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First Posted: 11/23/2013 LOS ANGELES (AP) &#8212; &#8220;The Hunger Games: Catching Fire&#8221; is a scorching hit at the box office.
Lionsgate has released early numbers on what&#8217;s expected to be one of the biggest November openings ever. &#8220;Catching Fire&#8221; has grossed $70.5 million domestically and $64 million internationally, bringing its total to $135 million, the studio reported Saturday.
Numbers were from Friday&#8217;s opening day, but includes some scattered preview shows on Thursday night. The sequel gained $25.3 million from Thursday screenings.
&#8220;Catching Fire&#8221; is expected to bump two-week champ &#8220;Thor: The Dark World&#8221; out of the No. 1 slot. Full weekend ticket sales estimates at U.S. and Canadian theaters, according to Rentrak, will be released Sunday. Final domestic figures will be released Monday.
Totals for &#8220;Catching Fire&#8221; are expected to reach $150 million domestically over the weekend, though some reports estimated a $170 million opener.
&#8220;This is a testament to the power of the books, the way the first film resonated across the world with audiences and Jennifer Lawrence&#8217;s continued success and popularity, particularly in this role,&#8221; said box-office analyst Paul Dergarabedian of Rentrak of the &#8220;Catching Fire&#8221; success. &#8220;And the movie has gotten great reviews, which means it will get great word of mouth.&#8221;
The impressive opening of &#8220;Catching Fire&#8221; is expected to mark the eighth-highest domestic opening to date. &#8220;The Hunger Games,&#8221; with $67.3 million its opening night in 2012, holds the title of the sixth-highest opening weekend with $152.5 million. &#8220;The Avengers&#8221; sits at No. 1 with $207.4 million.
According to poll data, the popularity of &#8220;Catching Fire&#8221; is crossing over to all moviegoers, as compared to the female-heavy audience of &#8220;Hunger Games.&#8221; About 12 percent more male moviegoers saw &#8220;Catching Fire&#8221; and the audience was split equally between those older and younger than 25.
The smoldering &#8220;Catching Fire&#8221; ticket sales are in line with what the studio was expecting, said Dergarabedian.
&#8220;They are going to get a wonderful second weekend with Thanksgiving,&#8221; he added. &#8220;It is so important to have Thanksgiving as your second weekend. People have time off work and go out and catch up on their movie-going. It&#8217;s a brilliant position to be in.&#8221;
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Follow AP Film Writer Jessica Herndon on Twitter at: https://twitter.com/SomeKind

‘Catching Fire’ ablaze with $135M at box office