The Weekend Box Office: Hunger Games on Top Again, Titanic 3D Sets Record in China

In what should be a surprise to nobody, critically-acclaimed blockbuster “The Hunger Games” was once again the number one movie at the domestic box office, making this the fourth week in a row that the Lionsgate film has sat on top. A few high profile new releases also debuted; however, none of which made a particularly large splash in terms of box office numbers.

Interestingly enough, “Titanic 3D” debuted in China last week with $67 million, which bested “Transformers: Dark of the Moon” as the highest grossing debut ever in China.

Hit the jump for a full rundown of this weekend’s box office results.

For the third week in a row “The Hunger Games” has declined over 35 percent; however, the $21 million gross was still good enough for first place, despite moderate competition from a few new releases.

“The Three Stooges” debuted in second place with $17 million, which, while low for most TV adaptations, could be considered a moderate success. The film’s odd marketing campaign made “Stooges” look almost like a parody of an actual film, though the film was the Farrelly Brothers’ highest grossing debut since 2001’s “Shallow Hal.”

Supernatural horror/comedy “The Cabin in the Woods” finished in third place with a respectable $14.7 million. Again, compared to similar movies, this ranks on the low-end of the spectrum, though the film did pretty well compared to other comedy/horror films, ranking only behind the “Scary Movie” franchise, “Ghostbusters,” and “Zombieland.”

The last high profile release to debut this past weekend was sci-fi/action flick “Lockout” from the mind behind movies like “Transporter,” “Taken,” and “Colombiana.” The film finished with $6.23 million in ninth place, despite a solid marketing campaign and moderate starpower with Guy Pearce at the lead. Still, the $6.2 million was one of the lowest debuts from producer Luc Besson.

With no new releases this week, the only Sony Pictures film in the top ten is comedy “21 Jump Street.”

In an update on the foreign box office, “Titanic 3D” released worldwide to huge numbers, setting the highest opening record in China. “Battleship,” an action movie adapted from the popular board game, debuted overseas with $55.2 million in 26 markets. The film has yet to release in the United States, though its overseas success is a good sign.

Domestic Box Office Top Five