Lionsgate scored by far the biggest theatrical hit in its history with The Hunger Games, as the film has now grossed $391.9 million domestically and continues to attract repeat viewers.  For the last few months, we've been focused on Catching Fire, the adaptation of Suzanne Collins' second novel in the series set for theatrical release in November of next year. 

While fans have been justifiably upset by the absence of director Gary Ross on the sequel, today brings happy news: The Hunger Games will be available on Blu-ray, DVD, and digital download this August 18th.

Lionsgate has officially announced that they've found a director for The Hunger Games sequel Catching Fire, with Francis Lawrence set to take over as helmer in the place of Gary Ross. 

Ross, who directed the phenomenally successful film adaptation of Suzanne Collins's dystopian novel, opted not to return for the first of three planned sequels, citing the rushed schedule required to meet an already-announced November 2013 release date.  As the release date loomed and scheduling issues became paramount, Lionsgate needed to find a Catching Fire director, and needed to do so post haste.

Pop quiz, hotshot.  You're Lionsgate, the mini-major studio that has scored the biggest hit in its history with The Hunger Games, which has now grosses more than $534 million globally.  With a release date already announced for Catching Fire, the first of what will likely be three sequels, and some scheduling complications, you discover that The Hunger Games director and co-writer has surprisingly opted not to return.  Who do you pick to replace him and make that all-important release date?

Well that was dramatic.  After co-writing and directing The Hunger Games, easily the biggest movie in Lionsgate's history and his career, Gary Ross has decided not to return for the sequel, Catching Fire.  Ross himself, who made the first film a critical hit in addition to a commercial juggernaut, released a statement making it official.  While early reports cited difficult negotiations, the director explicitly denies that this was not the case, and instead says, "I simply don’t have the time I need to write and prep the movie I would have wanted to make because of the fixed and tight production schedule.'

In two weeks of release, The Hunger Games has now grossed $384.3 million dollars globally, while also earning a pretty ecstatic response from critics, fans of the novel by Suzanne Collins, and general audiences.  So you'd think that co-writer and director Gary Ross would be eager to return to the futuristic dystopia of Panem.  Evidently not, as Ross has opted not to direct the sequel, Catching Fire.

After opening to the third-biggest domestic debut weekend of all time, legitimate pop culture phenomenon The Hunger Games has grossed $368.0 million globally.  It's done so in under two weeks of theatrical release.  So with by far the biggest hit in its history, Lionsgate is naturally keen to continue the series with Catching Fire, the already announced adaptation of Suzanne Collins's novel.  But apparently it's not a guarantee that Gary Ross, who co-wrote and directed The Hunger Games, will be back for another round.

Lionsgate looked to the horizon with The Hunger Games, spending the last year playing to the novel's considerable fanbase, first by ensuring that every part of casting was a big deal, then by consistently reminding everyone that the film was on the way and was gonna be huge.  Today, the adaptation of the first novel in Suzanne Collins's dystopian trilogy opens nationwide, and it looks like The Hunger Games will live up the commercial hype.  According to Lionsgate, the film earned an estimated $19.7 million at midnight screenings already.

The last two weeks have seen the first two official clips from The Hunger Games, Lionsgate's much-hyped adaptation of the bestselling novel by Suzanne Collins.  With the nationwide release just around the corner this month, the clip parade continues as new one-minute snippet from the film has appeared online.

The sheer amount of marketing material pertaining to The Hunger Games ensured that I long ago ran out of things to say about the adaptation of Suzanne Collins's first novel in the crazy-popular young adult novel trilogy.  It's been months of casting speculation, announcements, and endless new images, but today there's a bit of The Hunger Games promotion is quite novel, effectively eye-catching, and really sort of funny.

One day, two big happenings pertaining to The Hunger Games.  It's still early, but the second big news on the potentially huge adaptation of Suzanne Collins's first novel in her dystopian Panem trilogy is the release of a new theatrical trailer.  It's brief, clocking in at not much more than one minute, but it does a lot with the time, hitting a bunch of big emotional notes, getting across the basic concept of the eponymous competition, and setting up the dystopia of Panem.