Following the premiere, The Hunger Games hit over 4,200 theaters across the U.S. starting Thursday night. With audience demand through the roof, some theaters even opted for continuous showings throughout the weekend to meet the flood of eager viewers.
The response to the film exceeded even the most optimistic projections, surprising even Matthew, the producer and investor.
As a non-sequel film debuting in April, The Hunger Games shattered midnight screening records with an opening night gross of $19.74 million, setting a new record for a non-sequel's midnight ticket sales.
This left many puzzled—after all, The Dark Knight, backed by the legacy of Heath Ledger, had pulled in "only" $18.6 million at its midnight screenings.
Compared to Batman, did The Hunger Games have any advantage in terms of character recognition or star power?
But much like the case of many low-quality blockbusters, the movie market often defies quality as a sole predictor of success.
Even without the higher ticket prices of 3D, relying solely on a 2D format, and launching in an off-peak season, The Hunger Games defied all odds.
As Friday drew to a close, more data poured in: the film was raking in revenue at an alarming rate.
On its opening Friday, including the midnight screenings, The Hunger Games scored $68.25 million across its North American theaters, setting a new record for the highest opening day in April.
This figure far exceeded the original projection of around $50 million.
The $68.25 million also set a new record for the highest opening day gross for a non-sequel in North America.
The film's core fanbase also responded enthusiastically, earning an "A" CinemaScore, with 18-year-old viewers awarding it an "A+". On Rotten Tomatoes, it held a fresh rating of 88%, and on MetaCritic, it garnered a respectable 68, showing mostly favorable reviews.
The numbers proved once again that a film's quality alone does not determine its reception.
Although its strong pre-sales had raised high expectations, The Hunger Games still exceeded them. Some older industry professionals couldn't understand how a film with such a simple plot, conventional themes, and moderate performances could achieve such monumental box office results.
But perhaps Matthew's market research offered an explanation.
Of those who watched The Hunger Games on opening day, 91% were under 25, and over 60% were female!
The success boiled down to a clear, precisely targeted marketing strategy that struck a chord with the main audience demographic, ensuring a massive viewer base.
Of course, it was inevitable that the box office would drop after such an explosive start.
On Saturday, the film earned another $51 million—a new record for April's highest Saturday gross—with only a 23% drop, indicating that it was attracting more than just die-hard fans.
By Sunday, The Hunger Games brought in an additional $36 million, breaking yet another April record for Sunday box office totals.
By the end of its opening weekend, the film had pulled in a staggering $155.25 million, easily placing it among the top five biggest opening weekends in history.
Matthew's investment, covering both production and marketing, didn't even approach this figure.
From a purely financial standpoint, the film had already recouped its costs within just three days.
As soon as the opening weekend numbers were confirmed, Matthew announced plans for a Hunger Games sequel.
That morning, The Los Angeles Times headlined on its website: "With at least two sequels in the works, Matthew Horner has once again struck gold, establishing a potentially limitless franchise."
Entertainment outlets were quick to label the film a "box office miracle" and a "phenomenon," dedicating front-page articles to marvel at this unexpected youth blockbuster.
And for the savvy producers in Hollywood, the era of the youth blockbuster seemed to be dawning.
Whether or not this trend would hold depended on The Hunger Games' performance in the coming weeks.
On Monday, it earned $10.82 million, followed by $10.34 million on Tuesday, and $8.5 million on Wednesday. By the time the next weekend arrived, The Hunger Games had already grossed $189.93 million in North America.
Suddenly, similar young adult novels—The Maze Runner, Divergent, and others—were being fought over by Hollywood studios. Each had at least five production companies vying for film rights.
Divergent, in particular, drew comparisons to The Hunger Games, with a similarly dystopian setting and a strong female protagonist akin to Katniss.
Matthew heard that Lionsgate was close to finalizing a deal with Divergent's author, but after The Hunger Games' success, the author renegotiated, now demanding $80 million for the trilogy's film rights.
The success of Twilight and The Hunger Games appeared to confirm that sci-fi or fantasy novels aimed at young adults held enormous potential.
During its second weekend, The Hunger Games pulled in another $61 million, pushing its total past the $250 million mark in North America alone.
Everyone knew that Matthew had struck a goldmine with his investment.
That same weekend, The Hunger Games began rolling out in overseas markets. Boosted by its North American success, it performed well in English-speaking countries.
In the UK, it opened with $15.33 million; in Australia, it earned $7.53 million, much to Matthew's delight. Even in New Zealand, without much competition, it pulled in $2.62 million.
Elsewhere, in continental Europe—France, Germany, Italy, and Spain—as well as in Asia's Hong Kong, Taiwan, and Japan, the film debuted in theaters.
However, the film's performance in non-English-speaking regions was lackluster. Many overseas audiences were left puzzled, wondering why such a film was so wildly popular in North America.
Films are heavily influenced by language, culture, and social environment. While a Hollywood movie might do well in some areas, it could struggle in others, as The Hunger Games had shown.
The film's dystopian themes and its strong female lead, for example, didn't resonate as strongly in regions with more conservative gender roles, like the Middle East.
This was unavoidable. Not every region embraced North America's brand of new-wave feminism.
The film's overseas opening gross was $59.3 million—a solid start but nothing like its North American performance.
Still, the film's domestic success guaranteed Matthew enormous returns.
The explosive North American success of The Hunger Games owed much to the extensive promotional efforts by Matthew and Warner Bros. In today's market, lack of promotion meant lack of box office.
From the first trailer in November as a pre-show to Twilight: Breaking Dawn - Part 1 until January, sales of the original Hunger Games book had nearly doubled.
As of the previous Friday, The Hunger Games, with abundant resources behind it, had graced over 50 magazine covers.
Matthew's marketing team calculated that the film's ads and sponsorship promotions had reached nearly 120 million people across North America.
Inevitably, The Hunger Games, like all major Hollywood hits, faced accusations of plagiarism.
Numerous outlets outside North America, particularly in Japan, claimed that The Hunger Games bore a strong resemblance to the late Japanese director Kinji Fukasaku's famous work Battle Royale.
When Matthew initially acquired the novel rights, he'd anticipated this reaction.
Hollywood's response was predictable; they didn't waste too much time addressing it. The Hollywood Reporter published an article refuting claims from non-U.S. media, highlighting the differences between the two films.
"Battle Royale has a far smaller scope in terms of story structure and setting than The Hunger Games," the article claimed. "Battle Royale is a survival tale, while The Hunger Games is a story of rebellion. The two female leads are very different, and the media's role in the narratives diverges widely."
Whether it was plagiarism or not, Matthew wouldn't know, nor would the original author, Suzanne Collins, admit it.
The film's release continued as planned, unaffected by the Japanese media's protests.
By its third weekend, The Hunger Games had added another $32.1 million, bringing its North American total to over $300 million—$302.45 million, achieving a three-week streak at the box office.
However, the era of The Hunger Games as a solo juggernaut was nearing its end. As May approached, the North American summer blockbuster season was about to kick off.
In the first weekend of the 2012 summer season, the film scheduled for release was The Avengers!
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