Lionsgate has announced the home entertainment release of Gary Ross’ The Hunger Games on Blu-ray, DVD, and digital download on Saturday, August 18th at 12:01 am.  Only the biggest films get to avoid the standard Tuesday home entertainment release day, and The Hunger Games, which is closing in on $400 million at the domestic box office definitely qualifies for its special Saturday debut.  The movie, which is based on the first book in Suzanne Collins’ bestselling series of novels, topped the weekend box office for four straight weeks and currently ranks as the 14th highest-grossing film of all time.

 

Both the Blu-ray Edition (MSRP $39.99) and the 2-Disc DVD (MSRP $30.98) come with over three hours of bonus features including an 8-part documentary, "The World Is Watching: The Making of the Hunger Games," plus an interview with director Gary Ross, and numerous featurettes examining the worldwide success of the books, the creation of the control room in the film, and a discussion of the creation of some scenes in the movie that weren’t in the book.  The Blu-ray also includes an exclusive feature "Preparing for the Games: A Director’s Progress," which looks at how Ross handled adapting three key scenes from page to screen.

 

The Hunger Games’ box office success was cited by Books-A-Million CEO Terrance G. Finley as one of the reasons for the book chain’s improved performance in Q1 (see "Books-A-Million Sales Up in Q1") and also moved a lot of associated merchandise (see "WizKids 'Hunger Games' Products").