LIONSGATE'S BLOCKBUSTER THE HUNGER GAMES SELLS AN ESTIMATED 3.8 MILLION DVD AND BLU-RAY UNITS IN ITS FIRST WEEKEND OF NORTH AMERICAN RELEASE
Largest Digital And On Demand Launch In Company's History Sets iTunes, Xbox and Comcast Records
Blu-ray Titles Comprise Approximately 35% of First Weekend Sales
SANTA MONICA, Calif. and VANCOUVER, Aug. 21, 2012 /CNW/ - Lionsgate (NYSE: LGF), 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.
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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.
"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."
The first installment of THE HUNGER GAMES franchise has already grossed more than $407 million at the North American box office and nearly $700 million at the box office worldwide. The next installment, THE HUNGER GAMES: CATCHING FIRE, begins principal photography next month for a November 22, 2013 theatrical release. MOCKINGJAY PART I is slated for a November 21, 2014 release and MOCKINGJAY PART II is scheduled for a November 20, 2015 release. THE HUNGER GAMES recently passed HARRY POTTER as the top selling book series of all time on Amazon, taking into account print and Kindle sales combined. There are more than 50 million copies of THE HUNGER GAMES in print in the U.S. alone.
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.
ABOUT LIONSGATE
Lionsgate is a leading global entertainment company with a strong and diversified presence in motion picture production and distribution, television programming and syndication, home entertainment, family entertainment, digital distribution, new channel platforms and international distribution and sales. The Company has built a significant television presence in production of primetime cable and broadcast network series, distribution and syndication of programming and an array of channel assets. Lionsgate currently has 23 shows on 16 networks spanning its primetime production, distribution and syndication businesses, including the multiple Emmy Award-winning "Mad Men" and the critically-acclaimed series "Weeds," "Nurse Jackie" and "Boss," the new network series "Nashville" and "Next Caller," the Charlie Sheen sitcom "Anger Management," the syndication successes "Tyler Perry's House of Payne," its spinoff "Meet the Browns," "The Wendy Williams Show" and "Are We There Yet?" and the upcoming "Orange Is The New Black," an original series for Netflix.
Its feature film business has been fueled by such recent successes as the blockbuster first installment of "The Hunger Games" franchise, which has grossed nearly $700 million at the worldwide box office, "The Expendables 2," "Cabin In The Woods" and "Tyler Perry's Madea's Witness Protection." With the January 2012 acquisition of Summit Entertainment, the Company added the blockbuster "The Twilight Saga," which has grossed more than $2.5 billion at the worldwide box office, to a slate that already included its "The Hunger Games" franchise and now has the two premier young adult franchises in the world. Recent Summit hits include "Red," "Letters to Juliet," "Knowing," and the Academy Award-winning Best Picture, "The Hurt Locker."
Lionsgate's home entertainment business is an industry leader in box office-to-DVD and box office-to-VOD revenue conversion rate. Lionsgate handles a prestigious and prolific library of approximately 15,000 motion picture and television titles that is an important source of recurring revenue and serves as the foundation for the growth of the Company's core businesses. The Lionsgate and Summit brands remain synonymous with original, daring, quality entertainment in markets around the world.
For Lionsgate corporate inquiries, please contact:
Peter D. Wilkes
310-255-3726
[email protected]
Kinley L. Cross
310.255.5114
[email protected]
SOURCE: Lionsgate
http://www.lionsgate.com
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