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Lionsgate announced 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.
“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.
