14 DAY TRIAL // “It's not over “till the fat lady sings,” an old saying goes. This is especially true in the case of “Iron Man 3” versus “The Hunger Games: Catching Fire.” The dispute of which of these two movies would go on to win the year's top grossing production has just ended with “Catching Fire” on top.
“Iron Man 3” was slated as the winner for much of the year, but the latest movie in the “Hunger Games” franchise inched forward to take the lead by the end of December.
The final numbers for “Iron Man 3” are $409 million (€300.2 million), while for “Catching Fire” they are slightly better at $409.4 million (€300.5 million).
This is the first time a film with a woman protagonist comes out as first in the domestic year-end list. The only similar case was back in 1973, when “The Exorcist” featured Linda Blair and Ellen Burstyn as the leads, though their roles were on par with the ones played by male actors Max von Sydow and Jason Miller.
Also, this is the first time since 2008 that a non-3D film reaches the top of the box office. Worldwide, the film is currently in the third position in terms of earnings, behind “Despicable Me 2” and “Iron Man 3,” which still reigns supreme.