For a second year in a row The Hunger Games has become the highest grossing film of the year. Mockingjay – Part One has officially surpassed Marvel's Guardians of the Galaxy to become the most successful picture of 2014 at the US box office. Jennifer Lawrence's record-breaking heroine pulled in a whopping $333.18 million as of yesterday, a and is still growing from the 1,200 cinemas still playing the picture.
Released in November, Mockingjay Part One opened with a massive $121, 897, 634 and has now gone on to take over $711 million worldwide. Guardians Of The Galaxy, which despite being available on DVD and Blu-ray, is still playing in 65 cinemas across America but is unlikely to see much of a box office boom to reclaim its position as the number one movie of 2014 in the States.
Yet, even with the title of 2014's highest grossing movie, Mockingjay – Part one still falls short of Catching Fire's domestic gross which pulled in $424.7 million in 2013. The Hunger Games beat another Marvel favourite to bag the number one movie of 2013, soaring past Iron Man 3, which eventually took $409 million domestically. The original Hunger Games became the third highest grossing picture of 2012 with huge competition from The Dark Knight Rises and Marvel's The Avengers, the latter going on to become the second highest grossing movie ever.
The Hunger Games' feat also marks the first time a franchise has been named as the highest grossing movie at the US box office for two consecutive years. Not even The Lord of the Rings, The Hobbit, Harry Potter nor Twilight could boast the same accolade. This is also the first time Lionsgate have bagged the number one movie for two years in a row.
The Hunger Games: Mockingjay Part One is the highest grossing movie of 2014 (Lionsgate)
The Hunger Games releases its closing chapter in 2015 but will have to bring in record figures for the franchise if its to bag the number one picture for a third year running. This May sees the release of Avengers: Age of Ultron, which is expected to take more than its 2012 predecessor and of course in December Star Wars: The Force Awakens, already named the most anticipated movie of 2015, hits the big screen.
The Hunger Games: Mockingjay Part Two is currently set for release in cinemas across the UK and the U.S. on November 20, 2015.
