The Hunger Games was announced to be getting a March 2012 release and later confirmed it would be on the 23rd, and it looks like after some shuffling the WB will be releasing Wrath of the Titans (Sequel to Clash of the Titans) on the same day.
Apparently the folks over at Warner Brothers have no fear, because they’ve opted to push back the big release of their ‘Clash of the Titans’ sequel, ‘Wrath of the Titans,’ from March 20th, 2012 to March 23rd, 2012, the same day the highly-anticipated adaption of ‘The Hunger Games’ is due out.
Now on one hand, the cult following of the Hunger Games books is insane. We are talking near Twilight intense insane without all the emo.
And while Clash of the Titans had is following, the less than spectacular post 3d remake might make people hesitate to follow this sequel. Will it correct the wrongs of the first film? Will it stink more? There is a lot of wild cards there. As much as the series can cater to the nostalgia of the original and may redeem itself, there is no guarantee, but one thing it does have is a big screen presence already.
As passionate as the Hunger Games fans are, if you ask the average movie patron if they had heard of the young adult book series, they likely would say no. Its a passionate following, but in the big picture I doubt they have the numbers. Yet.
But it isn’t like they are moving the film from one week to another, it is the same week. They are just not giving Wrath that running start at the weekend. Are they confident that it doesn’t need that expanded weekend presence?
Who do you think will win out?
Hotly anticipated book adaptation or Fantasy Adventure sequel attempting to redeem itself?
Hunger Games will win, because not only does it have the popularity almost equivalent to twilight, but men can enjoy it just as much as girls. Twilight was obviously more appealing to girls, and Hunger Games will appeal to both genders.
I disagree with the “Twilight” popularity comparison you made. I haven’t heard NEARLY as much about the series (honestly, none), unless I ask someone specifically while buying the book.
With Twilight, it was like being blindsided left and right with groups talking about Bella and Edward. People reading the books everywhere you go. News networks talking about the popularity, etc. I understand that once we get closer to the release of the film, there may be more talk… but I doubt it. As Matty said, it’s too niche at this point.
I never said it was of the same public popularity as Twilight (which was only at a fever pitch once the movie came out… it was a quiet but passionate cult following beforehand).
I said Fans of the Hunger Games were as insanely passionate as Twilight fans – without the emo.
If they [the fans] were as insanely passionate, wouldn’t you think there’d be more talk about the franchise?
I guess I’m confused how you know fans of the series are so enflamed?
My opinion: Hunger Games is still too niche to make a big impact. Its box office will rest largely on its promotion and the quality of the film , rather than an in-built audience.
WOTT should do decent money even though the last one copped a bit of a critical drubbing. Early word on its quality will see whether it surpasses COTT in terms of box office