The 1990s were no match for a dystopian future as The Hunger Games held off healthy debuts from an American Pie reunion and a Titanic re-release.
Neither could sink Hunger Games, which claimed the top spot at the box office for the third consecutive weekend with $33.5 million, according to studio estimates from Box Office Mojo.
The haul marks a rebound of sorts for Hunger Games, which saw last weekend's grosses drop a steep 62% from its monstrous debut of $152.3 million last month, the third-highest opening on record. This weekend's take marks a 43% drop, meaning the film should see a healthy run into summer. Already, the film, which cost $78 million, has earned $302.8 million, which easily makes it the highest-grossing film of the year.
The weekend's take marks "a pretty solid recovery from last weekend," says Tim Briody of Boxofficeprophets.com.
Hunger Games continued a strong run on word of mouth despite it being Easter weekend, traditionally a slower time for theaters.
This holiday, though, American Reunion and Titanic 3D had respectable openings.
Reassembling the cast of the American Pie franchise, which began in 1999, Reunion collected $21.5 million, meeting most analysts' projections. Though only 44% of critics liked the raunchy, R-rated comedy, 82% of fans gave it a thumbs-up, according to the survey site Rottentomatoes.com.
James Cameron's 3-D makeover of 1997's Titanic cruised to $17.4 million and third place. Some analysts speculated that Titanic, the former domestic box-office king at $601 million, could challenge more records with a strong run. The movie is second on the all-time list to Cameron's 2009 3-D film, Avatar, which has made $761 million.
Though Titanic's relaunch met the midrange of most projections, the film probably won't have a long voyage in theaters, Briody says.
"Titanic 3D exists strictly for nostalgia value, and that appears to be it," he says.
The sword-and-sandal sequel Wrath of the Titans took fourth place with $15 million, followed by Julia Roberts' Snow White tale, Mirror Mirror, with $11 million.
Final figures are due Monday.
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