Google released its statistics on the most trending searches of the past year, naturally, separated into a few different categories. (You know, because without categories the most popular search was probably something like “porn” or “my IP address” or “google.”) Categories like Athletes, Events, Performing Artists, Airlines (oddly enough), and, of course, Feature Films.
And right at the top of the feature film list? The Hunger Games.
The Hunger Games, hitting as it did in early spring rather than the middle of the summer blockbuster season, was not just a huge hit, but alone in it’s spot of being a huge hit for quite a while. It blasted through most of the opening weekend box office expectations laid out for it, by tens of millions of dollars, and nabbed the best midnight showing for a movie that isn’t a sequel ever. Thanks in part to The Hunger Games, Lionsgate had two movies that made over $125 million this year, a first for the studio. It’s March opening put it in a good place to be searched for throughout the year. Obviously the books have been out since 2008 (and they’ve now sold more copies on Amazon than the Harry Potter series), but the pre-release marketing was going strong in early 2012, its huge and by many unexpected success meant that lots of folks were talking about it in the spring, and a quick ramp up into news of a sequel has kept it in the minds of fans for the rest of the year.
Here’s the whole list of most searched for movies in 2012:
- The Hunger Games
- Skyfall
- Prometheus
- The Avengers
- Magic Mike
- John Carter
- Ek Tha Tiger
- Paranormal Activity 4
- Taken 2
- Dark Shadows
You can take a look at the rest of the biggest search terms in 2012 right here.
(via MTV Movies Blog.)
