The Hunger Games is proving moviegoers have a strong appetite for delving into the cinematic world of author Suzanne Collins’ bestselling young adult book trilogy.
Earlier this week, Fandango began selling advanced tickets to The Hunger Games, much in the same way they have done for all of the Twilight films. Word is finally out on how briskly tickets have been selling, and they are exceeding all expectations.
Through its first day of availability, advance tickets to The Hunger Games have outsold those for The Twilight Saga: Eclipse, the previous recordholder for a 24-hour period.
The caveat to these ticket sales are that Lionsgate is attaching the first trailer for The Twilight Saga: Breaking Dawn Part 2 to every print of The Hunger Games. We’ll never know how big of an impact this move makes, but it surely has helped spur some additional business.
Whether the strong pre-sales translate to an equally huge opening weekend in the $100 million-plus club remains to be seen. However, eclipsing Twilight’s big advance ticket sales numbers shows that The Hunger Games appeal reaches beyond the already huge Twilight fanbase. The feat is also impressive considering The Hunger Games is not a sequel and is being released in a typically slow box office month.
Per Fandango, “hundreds” of opening day showings have already sold out across the country. As word spreads of these sellouts, more potential ticket buyers are likely to come out of the woodwork in fear they won’t get to see the film opening day.
The Hunger Games is directed by Gary Ross and stars Jennifer Lawrence, Liam Hemsworth, Josh Hutcherson, Woody Harrelson, Elizabeth Banks, Willow Shields, Donald Sutherland and Lenny Kravitz. It will open huge in theaters everywhere on March 23.
