Lions Gate Entertainment Corp (LGF.B)

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Lionsgate, China Film Group, Huaxia Film Distribution and Talent International Announce February 8 Release Date For The Hunger Games: Mockingjay -- Part 1 in China

Jan 06, 2015 20:00:00 (ET)

Film Has Already Grossed $700 Million at The Worldwide Box Office; Will be Released in 3D and 2D in China

SANTA MONICA, Calif. and BEIJING, Jan. 6, 2015 /PRNewswire/ -- Continuing its march across the globe, the latest installment of Lionsgate's (NYSE: LGF) global blockbuster Hunger Games franchise, The Hunger Games: Mockingjay -- Part 1, will be released in China on February 8, it was announced today by Lionsgate Motion Picture Group Co-Chairs Patrick Wachsberger and Rob Friedman. The film, imported to China by China Film Group and jointly distributed by China Film Group, Huaxia Film Distribution and Lionsgate's Beijing-based promotional partner Talent International Film Co. Ltd., will debut in over 4,000 theatres across the country, marking the biggest Hunger Games rollout to date in China and the first installment to be released in 3D.

Mockingjay -- Part 1 has already achieved the biggest opening weekend of 2014 in North America ($121.9 million) and the third-biggest five-day Thanksgiving weekend of all time ($82.7 million) on its way to a worldwide box office of $700 million and counting. The film has already grossed approximately $325 million domestically and approximately $375 million internationally. The first three installments of The Hunger Games franchise have already grossed more than $2.2 billion at the global box office, with The Hunger Games: Catching Fire becoming the 10(th) highest-grossing domestic release of all time.

"Mockingjay -- Part 1 continues The Hunger Games franchise's evolution into a truly global phenomenon, and we're delighted to extend our partnership with Talent International and China Film Group for a February 8(th) Chinese release that promises to be one of the highlights of the film's international rollout," said Wachsberger and Friedman. "With the widest Hunger Games opening ever in China and the first Hunger Games film to launch in 3D, Mockingjay is positioned to become a major motion picture event in one of our largest and fastest-growing territories."

Directed by Francis Lawrence and starring Academy Award winner Jennifer Lawrence, Liam Hemsworth, Josh Hutcherson, Sam Claflin, Woody Harrelson and the late Philip Seymour Hoffman, Mockingjay -- Part 1 is based on the third book in Suzanne Collins' trilogy that has already sold more than 82 million copies around the world. Mockingjay -- Part 2 is slated for worldwide release on November 20, 2015.

As part of the film's Chinese launch, Jennifer Lawrence has recorded a special greeting for The Hunger Games fans in China and a new Chinese trailer has captivated audiences with its nonstop action, dazzling visual effects and epic scope.

Lionsgate has recently scored at the Chinese box office with hits such as Now You See Me and Escape Plan.

ABOUT LIONSGATE

Lionsgate is a premier next generation global content leader with a strong and diversified presence in motion picture production and distribution, television programming and syndication, home entertainment, digital distribution, channel platforms and international distribution and sales. The Company currently has more than 30 television shows on over 20 different networks spanning its primetime production, distribution and syndication businesses, including such critically-acclaimed hits as the multiple Emmy Award-winning Mad Men and Nurse Jackie, the comedy Anger Management, the broadcast network series Nashville, the syndication success The Wendy Williams Show and the critically-acclaimed hit series Orange is the New Black.

Its feature film business has been fueled by such recent successes as the blockbuster first three installments of The Hunger Games franchise, the first installment of the Divergent franchise, Now You See Me, John Wick, Warm Bodies, Roadside Attractions' A Most Wanted Man, Lionsgate/Codeblack Films' Addicted and Pantelion Films' Instructions Not Included, the highest-grossing Spanish-language film ever released in the U.S.

Lionsgate's home entertainment business is an industry leader in box office-to-DVD and box office-to-VOD revenue conversion rates. Lionsgate handles a prestigious and prolific library of approximately 16,000 motion picture and television titles that is an important source of recurring revenue and serves as the foundation for the growth of the Company's core businesses. The Lionsgate and Summit brands remain synonymous with original, daring, quality entertainment in markets around the world.www.lionsgate.com

For further information, please contact:

Peter Wilkes

Lionsgate

310-255-3726

[e-mail]

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SOURCE Lionsgate

/Web site: http://www.lionsgate.com


(END) Dow Jones Newswires

January 06, 2015 20:00 ET (01:00 GMT)