The Hunger Games and other Lionsgate properties are coming to theme parks

By Stephanie Topacio Long Published November 2, 2015

If you’ve ever wanted to wander The Hunger Games’ District 12 without worry about the reaping, the odds are ever in your favor. Not only has Lionsgate been exploring options for licensing The Hunger Games and its other film properties to theme parks around the globe, the entertainment company has found takers.

Although the studio originally faced doubt as to whether The Hunger Games was well suited for amusement parks, Tim Palen, Lionsgate’s chief brand officer, told The New York Times they were confident in the idea: “The more we thought about it, the more we realized there was a major opportunity — not just to create something smart and captivating that Hunger Games fans would love, but to bring all of our franchises alive in new ways.”

Recommended Videos

Among Hunger Games-inspired concepts announced so far are a roller coaster based on the train that Katniss (Jennifer Lawrence) took from District 12 to the Capitol, as well as a hovercraft tour of Panem, the fictional country where the series takes place. However, the studio doesn’t plan to build its own theme park; instead, it is licensing its movie properties to amusement park developers, much like Warner Bros. has done.

Developers have definitely been interested. According to Palen, Lionsgate has licensed The Hunger Games, plus other properties, to multiple upcoming entertainment venues. In addition to Hunger Games attractions, there are also plans to involve the Twilight and Divergent franchises, plus Step Up, strangely enough. Motiongate, an theme park under construction in the United Arab Emirates, is currently the furthest along, set to debut in 2016. Once it opens, visitors will get to explore the park’s version of District 12 and even visit the bakery where Peeta (Josh Hutcherson) worked.

Also in the works is an “experience center” in China that is expected to open in late 2018. Stateside, Lionsgate is working with developers for Avatron Smart Park, a theme park still in the planning stages. Assuming financing comes through, Avatron Smart Park would open near Atlanta by 2019.

Much more immediately, we have the opening of Mockingjay — Part 2 to look forward to; the film hits theaters on Nov. 20, wrapping up the dystopian film saga based on the original three-book series by Suzanne Collins.

Stephanie Topacio Long

Former Contributor

Stephanie Topacio Long is a writer and editor whose writing interests range from business to books. She also contributes to…

Topics

Entertainment

Why Catching Fire is still the best Hunger Games movie ever

Jennifer Lawrence as Katniss Everdeen in a promo image for The Hunger Games Catching Fire.

The Hunger Games franchise is back in cinemas with the release of The Hunger Games: The Ballad of Songbirds & Snakes. Set 60 years before Katniss Everdeen stepped into the arena, the prequel follows a young Coriolanus Snow as he becomes the character fans loved to hate in the original saga. Although solid, if overstuffed and flawed, The Ballad of Songbirds & Snakes is nowhere near the level of the original tetralogy starring Oscar-winner Jennifer Lawrence as the rebellious archer. Because, while it's set in the same world and features most of the same themes, Ballad misses all the nuance and impactful storytelling that made The Hunger Games such a phenomenon.

As Catching Fire turns 10, and with The Ballad of Songbirds & Snakes in theaters, it's the perfect time to look back at the 2013 film's legacy. Time has been nothing but kind to Catching Fire, cementing it not only as the undisputed victor of the YA battle but as a near-perfect film for its time and place.
The YA craze

Entertainment

The 10 best characters in the Hunger Games movies, ranked

jennifer lawrence gears new trailer hunger games mockingjay part 1 the

he Hunger Games has remained a surprisingly powerful force in modern pop culture despite the fact that until just recently, there hadn't been a new movie in the franchise in almost a decade. Thanks to a few great slogans ("I volunteer as tribute," "May the odds be ever in your favor," etc.) and a compelling premise, the series still lives on in the imaginations of many people who loved the books and movies when they were initially a phenomenon.

With a new entry, The Hunger Games: The Ballad of Songbirds & Snakes, now in theaters, the franchise is now back in the zeitgeist. In addition, a recent surge in viewing on streaming platforms like Netflix and now Peacock makes this an ideal time to look back at The Hunger Games and remember the indelible characters that made this franchise so fascinating and moving.
10. Beetee Latier

Entertainment

The Hunger Games: The Ballad of Songbirds & Snakes’ ending, explained

Coriolanus Snow holds Lucy Gray's chin in The Hunger Games: The Ballad of Songbirds & Snakes.

Warning: This article contains spoilers for The Hunger Games: The Ballad of Songbirds & Snakes (2023).

By the time young Coriolanus Snow (Tom Blyth) has committed to fleeing the dystopian nation of Panem with Lucy Gray Baird (Rachel Zegler) in the final act of The Hunger Games: The Ballad of Songbirds & Snakes, the seeds have already been planted for the future dictator’s turn to evil. Not only has he knowingly ratted out his best friend, Sejanus Plinth (Josh Andrés Rivera), for conspiring against the Capitol by sending a jabberjay recording of one of their conversations to the villainous Dr. Gaul (Widows star Viola Davis), but he’s also been given a one-way ticket to a better, Capitol-adjacent future by his Peacekeeper boss.