Hunger Games

The Hunger Games killed, destroyed, folded, spindled, and mutilated at the weekend box office. Studio guesses say opening night was the fifth-best debut ever. Since the top four were all Harry Potter or Twilight sequels, Hunger is the top non-sequel opener ever! When all the arrows had fallen Sunday night, Hunger , at $155 million (almost twice the $80 mils it cost), had scored the third-best opening weekend ever. Now you can buy your Hunger Games hunter-grrrl shirt dress and matching lunch box and join your friends in Hunger Games -inspired nonsense, knowing millions are doing the same.

You're probably aware that The Hunger Games will premiere in movie theaters just after midnight. If you're a fanatic about Katniss Everdeen, you've probably already bought your ticket. For some, the countdown to the opening is just agony. "You wake up in the morning feeling happy, but then you realize it's not March 23," said Kate Kopf, 11, of Philadelphia. The film, focusing on teens in a dystopian world, is already the top-selling movie franchise opener and non-sequel recorded by ticket seller Fandango in its 12 years.

LOS ANGELES - As anticipation reaches a fever pitch for the big-screen adaptation of "The Hunger Games," opening Friday, a central element is absent from every trailer, television ad and online video: the Hunger Games themselves, in which teenagers fight to the death while their futuristic society watches on TV. In an unusual and risky strategy, studio Lionsgate has crafted a $45 million marketing campaign that shows none of the titular combat....

"A life of happiness. " That's what Miley Cyrus, 19, expects now that she's engaged to Liam Hemsworth , 22, one of the youngsters who kills for food 'n' fun on Hunger Games . "I'm so happy to be engaged and look forward to a life of happiness with Liam," Miley told People. (Do the kids in Hunger Games look forward to a happy life? We think not.) Before she met Liam, says Miley, she had no concept of happiness: "I was pretty much like, ‘I'm going to die alone?

CHILLS, BOUTS of depression, loss of appetite: These are all symptoms of "The Hunger Games" hangover. After devouring Suzanne Collins' kid-killing trilogy and checking out the long-anticipated film adaptation, we understand if you are left wanting - nay! - needing more. Here's how to get your "Hunger" fix while you wait for the film's second installment, "Catching Fire," which is expected November 2013. Literature "The Giver": While many would point to William Golding's Lord of the Flies as the obvious antecedent to The Hunger Games, we see more in common with Lois Lowry's classic about a society that is so devoid of free will that people can't even see colors.

TATTLE has become confused by the term "racism. " Being a racist once meant that you viewed people of a specific race as inferior and did something to either harm them or hinder their advancement. Being a racist was worse than being prejudiced because it held with it a certain power to affect lives. In our current fractured society, however, you don't actually have to act like a racist to be labeled as such - you merely have to bring race into the discussion. Over the past week, people have been accused of being racist for pointing out that George Zimmerman shot Trayvon Martin because he was black.

Television Getting soapy with the stars. Fans of The Young and the Restless can ask its stars the burning questions at a no-holds barred question-and- answer session Saturday at Bally's in Atlantic City. The resort is hosting Soap Opera Weekend, when fans can ask questions beginning at 11 a.m. with Greg Rikaart (Kevin Fisher), noon with Stephen Nichols (Tucker McCall), 1 p.m. with Michelle Stafford (Phyllis Newman), and 2 p.m. with Michael Muhney (Adam Newman). Tickets ( www.ticketmaster.com )

Dick Clark, who died Wednesday at 82 of a heart attack, has been cremated, rep Paul Shefrin tells USA Today. Entertainment Tonight reports the ashes will be scattered in the Pacific Ocean, but Shefrin says Clark's family had not yet decided what to do with them. Plans for a public memorial hadn't been finalized. Simon Cowell: Not gay Simon Cowell, whose sexuality has been the subject of not a few gossip items, tells biographer Tom Bower in a new book he is straight.

The Ballad of Genesis and Lady Jaye Documentary on artist Genesis Breyer P-Orridge and his wife and collaborator, Lady Jaye, with an emphasis on the transformations they put themselves through for one of their projects. Delicacy See Steven Rea's preview on H2. Hunger Games See Steven Rea's preview on H2. Jiro Dreams of Sushi See Steven Rea's preview on H2. Reviewed by critics Carrie Rickey (C.R.), Steven Rea (S.R.), and Dan DeLuca (D.D.)

The Hunger Games was the top film for a second weekend in the United States and Canada, taking in $61.1 million in ticket sales. The movie, about teenagers forced to fight to the death on live television, has taken in $251 million since it opened March 23, making it the year's top-grossing film. The Wrath of the Titans made its debut in second place with $34.2 million. Demand for The Hunger Games has sustained a 22 percent increase in movie attendance this year and a 19 percent rise in ticket sales.