'Cabin in the Woods' stars on working with Whedon

Jennifer Lawrence and Liam Hemsworth star in the box office smash hit 'The Hunger Games.'

"The Three Stooges" almost managed a poke in the eye of prognosticators, but in the end, there was no stopping "The Hunger Games" from finishing at the top of the box office for the fourth straight weekend.

Though the $21.5 million haul is a 35% drop since last weekend for Jennifer Lawrence and Co., dominating the multiplex for four weeks in a row is a feat that hasn't been managed since 2009's "Avatar."

That film went on to stay at the top spot for three more weeks on its way to the all-time box office record.

"It's already among the top 25 grosses of all time (with $337 million to date,)" says Paul Dergarabedian, box office analyst for Hollywood.com. "If it just keeps marching this way, it has the potential to end up in the top 10 or 15 of all time.

"It's a testament to its perfect release date and all that great word of mouth. If it came out in the summer box office season, it's a major victory if a movie wins two weekends in a row."

The Farrelly Brothers' "The Three Stooges" finished just a few "Nyuk Nyuk Nyuks" short of the top spot with a surprising $17.1 million.

The 20th Century Fox comedy seemed unaffected by the threats of a boycott from religious groups over a scene where model Kate Upton plays a nun in a revealing bikini.

Lionsgate, the studio behind "The Hunger Games," also nabbed the No. 3 spot with the R-rated "The Cabin in the Woods," a film that had scared up a lot of buzz among horror fans and critics going into the weekend. It finished with $14.9 million.

"Titanic 3D" sank to fourth with $11.6 million on a weekend that marked the 100th anniversary of the doomed ship's collision with an iceberg.