The Hunger Games: Catching Fire is a 2013 American dystopian science fiction action film directed by Francis Lawrence from a screenplay by Simon Beaufoy and Michael Arndt (credited as Michael deBruyn), based on the 2009 novel Catching Fire by Suzanne Collins. The sequel to The Hunger Games (2012), it is the second installment in The Hunger Games film series. Adding to the existing cast, the supporting cast was filled out with Philip Seymour Hoffman, Jeffrey Wright, Sam Claflin, Lynn Cohen, Jena Malone, and Amanda Plummer. The plot of Catching Fire begins a few months after the previous installment; Katniss Everdeen and fellow District 12 tribute Peeta Mellark have returned home safely after winning the 74th Annual Hunger Games. Throughout the story, Katniss senses that a rebellion against the oppressive Capitol is simmering among the districts. Filming began on September 10, 2012, in Atlanta, Georgia, before moving to Hawaii. The Hunger Games: Catching Fire premiered in London on November 11, 2013 and was theatrically released on November 15, 2013, in Brazil; November 20, in Finland, Sweden, and Norway; November 21, in the United Kingdom; and November 22, in the United States. The film set records for the biggest November opening weekend and biggest three- and five-day Thanksgiving box-office totals, surpassing the first film's box office grosses by over $150 million. It ranks as the 26th-highest-grossing film at the domestic box office and the highest-grossing film at the domestic box office of 2013, becoming the first 2D film since The Dark Knight (2008) to top the yearly box office, as well as having a lead female actor top the box office for the first time since The Exorcist (1973). The film has grossed over $865 million worldwide and is the fifth-highest-grossing film of 2013, the highest-grossing film released by Lionsgate, and the highest-grossing entry in The Hunger Games series. Catching Fire received positive reviews and is considered by critics to be an improvement over its predecessor, with the sentiment being that it's "a more-confident, more-polished movie"; and praised Lawrence's performance as Katniss, themes, action sequences, musical score, screenplay, visual effects and emotional depth. It was the most critically acclaimed chapter in The Hunger Games series, according to review aggregator Rotten Tomatoes. The film also received numerous nominations, with a nomination for the Broadcast Film Critics Association Award for Best Action Film and a Saturn Award for Best Science Fiction Film. For her