Chinese shenanigans may be behind an effort to have both Jennifer Lawrence’s highly anticipated sequel to “The Hunger Games”—“Hunger games: Catching Fire”--to make its China debut directly opposite the sci-fi blockbuster “Gravity.” “Gravity is currently smashing box office receipts in the U.S., holding down the top spot for three consecutive weeks.
Jennifer Lawrence has had an amazing year since the last release
In recent years the Chinese have adopted this tactic (Scheduling the release date of American movies to coincide with each other) to suppress ticket sales while increasing revenue for Chinese films. In 2012, when the original “Hunger Games” was released, the movie didn’t hit the Chinese market until a full three months after it was released in the U.S.; giving pirates ample time to saturate the market with bogus copies.
Although the two films target two different audiences, industry experts warn that the close proximity of their release dates will have an adverse effect on box office receipts.
Despite Chinese attempts the movie is sure to make a bundle of cash in China
However, it is highly unlikely that Jennifer Lawrence fans are too overly concerned about such trivial (In their view) matters. What concerns them is that nothing, or no one, interferes with the scheduled release of “The Hunger Games: Catching Fire,” their appetites having already been whetted by Lawrence’s original performance as Katniss Everdeen.
Catching fire panel at comic-con 2013
