We’ve only seen one movie of THE HUNGER GAMES come and go, but we’ve always known that Lionsgate is confidant enough in the property to go all the way with the film adaptations of Suzanne Collins’ book trilogy. (The first installment making over $670 million worldwide helps.) We’ve also known for a while the the plan is to make the third and final book, MOCKINGJAY, into two films; if it’s good enough for TWILIGHT and HARRY POTTER, it’s good enough for THE HUNGER GAMES. Now everything has come together; the studio has formally announced release dates for the final two movies.
THE HUNGER GAMES: MOCKINGJAY PART 1 will come out worldwide on NOVEMBER 21st, 2014, while THE HUNGER GAMES: MOCKINGJAY PART 2 will hit a year later, on NOVEMBER 20, 2015. That will be three straight Thanksgiving bows for the HUNGER GAMES, as the second film, the Francis Lawrence-helmed CATCHING FIRE, hits theaters on NOVEMBER 22 of next year.
This has always been a popular slot for big franchise pics; a good number of the HARRY POTTER and TWILIGHT films have come out the week before Thanksgiving, with damn good results. Even though THE HUNGER GAMES came out this past March to a massive $152 million, it would seem as though Lionsgate is will bank on that late November magic from here on out.
Meanwhile, CATCHING FIRE goes into production later this year.