Movie

However, the third installment hits franchise low with its $123 million opening after receiving A- on CinemaScore.

• Nov 24, 2014

AceShowbiz - As expected, "The Hunger Games: Mockingjay, Part 1" opens big at the box office this weekend with an estimated $123 million. The number, unfortunately, does not live up to its predecessors' record openings.

"The Hunger Games" opened to $152 million in 2012. The sequel, "The Hunger Games: Catching Fire", scored $158 million on its first weekend in 2013. However, "Mockingjay, Part 1" is still the biggest opener of 2014, beating out the $100 million debut made by "Transformers: Age of Extinction" this summer.

"We still have the biggest opening of the year. The last time you could say that was when we opened 'Catching Fire'. It shows the strength of the franchise," said Lionsgate's David Spitz. "We selected this playdate because we knew we would benefit from the lucrative holiday season ahead of us. Last year, we experienced great playability all the way through Christmas, and we think it will be the same here."

The third installment received an A- on CinemaScore while the previous ones earned a solid A. Lionsgate's decision to split the last book into two movies indicate that there is less action in the first part. "Mockingjay, Part 1" is also the first in the franchise that did not debut on IMAX because the platform still carries "Interstellar".

On a higher note, "Mockingjay, Part 1" is doing better internationally. It goes up 4 percent from "Catching Fire" with $152 million opening although it did not match the second movie's worldwide total of $294.1 million.

In the second position this week is "Big Hero 6" with an estimated $20.1 million. "Interstellar" sits at the third place with approximately $15.1 million. Last week's box office champion "Dumb and Dumber To" slips to the fourth place with around $13.8 million, followed by "Gone Girl" in fifth with an estimated $2.8 million.

1. "The Hunger Games: Mockingjay, Part 1" - $123 million
2. "Big Hero 6" - $20.1 million
3. "Interstellar" - $15.1 million
4. "Dumb and Dumber To" - $13.8 million
5. "Gone Girl" - $2.8 million
6. "Beyond the Lights" - $2.6 million
7. "St. Vincent" - $2.4 million
8. "Fury" - $1.9 million
9. "Birdman" - $1.9 million
10. "The Theory of Everything" -$1.5 million