The Hunger Games slays competition to break box office records

The Hunger Games has raced to the top of the US box office with a record-breaking opening weekend gross of $155 million.

The much-hyped action movie, starring Jennifer Lawrence, Liam Hemsworth and Josh Hutcherson, became the most popular midnight opener ever for a non-sequel when it debuted in the U.S. with a stunning $19.7 million in the early hours of Friday, and its winning streak continued throughout the weekend.

The whopping opening weekend takings have catapulted The Hunger Games in to the record books once again, making it the biggest non-sequel film to ever open at number one.

It is now also the third best opener of all time - only falling behind last year's Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows: Part 2 and 2008 Batman film The Dark Knight, which raked in $169.2 million and $158.4 million respectively.

Cop comedy 21 Jump Street and Dr. Seuss' The Lorax round out the top three spots on the new box office chart.

Meanwhile, The Hunger Games, the first movie adaptation of author Suzanne Collins' books, also struck gold at the global box office, grossing $214.25 million outside the US.