'Hunger Games' is No. 1 for fourth straight week - USA TODAY

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'Hunger Games' is No. 1 for fourth straight week - USA TODAY Apr 15th 2012, 16:10 By Scott Bowles, USA TODAY Updated The Hunger Games slapped The Three Stooges silly this weekend, fending off the newcomer to claim the No. 1 spot for the fourth consecutive week. By Murray Close, AP 'The Hunger Games,' with Jennifer Lawrence and Liam Hemsworth, is the first film to top the box office for four consecutive weeks since 'Avatar.' By Murray Close, AP 'The Hunger Games,' with Jennifer Lawrence and Liam Hemsworth, is the first film to top the box office for four consecutive weeks since 'Avatar.' The best-seller adaptation earned $21.5 million, according to studio estimates from Hollywood.com. The movie became the first in three years to capture the No. 1 spot for a month straight. The film has taken in $337.1 million since its release four weekends ago. "The last film to do this (four consecutive box-office wins) was Avatar" in 2009, says Paul Dergarabedian of Hollywood.com. The movie fell just 35% from its haul last weekend, indicating a strong word of mouth — strong enough to hold off Larry, Moe and Curly. The Three Stooges, the latest comedy from the Farrelly brothers, took second place with $17.1 million, slightly ahead of projections. Though only 43% of critics gave it a thumbs-up, about 72% of moviegoers enjoyed it, says pollsters Rottentomatoes.com. The horror film The Cabin in the Woods opened to a solid $14.9 million, riding a wave of unusually solid reviews for a horror film. According to the amalgam site, a whopping 92% of reviewers recommended the film, compared with 81% of moviegoers. Ray Subers of Box Office Mojo says The Hunger Games capitalized on a gender gap at theaters: "Male moviegoers were split between the three new releases, which allowed the female-skewing Hunger Games" to take the crown again. The re-release Titanic 3-D was fourth with $11.6 million, followed by the comedy American Reunion with $10.6 million. Ticket sales continue to surge with the healthy openings. Revenue remains up about 19% ahead of the same time last year, and attendance is up 22% over 2011, according to Hollywood.com. Final figures are expected Monday. For more information about reprints & permissions, visit our FAQ's. To report corrections and clarifications, contact Standards Editor Brent Jones. For publication consideration in the newspaper, send comments to letters@usatoday.com. Include name, phone number, city and state for verification. To view our corrections, go to corrections.usatoday.com. USA TODAY is now using Facebook Comments on our stories and blog posts to provide an enhanced user experience. To post a comment, log into Facebook and then "Add" your comment. To report spam or abuse, click the "X" in the upper right corner of the comment box. To find out more, read the FAQ and Conversation Guidelines.  This entry passed through the Full-Text RSS service — if this is your content and you're reading it on someone else's site, please read the FAQ at fivefilters.org/content-only/faq.php#publishers. Five Filters recommends: Donate to Wikileaks.

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