'Catching Fire' burning up the competition at theaters

The Hunger Games: Catching Fire is devouring the box office.

The sequel to last year's hit collected $70.5 million on Friday and Thursday night, according to studio estimates.

The debut puts the Jennifer Lawrence thriller on track for a $140 million opening -- still an opening for the record books, but behind The Hunger Games, which bowed to $152 million last year.

Still, Fire dominates U.S. theaters, and teen audiences often give films a late-weekend surge. And it's still on pace to crack the top 10 openings of all-time.

Internationally, Fire is well ahead of its predecessor, earning $64 million on Thursday and Friday, more than double the first film, says distributor Lionsgate.

Full weekend estimates are due Sunday.