Lionsgate, Hunger Games | featured news

"Hunger Games" becomes the first film since "Avatar" to spend four straight weekends at No. 1, while fellow Lionsgate pic "Cabin in the Woods" opens third with $14.9 million; "Battleship" Beat Overseas by "Titanic 3D" in surprise upset.

Now it is official. Gary Ross is not returning to direct The Hunger Games sequel, Catching Fire, for Lionsgate. In a statement released to the press, Ross cited the tight schedule as the main reason for him turning down the project. Below is an excerpt of his full statement.

"Hunger Games" is doing big box office its first day in theaters, and now a Barbie doll is in the works. Mattel's Barbie Collector is in the process of producing a custom collectible doll inspired by heroine Katniss Everdeen, played by Jennifer Lawrence in Lionsgate's big-screen adaptation, The Hollywood Reporter has confirmed.

The feast is on: "The Hunger Games" has taken in $68.25 million domestically in its first day, a record for a non-sequel. The Friday total for Lionsgate's "The Hunger Games" was the fifth-best opening day ever and puts the movie on track for the best debut weekend ever in March. That record is held by "Alice in Wonderland" with $116.1 million.

Bringing Hollywood's two biggest independent film studios and the blockbuster young adult franchises "Twilight" and "The Hunger Games" into one powerful entity, Lions Gate Entertainment has agreed to acquire Summit Entertainment for $412.5 million in cash and stock.

The film is based on a futuristic young-adult novel by Suzanne Collins.