Move over, Twilight fans. Your impressive pre-selling record has been overtaken by Katniss, Peeta, and the rest of ‘The Hunger Games’ crowd.Although ‘The Hunger Games’ doesn’t hit theaters until March 23rd, advance tickets went on sale yesterday. According to Fandango, the first-day ticket sales for the film broke the previous record held by ‘The Twilight Saga: Eclipse.” “‘The Hunger Games’ is off to a fantastic start,” says Rick Butler, Executive Vice President and General Manager of Fandango. “Yesterday we saw the biggest first day advance ticketing sales in our company’s nearly 12-year history – which is especially impressive for a March release and a non-sequel.”You know who else is impressed—and probably relieved? Lionsgate, the studio that is backing ‘The Hunger Games.’ Sure, greenlighting the first book of the Suzanne Collins’ bestselling trilogy wasn’t really what we’d call ‘sticking your neck out,’ but telling the world that you’re making all three books took some guts. Especially knowing that A, the cast is full of mostly unknowns, and B, many adults haven’t even heard of the books. It doesn’t hurt that Lionsgate has masterfully put together one of the best lead-up marketing campaigns ever for a film.If these first day sales are any indication, Lionsgate has a hit on their hands. And good for them. They took a risk and backed it 100%. They deserve the rewards.
