Based on the enormity of tracking for The Hunger Games, the Lionsgate movie has the potential to score one of the top debuts of all time at the domestic box office.

Rarely does a film generate the sort of numbers that Hunger Games is enjoying. When the movie--based on Suzanne Collins' wildly popular young-adult novel--first popped up on tracking two weeks ago, the scores were so good that box-office observers and exhibitors immediately predicted an opening in the $70 million to $100 million range, with most betting on the higher number.

But with prerelease surveys growing even stronger, those numbers have been revised upward.

Hunger Games, which opens March 23, is even tracking better than The Twilight Saga: Breaking Dawn Part 1. That film opened in November to $138.1 million, the fifth-best debut of all time domestically, but had the advantage of bowing the weekend before Thanksgiving, when some kids are out of school.

Box-office observers say it's difficult to predict exactly how much Hunger Games will make, offering a more conservative estimate of $100 million to $120 million. They say it's difficult to predict a number when tracking becomes this big and a film gets into the $100 million-plus range.

Hunger Games certainly has a shot at taking the crown for best March opening from Alice in Wonderland, which debuted to $116.1 million in 2010.

http://www.hollywoodreporter.com/news/hunger-games-tickets-twilight-breaking-dawn-box-office-298626
http://www.nytimes.com/2012/03/19/business/media/how-hunger-games-built-up-must-see-fever.html