"The Hunger Games" is here to stay. It's become a staple of a generation. Its success has permeated throughout the book and movie industries and has even managed to keep one entertainment company afloat. Based on Monday's stock reports, Lionsgate stock remains hot as it rides the wave of "The Hunger Games" success.
According to Variety, the stock closed above $26 for the first time in the company's history, rising 23 cents to $26.15. That's more than triple its price than when Lionsgate acquired Summit for $412.5 million in January, 2012. It's gained over 60 percent this year from its young-adult franchise, its largest cash cows being "The Hunger Games" films, "Ender's Game" and "Divergent."
And it won't stop there. "The Hunger Games: Catching Fire" has been forecast to gross $373 million in its first four weeks. The sequel will feature Jennifer Lawrence as she reprises her role as Katniss Everdeen, and in a recent interview with Celebrity Wire, the starlet talks about the upcoming "Catching Fire" film and her role as Katniss.
"Her strength - I'm always finding myself drawn to strong characters, probably because I want to be like that - I mean this is a girl that has the world placed on her shoulders," Lawrence says. "She's one of the first people to stand up to the Capitol and I think that people see that strength. I mean it's a messed up world and it's about time somebody did it, but she's a young girl and she didn't play their games. She didn't make anybody her enemy really. She started a revolution and that's scary."
"I talked to Suzanne [Collins] after I got the part on the phone. I was still in England, and it was so incredible, because I'm her biggest fan. I love her books so much. I'm obsessed with them. Of course all of the things people are saying, they're in my head too, about being too old and being blonde... They get to me too because that's how I imagine the character, but hearing it from the woman who created Katniss herself, I feel like a huge weight has been lifted off my shoulders. 'I know you can do it' and all of these things, it gave me the boost that I needed."
"The Hunger Games: Catching Fire" hits theaters November 22 via Lionsgate. Check out Lawrence's entire interview below.