LIONSGATE'S THE HUNGER GAMES: CATCHING FIRE APPROVED FOR NOVEMBER 21, 2013 RELEASE IN CHINA

Will Be Released On More Than 3,000 Chinese Screens Nationwide

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Oct 22, 2013, 08:00 ET

SANTA MONICA, Calif., Oct. 22, 2013 /PRNewswire/ -- Lionsgate (NYSE: LGF), a leading global entertainment company, announced today that the second installment of its global blockbuster The Hunger Games franchise, The Hunger Games: Catching Fire, has been approved for a November 21, 2013 release on more than 3,000 screens in China.

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The film will be released nationwide in China with both dubbed and subtitled prints by the China Film Group in conjunction with Lionsgate's Beijing-based promotional partner, Talent International Film Co. Ltd. The release in China joins the list of virtually day-and-date releases in more than 50 territories around the world.

"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.

"The release of the first Hunger Games film in China established a strong fan base on which Catching Fire is positioned to build," said Wendy Reeds, Executive Vice President of Content Sales & Distribution for Celestial Tiger Entertainment (CTE). "China has become one of the world's leading box office territories, and the release of The Hunger Games: Catching Fire in China is another major step forward in our distribution of film and TV content in this key market."

Lionsgate has recently scored at the Chinese box office with the successful theatrical releases of Now You See Me, The Impossible and the first Hunger Games film.

The Company is currently in production on the third and fourth Hunger Games films, The Hunger Games: Mockingjay I & II.

ABOUT THE HUNGER GAMES: CATCHING FIRE

The Hunger Games: Catching Fire begins as Katniss Everdeen (played by Jennifer Lawrence) has returned home safe after winning the 74th Annual Hunger Games along with fellow tribute Peeta Mellark (played by Josh Hutcherson). Winning means that they must turn around and leave their family and close friends, embarking on a "Victor's Tour" of the districts. Along the way Katniss senses that a rebellion is simmering, but the Capitol is still very much in control as President Snow prepares the 75th Annual Hunger Games (The Quarter Quell) - a competition that could change Panem forever. The Hunger Games: Catching Fire is directed by Francis Lawrence, and produced by Nina Jacobson's Color Force in tandem with producer Jon Kilik. The novel on which the film is based is the second in a trilogy written by Suzanne Collins that has over 65 million copies in print in the U.S. alone.

ABOUT LIONSGATE

Lionsgate is a leading global entertainment company with a strong and diversified presence in motion picture production and distribution, television programming and syndication, home entertainment, family entertainment, digital distribution, new channel platforms and international distribution and sales. Lionsgate currently has 30 television shows on 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 network series Nashville, the syndication success The Wendy Williams Show and the critically-acclaimed new series Orange Is The New Black.

Its feature film business has been fueled by such recent successes as the blockbuster first installment of The Hunger Games franchise, The Twilight Saga Breaking Dawn – Part 2, Now You See Me, Kevin Hart: Let Me Explain, Warm Bodies, Snitch, Texas Chainsaw 3D, The Expendables 2, The Possession, Sinister, Arbitrage and Pantelion Films' breakout hit Instructions Not Included, the highest-grossing Spanish-language film ever 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 rate. Lionsgate handles a prestigious and prolific library of approximately 15,000 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 D. Wilkes
310-255-3726
[email protected]

SOURCE Lionsgate