The Hunger Games: Mockingjay Part 2

But after all four movies, most fans would agree: the last two Hunger Games instalments did not live up to the promise of the first two.

And while Mockingjay, Pt. 2 may have had the weakest debut of the four films in the franchise with a $101 million box office take on its opening weekend, it was still the top-grossing film of the weekend.

At the time of his death, Hoffman had almost completed all of his work in “Mockingjay – Part 1“, released in November 2014, but one key scene toward the end of the final installment between his character and Jennifer Lawrence’s Katniss Everdeen remained to be filmed. By contrast, older series like the “Harry Potter” and “Twilight” books are still there. The franchise low for the final “Hunger Games” film, which cost a reported $160 million to make, was a bit of a surprise.

Paul Dergarabredian, senior media analyst at Rentrak, shares, “The Hunger Games series has stood as proof that, if properly handled, new massive brands can be created and can draw audiences around the world”. The animated movie has now pooled in $108 million worldwide.

Fans of Suzanne Collins’s novel may spend a good chuck of “Mockingjay Part 2” paying attention to every thing that’s been changed or omitted (warning: it’s a lot) and not to the movie unfolding on screen.

Dergarabedian attributes the showing to a down marketplace. It cost $19.5 million to produce, and is the latest in a string of adult-driven films such as By the Sea and Steve Jobs, to struggle at the box office this fall.

He said that he wants to see the world 75 years ago from the current timeline of the Hunger Games series; see why the people back then conceded to the Capitol’s demand that their children be sacrificed in a lethal tournament in exchange for security and the chance to stay alive.

“It’s a good start to a really amusing movie”, said Rory Bruer, Sony’s president of worldwide distribution. A spokesman noted that Part 2 collected an additional US$146 million, a hefty total, from 87 global markets.

Seth Rogen’s comedy The Night Before opened in fourth spot, with $10.1m (£6.6m), while Julia Roberts’ thriller The Secret in Their Eyes, a remake of the Oscar-winning Argentinian film, debuted with $6.6m (£4.3m).

“This is once again a case of overblown expectations creating an emotional response and a perception of failure that is simply not backed up by the facts”, Dergarabedian said. However, it’s all but inevitable that the new “Star Wars” film will topple “Mockingjay” in mid-December if it can hang on that long.

Final figures are expected Monday.