'Catching Fire' Sets Thanksgiving Box Office Records

Americans went to the movies on Thanksgiving. Well, they went to TWO movies Thursday, Catching Fire and Frozen, propelling The Hunger Games: Catching Fire to $14.9 million at the domestic box office. That beats previous record holder Toy Story 2 to set a new record for Thanksgiving day box office.

That's after a massive pre-Thanksgiving Wednesday take of $20.7 million. Before that, the biggest pre-Thanksgiving day Wednesday was for Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows part I, which earned $14.4 million just before Thanksgiving.

Lionsgate’s blockbuster sequel has now grossed $222 million in North America since opening last week. It has earned an estimated $423 million globally and opened in 16 more foreign markets this week.

The Hunger Games: Catching Fire is on pace to earn a massive $100 million over the holiday weekend. If tracking holds, that would be a new record for the Thanksgiving holiday period, besting the previous record set by Harry Potter and the Sorcerer’s Stone in 2001.

Mockingjay Set Photos - Justice Building Ruin

On Location Vacations has just posted a batch of photos from The Hunger Games: Mockingjay set being constructed at a mill site, located off of Experiment Street in Griffin, GA.

The latest photos show a “wall” of containers being built for a green screens, “smoke damage” has been added to the buildings, which are now painted gray, and a chunk of foam facade with the words “Of Justice” carved into it. The ruins of the Justice Building in District 12? Or District 13 where they find the red and pink roses and shoot the propos?

 In addition to what they’ve added, they’ve torn down one of the original buildings and moved a lot of rubble around so there is now a big smoke stack exposed. The set is changing a lot day-to-day so it seems like they are gearing up to begin filming there soon and, given on all of the work they’ve done, OLV anticipates they spend at least a few days there.

VIDEO: Jena Malone on Chelsea Lately & LIVE! With Kelly and Michael

Jena Malone stopped by Chelsea Lately and LIVE! With Kelly and Michael on 11/27, and recounted maintaining her modesty while stripping in a public elevator for The Hunger Games: Catching Fire:

'The Hunger Games: Catching Fire' Concept Art - Peeta's Rue Portrait & More

Film illustrator Joanna Bush has updated her website to include some of the concept art she created for The Hunger Games: Catching Fire, including one of the most evokative visuals in the movie, Peeta's painting of Rue on the training center floor. Bush, who also worked on The Hunger Games and films such as The Life of Pi and The Social Network, was also responsible for the look of Victor's Village, the graffiti mockingjays and one of our favorite visual images, "the odds are never in our favor." She also drew illustrations of Jabberjays  Audubon Style to be used as set dressing for President Snow's office. Check out more of her amazing concept art, including art from The Hunger Games, on her website, JoannaBush.com

VIDEO: Josh Hutcherson on Late Night With Jimmy Fallon

Jimmy asks Josh first about his big week, which included hosting Saturday Night Live and the release of his new film, The Hunger Games: Catching Fire, and then about Josh's old fascination with Justin Timberlake. They also talk a lot about Jennifer Lawrence. Don't you think Josh must be a wee bit tired of spending half his interviews talking about Jen? I mean, we LOVE her but poor Josh.

Josh shows off his basketball skills:

Josh and Jimmy play Thanksgiving object shootout:

Francis Lawrence Answers Your Questions on Reddit

Francis Lawrence took part in a Q&A on Reddit last night (AKA my favorite F-Law interview, EVER). Check out Francis' answers to some of your burning Catching Fire and Mockingjay questions. There are SO many Mockingjay answers (and answers disguised as non-answers and massive hints) in this interview! Read on:

I am a huge fan of both The Hunger Games and Catching Fire movies! My question is were you a big fan of the books when they came out in 2008? And were you expecting the films to become as popular as they have?

I was a big fan of the books. I was actually making Water for Elephants when I read the first book. And I enjoyed it a lot. I thought it was a really interesting world, really great story and great characters, but no one can ever guess that something is going to be as big of a phenomenon as something like the Hunger Games series. You can never predict those things. You really can't. I imagine you can guess a little from book sales and the kind of book sales data that can gather, but you can't really predict it, it's a mixture of themes, ideas, stories, the cast that is in the movies, all of that somehow comes together and either creates magic or it doesn't.

How was it working with IMAX cameras on Catching Fire?

The results are amazing. Working with them was tough. We were working in the rainforest, which is a tough environment anyway, but then lugging these two IMAX cameras around the rainforest wasn't easy. They are big, heavy, they run through film really quickly, and they are very loud, so all dialogue shot using IMAX cameras has to be replaced. So it's tough, and it's slow, but the results are amazing.

Hi. I wanted to know what was the reasoning behind leaving out the scene where Plutarch shows his watch to Katniss during the ball?

And what was the reasoning for completely changing the type of cat use for Buttercup? Yes, the THG: CF cat was closer to the correct type for Buttercup but he'd already been established as a different cat in the first movie.

There's a very easy reason. We shot the watch, we tried the watch in the cut, and we took it out. Because we don't have the option of having Katniss wonder and doubt the meaning of the watch in the film, it becomes way too clear what the watch means in the movie, and that would have been a mistake.

This was a request by both Suzanne Collins and Nina Jacobson that they wanted the cat situation to be fixed, to cast the appropriate looking cat, and I was happy to oblige.

Judging by Catching Fire, you seem like a really faithful fan of the books. What's your own personal favorite scene from the book and was there one favorite you wanted to bring to the screen but for whatever reason, couldn't make it work?

Again I've always been attracted to the first stop on the Victory tour. I think that's where the story really kicks into another gear and you start to understand that the stakes are far greater than just Katniss's. And there were some scenes with Peeta and Katniss on the roof of the Tribute center that I always liked from the book that we were unable to get into the film.

SO much more about Catching Fire and Mockingjay after the jump!

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Elizabeth Banks Improvised Your Favorite Lines in 'Catching Fire'

Some of the best lines in Catching Fire are uttered by the incredible Elizabeth Banks as Effie Trinket. She provides much needed comic relief in the film, and some of the most heart-wrenching emotional moments as well. So we were thrilled to hear that Elizabeth actually improvised most of those hilarious one-liners, and fought for them to be included in the movie for the sake of the fans. Read her interview with MTV for more:

While the wild wigs, costume and makeup that make Banks nearly unrecognizable go a long way to building the memorable character, it turns out that the actress herself came up with several shout-outs and lines that will undoubtedly further cement Effie's place as a fan favorite.

For example, remember the best line of the first movie? Of course you do:

In Catching Fire, Banks managed a sly wink at the infamous quote while offering a running commentary on the Capitol landmarks she's walking Katniss and Peeta through: "The library, all mahogany."

"I brought that back, I threw it in there," she said of the line, which was unscripted. "I did it, and Francis called cut, and I went over to him, and said, 'You have to keep that in the movie, because the fans will go bananas.' " (We DID!)

Lawrence left it in and the fans did indeed go bananas, if exclamation point-filled Tumblr reactions are any evidence. Banks didn't just put her own spin on hardwood references though. She also revealed that the "Ooh, curtains" comment about a fellow Capitol citizen's choice of accessory, as well as the memorably snapped "chins up, smiles on" tossed in the glum Katniss' direction were her ideas.

"I get to improv a lot with Effie, which is fun," she said. "There were really very few words scripted so I got to have fun with that sequence."

VIDEO: Josh Hutcherson on The Late Show With David Letterman

Josh Hutcherson stopped by The Late Show with David Letterman today. He talked about Jennifer Lawrence with Dave. Check out the video:

Full interview: