE MI PADRE | $1,100,000 | $3,948,252 |
| 12 | THIS MEANS WAR | $1,000,000 | $52,284,737 |