Although no one’s really surprised that “The Hunger Games: Catching Fire” came in with a bang, no one really need what the magnitude of the bang would bring. Debuting in the No. 1 slot at the box office, the Blockbuster hit easily knocked off last weekend’s No. 1 best-seller, “Thor: The Dark World.” But, the surprise came from the astronomical numbers “The Hunger Games” franchise raked in, officially surpassing “The Twilight Saga.”

For those who didn’t see the film, or just don’t know, “Twilight: New Moon,” which was released in November of 2009, held the longstanding box office record, grossing over $142 million in its first weekend. LA Times reports that the “Catching Fire” installment garnered a staggering estimate of $161 million over the weekend.

The film also broke the record for North American IMAX theater sales, and those numbers have even been broken down to the grossed average per screen. So here it is: The film played on a total of 347 screens in North America, which equates to approximately $36,300 per screen. The praiseworthy news was also tweeted on “The Hunger Games” series official Twitter page.

Thank you for making #CatchingFire the #1 movie in the WORLD! Retweet if you saw #CatchingFire last weekend! pic.twitter.com/0QQqC42APD

— The Hunger Games (@TheHungerGames) November 25, 2013

The star-studded film, which stars Jennifer Lawrence, Josh Hutcherson, Liam Hemsworth, and Woody Harrelson, actually landed in the No. 6 spot on the all-time openings list. The film precedes Blockbuster giants like “Marvel’s The Avengers,” which garnered $207.4 million, “Iron Man 3,” with $174 million, and “Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows Part II” with $169 million. Last but not least, “The Dark Knight” and “The Dark Knight Rises” (2012) both garnered $158 million a piece.

But, the film’s opening accolades don’t stop there. “Catching Fire” also soared in international sales. The world-wide box office sales were calculated at a whopping $307.1million. Film enthusiast rated the film with an “A” CinemaScore grade, which served as excellent edification in building anticipation for movie goers. The film also received laudable remarks from the ever-infamous Rotten Tomatoes movie critics with a score of 89 percent.

The revolution begins… #CatchingFire is now playing! http://t.co/gXRy7ZrjmW pic.twitter.com/abW3wk5fb6

— The Hunger Games (@TheHungerGames) November 24, 2013

“The Hunger Games: Catching Fire” is now showing in theaters nationwide. Check your local listings for further details on theater venues and showtimes.

Image via Twitter | The Hunger Games: Catching Fire