'Hunger Games' Sets Midnight Money Record
'The Hunger Games' earned nearly $20 million at the U.S. box office in midnight screenings on Friday, setting a new record for a non-sequel movie, according to studio estimates.
Lionsgate reported the new film based on a series of best-selling books earned $19.74 million at midnight, according to Box Office Mojo.
That figure places "The Hunger Games" in seventh-place all time, behind several Harry Potter and Twilight sequels.
The film has a chance to beat the $116.1 million debut of Alice in Wonderland, the current non-sequel opening weekend record holder.
The Top 10 midnight openings include the last Harry Potter sequel, all three sequels to Twilight, and two other Harry Potter films.
Just behind the new film is the last Star Wars movie and Transformer: Revenge of the fallen.
