The Hunger Games pulled in the GDP of the Marshall Islands this weekend, solidifying it’s franchise status and all but guaranteeing itself to be among the biggest films of the year. So why did this film perform beyond most of our expectations? Here are eight good-to-great reasons why.

1. Suzanne Collins

None of us would be talking about The Hunger Games if Suzanne Collins hadn’t spun her yarn, grabbing the imagination of millions of young adults guilted by society into reading. The second and third entries widen the scope, opening up the universe that much more. It’s the mythology fans respond to most fervently. And this mythology caught fire.

2. Even Twilight fans know they deserve better

There’s a not-so big secret about these Twilight movies people need to understand. Now I can’t speak for all Twilight fans, but the ones I do know all admit the books and movies are complete garbage but that they’re the type of stinking, rotting maggot-laden garbage they can’t help watch until it's foul conclusion. Basically, it’s The Housewives of Edward Cullen County. No one thinks it’s actually good. No one of real intelligence would argue with you if you told them it’s brain cell-murdering crap. But their creepy, bizarre primal need for garbage-sniffing overcomes any shade of guilt lurking in the recesses of their soul. So they must watch. Break the last film into 18 parts and still, they must watch. Yet, that guilt – whether they are aware it exists or not – needs some sort of outlet. And for many, I think that outlet has become The Hunger Games, a mythology far more nutritious and interesting than that of sparkling Gap models with all the personality of a mollusk. The Twihards knew they deserved better deep down, and those who hate Twilight are able to get on board with a franchise that did not dim the light in their skulls.

3. Disney failed John Carter

The other night I was at the midnight premiere of The Hunger Games and I asked a lovely gal I know who is into fantasy and science fiction why she never had any interest in John Carter (which I told her deserved far better than it got from the paying public). She said it just looked too kiddie-friendly, like a live-action Disney cartoon. The next day I showed her a fan-made trailer of the movie (this one, in fact) and she was sold. We went to see it together this past Saturday and she loved it, even buying the first John Carter book, Princess of Mars, right after the movie. Disney’s failure to sell their mega-budget would-be franchise meant it would not steal many seats from The Hunger Games as it headed into its third week of release. It seems the odds were forever in The Hunger Games' favor.

4. Girls Rule the Box Office

Non-revelation: Young girls make up a powerful box office market. This is the same powerful market that led to much of Titanic’s repeat business. In other words, scores of young ladies developed a disturbing fetish of seeing Leonardo DiCaprio freeze to death over and over again. The Hunger Games isn’t necessarily a phenomenon for one specific gender, but clearly it’s greatest strength is how well it’s been tracking for women of all ages. Still, this isn’t Twilight. Though the fervor may not be as strong, the boys are clearly interested in the film as well. According to the Hollywood Reporter,  The Hunger Games was tracking “a healthy 28 percent [among males under 25], compared to 10% for Breaking Dawn. Interest among males over 25 was 20% versus 8% for the fourth Twilight film." It's a man's world only because they let us believe it.

5. Gary Ross

There are two key components to writer-director Gary Ross’s approach to the material that have helped solidify The Hunger Games’ success. First was his decision to not try and out-gore Battle Royale, the 2000 Japanese film about a class of 9^th graders who are forced to an island where they must kill each other (or be killed). Instead, Hunger Games – while not shying away from the violence – shies away from exploiting the violent deaths of these kids. Look, I love Battle Royale. When I want to see sick exploitation of kids dying in all sorts of gruesome fun ways, that is my go-to movie. But Battle Royale is all about that exploitation (and that’s fine). The Hunger Games didn’t need the over-the-top deaths. It was interested in a larger story. Some of the film’s critics make as if there is no violence in the film at all and perhaps that speaks to how desensitized some of us have become. We see necks getting broken, pierced stomachs, crushed skulls on screen and what is inferred in quick-cuts or off-screen violence is even worse. And it can stay off-screen. I never watched any of these kids die and thought, Hmm, would have been cooler if she took a hammer to the eye. I realize a PG-13 was probably mandated but this is a pretty harsh PG-13. How many PG-13’s show us a 12-year-old kid slowly dying with a spear sticking out of their stomach?

The other strength of the film was the way Ross grounded an otherwise fantastical science fiction film. Yes, he uses the hand-held approach (to great effect, I'd say) but I was stunned by the little things like lack of swelling score during the emotional beats; how low key some of the villainy was portrayed; how quiet and personal the most dramatic moments were. Ross handled the material with nuance most directors wouldn't have risked and he should be applauded, not criticized, for not caving in to hackery.

6. Lionsgate marketing

Being that we recently saw a studio drive their potential franchise into the ground, kudos should be handed out to Lionsgate and their marketing team for managing to increase the level of awareness and positive buzz surrounding the film, rather than scaring the living daylights out of the target audience. It's the little things. Lionsgate really got off on the right foot once they released the first official trailer. That trailer hinted at a more personal film that took its characters and their emotions seriously.

7. The leads are attractive

Let's be honest, it helps that Jennifer Lawrence is a total babe, that the Hemsworth family genes seemingly spring from that of ancient Greek gods and that the powers of dreaminess did not pass over Josh Hutcherson.

8. Jennifer Lawrence

The supporting cast is pretty terrific, but this movie relies heavily on Lawrence’s shoulders – who was the perfect choice to play Katniss Everdeen. There was nothing inspired about it really, she was such an obvious choice for the part. Her performance and her just-as-obvious command of the screen has since validated that choice and I can't wait to see what she does with the role going forward.