Midnight showings nationwide tonight officially mark the opening of the national holiday heretofore known as Hunger Games Friday. As early as Tuesday, more than 2,000 shows had already sold out, according to Fandango, which reported that "the film is garnering 92% of its daily sales and has already surpassed the first Twilight film's presales numbers." The Hollywood Reporter noted that it is Fandango's most successful March presale ever. More examples of Hunger Games opening day frenzy:
The movie's soundtrack, which was released at midnight Tuesday, now tops the album bestseller lists at both iTunes and Amazon.
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CNN Money reported that while young adults love The Hunger Games, "the biggest fans may be from an older generation--investors." Shares of Lions Gate Entertainment, parent company of Lionsgate studio, "are up 75% so far this year after a gaining more than 7% Tuesday to close at a record high of $15.27, and they were up another 4% in early trading Wednesday." CNN Money also noted that "shares of Scholastic are up 22.5% year to date after a 1.7% rise in trading Tuesday, and were up another 1.8% Wednesday."
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Fans began lining up Monday for a "strictly-enforced" booksigning Tuesday night at the Barnes & Noble store in Manhattan's Union Square, the New York Times reported, noting that hundreds of people endured "a long, anxiety-filled wait... in the hope of getting a glimpse of someone, anyone, associated with the film."
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Meanwhile, in another part of the city, a "secret" screening at a Chelsea theater drew "an unexpected crowd of admirers," the Daily News reported. "Held at bay by barricades and private security, fans cheered wildly as stars of the film pulled up in black cars.... Organizers of the screening, hosted by the Cinema Society and the Calvin Klein Collection, pleaded with media outlets to keep the event secret to avoid gawkers."
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The story was essentially the same elsewhere in the U.S. as the magic hour drew near. For example, by yesterday morning, nearly half of the 30 midnight screenings in Omaha, Neb., were sold out, according to the World-Herald, which noted that the situation "was likely to change" to completely sold out by today.
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Fashion conscious fans have also taken notice. CNN reported that "dozens of 'how-to-dress like Katniss' Web pages, blog posts and articles are being bookmarked and pinned up by girls of all ages. But when did hunting gear and cotton dresses become so fashionable?"
"Katniss has practical clothes--it has to make sense where she got them. District 12 is American work wear, and that is what she would wear while she hunted," said the film's costume designer Judianna Makovsky, adding that she "didn't want the fashion to take over, (because) that is not what the movie is about. The movie is about a girl's journey. That is what a costume designer does, we tell the character's story."
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North Carolina film officials hope that serving as the location for filming of The Hunger Games will help the state "re-emerge as one of the top shooting destinations outside of California." The Los Angeles Times reported that Lionsgate spent an estimated $60 million in the state, employing 180 crew members and more than 4,000 extras.
