"The Hunger Games: Mockingjay - Part 1" has become the biggest North American box office debut of the year, earning an estimated $123 million domestically this weekend -- according to Variety -- surpassing "Transformers: Age of Extinction's" $100 million opening weekend this past summer.

However, the third film in the Jennifer Lawrence-starring "Hunger Games" franchise opened below the previous two entries: 2012's "The Hunger Games" and last year's "Catching Fire" opened to $152 million and $158 million, respectively. However, "Mockingjay" -- the penultimate chapter in the franchise, adapted from Suzanne Collin's dystopic young adult books series -- pocketed an additional $152 million internationally opening in 85 foreign markets.

While "Mockingjay" dominated the box office, Disney's animated superhero film "Big Hero 6" added another $20 million dollars to its haul domestically, after a 42% drop in attendance, while Christopher Nolan's "Interstellar" dropped 46%, picking up $15.1 million, according to Box Office Mojo's numbers. After winning last weekend's box office, the Jim Carrey and Jeff Daniels-starring "Dumb and Dumber To" dropped 62% in attendance in its second week, to finish fourth place with $13.8 million.