The Hunger Games: Catching Fire to Compete With Gravity at Chinese Box Office

In spite of previous speculation that Lionsgate would wait until 2014 to release The Hunger Games: Catching Fire to Chinese theaters, the studio announced this morning that the anticipated sequel will open in the country on November 21–the day before it opens in the U.S. and the day after Warner Bros. debuts reigning U.S. box office champ Gravity in China.That will set off a competition between the two, with Gravity–one of the year’s most successful films based on an original property–and Catching Fire, the sequel to last year’s biggest box office surprise.”The Hunger Games: Catching Fire has become a truly global phenomenon, and its day-and-date release in this key territory further cements its status as a worldwide motion picture event of epic proportions,” said Lionsgate Motion Picture Group Co-Chairs Patrick Wachsberger and Rob Friedman.