The Gamemakers would be pleased with The Hunger Games' latest box-office challenge.
Today, James Cameron's Titanic steams back onto 2,500 screens, en route to what could be a record-setting weekend for a 3-D rerelease.
So, has The Hunger Games met its iceberg?
"It's going to be really close," says BoxOffice.com editor Phil Contrino. "It's going to be a battle of repeat viewings."
The Hunger Games has already been seen—and presumably reseen—enough to speed past the $250 million mark domestically, and, in its day, Titanic was the king of over-and-over-again business, running in theaters for eight months, and grossing a then-record $600.9 million.
In the two movies' first head-to-head competition, The Hunger Games will be looking for its third straight box-office win. If its ticket sales fall by half from last weekend, an average descent, it'll be looking at a $29 million Friday-Sunday.
Titanic, meanwhile, could match, if not top that with a Lion's King-esque $30 million, three-day debut. BoxOffice.com, for one, is calling for the 1997 Leonardo DiCaprio-Kate Winslet classic to post a $44 million opening, a figure that would set a new high mark for a 3-D rerelease.
And then there's the not-little matter of The Hunger Games' other new combatant: American Reunion.
The comedy franchise's last entry, 2003's American Wedding, debuted to a big $33 million.
"It could pop at the last minute," Contrino says of the latest installment. "It's the wild card of the bunch."
A surprise: Yes, the Gamemakers would appreciate that, too.