Hunger Games finale Mockingjay to be released in two parts

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This article titled “Hunger Games finale Mockingjay to be released in two parts” was written by Andrew Pulver, for guardian.co.uk on Wednesday 11th July 2012 13.27 UTC

Like its close cousin Twilight, the final entry in the projected series culled from Suzanne Collins’s Hunger Games trilogy will be split into two films. The third book, Mockingjay, will be released as part 1 and part 2, in 2014 and 2015 respectively.

The initial Hunger Games film, starring Jennifer Lawrence and Josh Hutcherson, outdid expectations when it was released in March 2012, breaking several box-office records and taking more than m (m) at the worldwide box office. Plans for a sequel based on Collins’s second novel in the trilogy, Catching Fire, were swiftly announced, even though director Gary Ross walked away from the project, citing time constraints.

Water for Elephants director Francis Lawrence was subsequently handed responsibility for maintaining the series’ popularity.

The Twilight series certainly benefited financially from having its final entry split into two. Breaking Dawn Part 1, released in November 2011, grossed m worldwide, with similar figures expected for Part 2, due in November 2012. The Hunger Games would seem to be faithfully imitating its strategy.

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