As anyone who followed presales on Fandango, or who tracked book sales on USA Today could tell you, The Hunger Games was going to be the next YA mega-franchise joining the ranks of Harry Potter and Twilight. The only remaining question was going to be, “How big will it be?”

Early numbers are now in and The Hunger Games has exceeded expectations.

According to Forbes:

After scoring a sensational $19.7 million right out the gate at midnight showings Thursday/Friday, The Hunger Games never slowed down and looks sure to burn up the box office with a staggering $140 to $150 million debut. And that’s just domestic box office, folks, not counting overseas receipts.

The Hollywood Reporter elaborated further:

Hunger Games has a strong shot at cracking the top five list of all time-best openings at the domestic box office. The Twilight Saga: Breaking Dawn — Part 1 currently ranks at No. 5 with a $138.1 million debut, and Hunger Games is certain to post the best opening ever for a non-sequel, as well as the best March opener of all time (Alice in Wonderland is the current record-holder with $116 million). Hunger Games, produced by Nina Jacobson, is generating big numbers for IMAX theaters, which turned in $1.3 million in Thursday midnight grosses, the best showing for a non-sequel.

To break these numbers into bottom-dollar success, because ultimately that is what the Hollywood bean-counters are most concerned with, Hunger Games will have recouped its production costs its first weekend out. This is quite the feat considering the salary scale of the cast alone.

Given these numbers and other movies slated to open this year such as The Amazing Spider-Man, Breaking Dawn Part 2, and The Hobbit, how do you think the film will rank by year’s end?