‘Hunger Games’ grosses $68 million Friday, earns ‘A’ CinemaScore

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‘The Hunger Games’ scored the fifth-highest opening day of all time at the box office and earned a perfect score from moviegoers.

The adaptation of the best-selling book about teens battling to the death grossed $68.25 million on Friday, according to the film’s distributor, Lionsgate. That puts it behind the last three ‘Twilight’ movies and the final ‘Harry Potter’ installment on the list of best single-day ticket sales, but ahead of such mega-hits as ‘The Dark Knight,’ ‘Transformers: Revenge of the Fallen’ and ‘Spider-Man 3.’

Just as importantly for Lionsgate, the film earned an average grade of A, according to market research firm CinemaScore. Among audiences under 18, it received a rarely rewarded A+. That means word-of-mouth should be very strong and moviegoers who weren’t among the hard-core fans who rushed out opening day are more likely to turn out in the coming days.

With such a strong debut, ‘The Hunger Games’ is now all but assured to gross at least $140 million for the full three-day weekend, with $150 million very possible.

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-- Ben Fritz