"The Hunger Games" scores one of the best openings ever on the North American box office as it grosses a staggering $155 million, according to studio estimates. The astounding result marks the third biggest opening weekend of all time, trailing behind 2011's "Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows: Part II" with its $169.2 million and 2008's "The Dark Knight" with its $158.4 million. The movie adaptation of Suzanne Collins' bestselling novel additionally becomes the greatest debut ever for a non-sequel title. It bests former record holder, "Alice in Wonderland", which bagged $116.1 million in 2010. The Gary Ross-directed film also scores the best opening ever for a non-summer movie. Of the record-shattering result, Lionsgate executive president of distribution David Spitz says, "Based on the trajectory of the weekend, we are going to have an unbelievable hold." He gushes, "This film is going to play and play." Multiple experts predict that "Hunger Games" would continue to grab between $350 million and $400 million domestically, given its strong appeal to various types of audience, including families and especially younger moviegoers. According to Lionsgate, the film's audience are split by age with 56% of them over the age of 25 and 44% of them less than 25 years old. Former champion "21 Jump Street" lands on the runner-up spot with an estimated $21.3 million, dropping only 41% from last week. The action comedy collects a total domestic cume of $71.1 million in its second week. On the third place, there is "The Lorax" which adds around $13.1 millon to its $177.3 million domestic cume. The animated film still holds the 2012 highest grosser title by far, but it will likely be eclipsed by "Hunger Games" later this week. Walt Disney Pictures' mega-budgeted "John Carter" ends on the fourth place with approximately $5 million, falling a steep 63% from last week. After three weeks playing in cinemas, the sci-fi pic only grosses $62.3 million domestically. Rounding up the top five is "Act of Valor" with an estimated $2.1 million for a total cume of $65.9 million in its fifth week.

Last summer’s G.I. Joe: The Rise of Cobra was a fun ride that knew exactly what it was aiming for and managed to hit every mark.  Much of that was thanks to director Stephen Sommers, who brought a childlike enthusiasm to the set every day.  Now, despite rumors that a rift might have formed between Paramount and the adventure-loving director, The Wrap reports that Sommers has signed on to direct the sequel to Joe — if you enjoyed the first, you will have a lot to look forward to.

For those that didn’t quite enjoy the first film as much as they hoped, join me after the break to find out why you may want to get on board this time around.

Sommers’ G.I. Joe was one of the summer’s biggest surprises (the pun was necessary!), but for a different reason than most would assume.  While the film wasn’t exceptional, it was surprisingly good and managed to pull in over $300 million worldwide.  When a fun childhood property is adapted, the results are often completely disastrous.  Just take any of the numerous videogame adaptations, or remember that foul taste in your mouth after watching Transformers 2: Revenge of the Fallen.

Not long after the film was a bona fide success, we reportedthat Paramount pushed forward with a sequel and secured two of the biggest up-and-coming writers at the time: Zombieland’s Rhett Reese and Paul Wernick.  If that doesn’t grab your attention for an adventure film, not much will.  Sommers has been a part of some real missteps; Van Helsing’s only redeeming quality was Kate Beckinsale.  But he has also been a part of some fine escapist films like The Mummy and the underappreciated Deep Rising.  Hell, even the second Mummy was a load of fun.  Now imagine him with the writing duo that gave usZombieland, and it should be clear why, even if the first film wasn’t quite what you hoped for, there is a chance this can easily eclipse it and further celebrate the childhood memories many of us cherish.

After a long summer of vampires, cartoons, and karate kids topping the box office an adult film is finally back on top as the Leonardo DiCaprio led Inception ruled the box office in its first week out! Our sister site Deadline Hollywood reports that the film made a cool $60.4 million, making it Leonardo’s most successful opening weekend ever. Wow!

In second was last week’s champ Despicable Me with $32.7 million, making it yet another of the children’s flicks to cross the $100 million mark at the summer box office. In third was the new Nicolas Cage film The Sorcerer’s Apprentice which managed to make only $17.3 million. Ouch!

Rounding out the top five were Twilight Saga: Eclipse, a small independent film about vampires, werewolves, and the women that love them, and this summer’s current box office leader Toy Story 3 which has now made a grand total of $362.7 million compared to Eclipse’s $264.9 million. The race is on!