Debate of the Day: How Big Will The Hunger Games Be?
If we’re forgetting about assuredly awesome superhero movies (The Avengers, The Dark Knight Rises) and likely fantastic hard sci-fi (Prometheus), there’s one film that transcends genre that’s one of the most anticipated of the year, The Hunger Games.
The hugely popular book series is kicking off with the first of four promised films this year, and it’s trying to fill the void that’s been left in teens hearts by Harry Potter and soon, Twilight, once that series takes its final bow in 2012.
The question I’m wondering today is how big exactly will The Hunger Games be as a film series? The books are hugely popular, and I would argue could even have a wider fanbase than Potter and Twilight in terms of those who enjoy them. Like me for instance. I recently read all three books and appreciated the harder, violent elements that are past anything Potter offered, and though it does feature something resembling a love triangle, is not nearly as flowery as Twilight.
But I’m wondering if it has what it takes to truly become the next massive teen lit adaptation on the same level as these past two properties were? I’m not sure. Harry Potter is a once in a decade property that The Hunger Games can’t quite match in terms of quality or imagination. And though I hate to admit it, I think Twilight has the more compelling romance. It’s not really a central focus of The Hunger Games, and I can’t see Josh Hutcherson making girls swoon the way Robert Pattinson or Taylor Lautner have.
Dreamboat!
It is however, the only real epic franchise out there that’s going to be specifically aimed at teens in the next year. There may be others, but The Hunger Games, barring unforseen calamities, pretty much already has all four films greenlit and has a better chance of success than any other competing properties that might crop up.
So, big hit, massive hit, or giant failure?
Does it really have 4 films? What is this new thing about splitting the last book into 2? Are they just following HP’s lead? As much as I loved the last two movies, I have to say I would have preferred a better mix of character development and action in one film.
But more to the point, HG will be a hit. People are already in love with the story and characters and just want to see them brought to life. I think it will translate very well from book to film as long as good people are involved, and I believe Hutcherson will certainly make girls swoon…just not in a “here’s my glistening chest” sort of way.
Judging by the pictures the duo is going to be portrayed as in their early twenties?
I expect it to put up good box office numbers, but not as much as harry potter or twilight. I think it will be around 230 million domestic with another 100 million or so worldwide. So definitely successful, just not “holy shit!” successful.
I expect that all of them will be successful but after just finishing the third book, I have no idea how they will stretch the content of that book into two movies. I would assume they would stretch out the ending because the ending of the series felt very rushed compared to the rest of the novels.
It will be Twilight size….
@Sam
hahaha just say you think it will do pretty well. no reason to throw out completely random and made up numbers
@Jim Lahey
Who says they’re made up? You’ll see in a few months.
P.S. you’re gonna die on your seventy third birthday. Mwahahaha!
I love the hunger games and I think the movie is gonna be big and I like it because its not too romantic like twilight and not too much of all the genres with I like it because it has a lot of different genres but not too of one genre with makes it even and good for more people to enjoy but me I like all of the Hunger Games genres : action,drama,romance etc. if its not too much
I give it a pretty good shot at taking in those big franchise numbers, because I think more then the other franchises mentioned here, this story should translate to film really well. I was a huge fan of the Harry Potter books, but could never get into the movies as much, never went to see them in theaters. This is something, that from what I’ve seen, I’ll want to see in theaters.
Also it does have some competition. The Maze Runner is another solid, mature young adult series that’s been building up hype similar to the way Hunger Games did. It’s first film adaptation is set to hit screens summer of next year.
Well considering how my 19 and 22 year old nieces love the books, I expect it to do fairly well if it deserves it or not. I’ve only seen snippets of the trailer and know very little about the series so I can’t really make that kind of judgment. But I know the two of them and that they’re the typical go with the herd type, so since they’re looking forward to it, I’m sure the thousands of other girls like them are going to be as well. Granted from what little I do know it does sound kind of intriguing, so I won’t have the problems with it that I do those vapid twiglet movies.
I’m so damn sick of everyone comparing The Hunger Games to Twilight. That is a series that truly demonstrates the power of marketing. People who vehemently hated ‘vampire romance’ flocked like sheep to go see them. When in reality it was a shitty story to begin with portrayed by horrible acting (yes, I saw them. Yes, I love my little sister very much) anyway, to the task at hand, I truly believe even if the movies are utter garbage, people will still fly to them as they have the Potter and Twilight series. They have covered SUCH a huge fan base that it’d be impossible not to have people coming in drones. That being said, my only worry is that by keeping them PG-13 you are going to lose a big chunk of that fan base. How are they going to convey the level of bloodshed and violence with that rating? Cuz, spoiler alert, they blow up a shit load of kids.
By the same token, teenagers are notoriously fickle. So if any one of the options become an unexpected flop, even if through no fault of the movie itself, they will just flock to another offering (which also includes Percy Jackson, does it not?) Personally, I’m hoping they continue to release the PJ movies. Also, since both HP -and- Twilight will cease to exist (unless they also decide to make The Secret Life of Bree Tanner, fans of both series will be looking to fill the void.
Who cares? I prefer books for adults.
What’s the big deal about this anyway?
This splitting-the-last-movie-into-two-parts sh!t has got to stop. >:(
It just broke Fandango ticket presale records set by the last Twilight flick, so, yeah, I’d say it’s on track to be a competitor. And since the books fall closer to the Potter end of that equation with regards to quality, I’d give it a good shot at surpassing Twilight.
Heck, Jennifer Lawrence has already shown twice as many facial expressions in these two screen shots as Kristen Stewart did in the whole Twilight Saga.
I think Harry Potter will remain on top for the next ten years unless Avatar 2, Titanic 2, The Hobbit, The Dark Knight Rises, tops it.