Lionsgate, a leading global entertainment company, announced today that the home entertainment release of the first installment of its blockbuster franchise The Hunger Games sold an estimated 3.8 million DVD and Blu-ray units in its first weekend of release, continuing the momentum it demonstrated in generating more than $407 million at the North American box office, the 13th highest grossing North American release of all time.
The Hunger Games was also the largest digital and on demand launch in the Company’s history, generating the biggest first day sales of any title on Zune Video on Xbox, achieving more first day transactions on Comcast than any title in the past four years and generating record Lionsgate revenue on iTunes.
MOVIEWEB VIDEO OF THE DAY
“Our motion picture event of the year is translating into a home entertainment juggernaut that is already setting new digital records and demonstrating sustained playability similar to the film’s remarkable long-term box office performance,” said Lionsgate Executive Vice President and General Manager of Home Entertainment Ron Schwartz. “We are especially pleased to see more than one third of its first weekend units sold in the higher margin Blu-ray format, a remarkably high percentage.”
About The Hunger Games
Every year in the ruins of what was once North America, the Capitol of the nation of Panem forces each of its twelve districts to send a teenage boy and girl to compete in the Hunger Games. A twisted punishment for a past uprising and an ongoing government intimidation tactic, The Hunger Games are a nationally televised event in which “Tributes” must fight with one another until one survivor remains.
Sixteen year old Katniss Everdeen volunteers in her younger sister’s place to enter the games, and is forced to rely upon her sharp instincts as well as the mentorship of drunken former victor Haymitch Abernathy when she’s pitted against highly-trained Tributes who have prepared for these Games their entire lives. If she’s ever to return home to District 12, Katniss must make impossible choices in the arena that weigh survival against humanity and life against love.
The Hunger Games is directed by Gary Ross from a screenplay by Gary Ross and Suzanne Collins and Billy Ray, produced by Nina Jacobson’s Color Force in tandem with producer Jon Kilik. The Hunger Games stars Academy Award nominated actress Jennifer Lawrence, Josh Hutcherson, Liam Hemsworth, Woody Harrelson, Elizabeth Banks, Lenny Kravitz, with Stanley Tucci and Donald Sutherland.
