'Hunger Games' fills midnight craving with $19.7M

LOS ANGELES (AP) — Fans are eating up "The Hunger Games," which has opened strongly with $19.7 million domestically from overnight shows that started after midnight.

That's the seventh-best midnight total ever and puts the movie well on the way toward a blockbuster opening weekend.

The top six midnight draws come from two other teen-based franchises — three movies each from the "Harry Potter" and "Twilight" series.

Last year's "Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows: Part 2" leads the list with $43.5 million from midnight shows.

The most recent three "Twilight" movies and the two previous "Harry Potter" flicks make up the rest of the top six with midnight grosses ranging from $22.2 million to $30.3 million.

"The Hunger Games" stars Jennifer Lawrence as a teen forced into a televised death match with other youths.