--- description: The Jennifer Lawrence dystopian film becomes the highest-grossing movie in the U.S. last year title: 'Mockingjay' Tops 'Guardians' to Become Highest-Grossing Film in U.S. Last Year image: https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/blt0c5605d1cf852447/69876a6a0b72e336f56dc1a7/sp1_d08_03267_rc.jpg?branch=production&width=3840&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=16:9 ---  * [Entertainment](/section/entertainment/) ## Entertainment Update your preferences in [Account Settings](/account/preferences/) Close * [movies](/tag/movies/) ## movies Update your preferences in [Account Settings](/account/preferences/) Close # _Mockingjay_ Tops _Guardians_ to Become Highest-Grossing Film in U.S. Last Year  by [Eliana Dockterman](/author/eliana-dockterman/)  ## Eliana Dockterman Update your preferences in [Account Settings](/account/preferences/) Close Correspondent Jan 22, 2015 8:15 PM CUT  Murray Close—Lionsgate  by [Eliana Dockterman](/author/eliana-dockterman/)  ## Eliana Dockterman Update your preferences in [Account Settings](/account/preferences/) Close Correspondent Jan 22, 2015 8:15 PM CUT All hail Jennifer Lawrence. _The Hunger Games: Mockingjay – Part 1_ flew past _Guardians of the Galaxy_ to [become](http://variety.com/2015/film/news/hunger-games-mockingjay-becomes-highest-grossing-film-of-2014-in-u-s-1201411417/ "undefined") the highest grossing film in the U.S. last year. The third installment in the series hit $333.2 million on Wednesday, surpassing _Guardians_‘ $333.17 million, _Variety_ [reports](http://variety.com/2015/film/news/hunger-games-mockingjay-becomes-highest-grossing-film-of-2014-in-u-s-1201411417/ "undefined"). The movie continues to dominate worldwide as well, having grossed more than $700 million already ahead of its China opener on Feb. 8\. It total, the franchise has brought in over $2.2 billion, with one more movie set to release this fall. This is the second year in a row that the _Hunger Games_ franchise topped the charts at the domestic box office. The success will certainly provide ammunition for actress Cate Blanchett, Sony co-chairman Amy Pascal and others in the industry [who argue](http://time.com/3636226/aaron-sorkin-women-roles-hollywood/ "undefined") that films with female protagonists can make money. Even though studios continue to bet on male-dominated action films as tentpoles, an analysis of films conducted by Vocativ last year [found](http://time.com/2811177/maleficent-female-summer-blockbusters/ "undefined") that films with robust female roles do better at the box office. _The Hunger Games_‘ biggest challenge yet will come this year when it faces off against the new _Star Wars_ and _Avengers_ films for top box office. Fire is catching. **MORE:** [How Hollywood Can Get More Women to See Movies](http://time.com/2811177/maleficent-female-summer-blockbusters/ "undefined") \[[_Variety_](http://variety.com/2015/film/news/hunger-games-mockingjay-becomes-highest-grossing-film-of-2014-in-u-s-1201411417/ "undefined")\] ```json [{"@context":"https://schema.org","@type":"NewsArticle","@id":"https://time.com/3679012/hunger-games-mockingjay-part-1-highest-grossing-film/","mainEntityOfPage":{"@type":"WebPage","@id":"https://time.com/3679012/hunger-games-mockingjay-part-1-highest-grossing-film/"},"headline":"Mockingjay Tops Guardians to Become Highest-Grossing Film in U.S. Last Year","datePublished":"2015-01-22T20:15:50.000Z","dateModified":"2026-02-22T03:48:24.526Z","description":"It's already grossed more than $700 million worldwide","url":"https://time.com/3679012/hunger-games-mockingjay-part-1-highest-grossing-film/","keywords":["movies"],"thumbnailUrl":"https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/blt0c5605d1cf852447/69876a6a0b72e336f56dc1a7/sp1_d08_03267_rc.jpg?branch=production&width=1200&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=1200:675&height=675","author":[{"@type":"Person","name":"Eliana Dockterman","jobTitle":"Correspondent","url":"https://time.com/author/eliana-dockterman/"}],"articleSection":"Entertainment","image":[{"@type":"ImageObject","url":"https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/blt0c5605d1cf852447/69876a6a0b72e336f56dc1a7/sp1_d08_03267_rc.jpg?branch=production&width=1200&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=1200:675&height=675","width":1200,"height":675,"headline":"The Hunger Games: Mockingjay - Part 1","caption":"The Hunger Games: Mockingjay - Part 1","creditText":"Murray Close—Lionsgate","representativeOfPage":true}],"publisher":{"@type":"Organization","name":"Time","url":"https://time.com/","logo":{"@type":"ImageObject","url":"https://time.com/images/logo.png","width":528,"height":156},"foundingDate":"March 3, 1923","sameAs":["https://www.facebook.com/time","https://www.instagram.com/time/?hl=en","https://twitter.com/time","https://www.pinterest.com/timemagazine"]}},{"@context":"https://schema.org","@type":"BreadcrumbList","itemListElement":[{"@type":"ListItem","position":1,"item":{"@id":"/section/entertainment/","name":"Entertainment"}},{"@type":"ListItem","position":2,"item":{"@id":"/tag/movies/","name":"movies"}},{"@type":"ListItem","position":3,"item":{"@id":"https://time.com/3679012/hunger-games-mockingjay-part-1-highest-grossing-film/","name":"Mockingjay Tops Guardians to Become Highest-Grossing Film in U.S. Last Year"}}]}] ```