Box Office Preview: Will ‘Mockingjay-Part 1’ Make Franchise History?

The Hunger Games: Mockingjay – Part 1 will undoubtedly dominate the box office this weekend, but will it make franchise history?

With last year’s Catching Fire debuting with $158.1 million, analysts are predicting the anticipated sequel to open to at least $150 million this weekend when it releases in 4,151 locations. If so, Mockingjay may “become the first film franchise in Hollywood history to have three installments open to $150 million or more in North America,” according to The Hollywood Reporter. Lionsgate, on the other hand, is estimating a more modest amount with a range between $130 million and $150 million.

Ranked on the same level as Lord of the Rings, Star Wars, and Batman, Mockingjay is likely to dominate last June’s Transformers: Age of Extinction and its $100 million debut.

“This isn’t one of the top-tier YA series, it’s one of the top-tier series in all of filmdom,” said Jeff Bock, an analyst with Exhibitor Relations.

Being a “top-tier” franchise that will certainly dominate the top spot, no other major studio film will hit theaters this weekend. Holdovers Interstellar and Big Hero 6 are estimated to take in $22 million and $17 million, respectively. Last weekend’s victor, Dumb and Dumber To, is predicted to make about $20 million.

Mockingjay, directed by Francis Lawrence, picks up where last year’s Catching Fire left off with Katniss Everdeen (Jennifer Lawrence) now the symbol of a mass rebellion. The sequel cost approximately $140 million to produce and features Josh Hutcherson, Liam Hemsworth, Donald Sutherland, Elizabeth banks, Julianne Moore and the late Philip Seymour Hoffman.

The first adaptation of Suzanne Collins’ third book, Mockingjay – Part 1, is set to premiere this Friday, November 21st. The final installment of the Hunger Games franchise, Mockingjay – Part 2, will hit theaters almost a year later on November 20, 2015.