Lionsgate has announced plans for The Hunger Games: The Exhibition launching in summer 2015.
According to a press release, the touring exhibit will “include interactive displays of authentic costumes, props and other elements of the world of The Hunger Games,” including “artifacts featured in the first three films from locations within the Capitol and the various Districts of Panem.” The project is being designed by Thinkwell Group, who’s responsible for the Harry Potter studio tour in London amongst a slew of other attractions.
Lionsgate says that the decision was made thanks to the wide-reaching success of The Hunger Games.
“Now that we’ve built a critical mass of intellectual property, we’re committed to extending our brands into exciting new businesses that create opportunities for our fans to engage with our properties at the same time they deliver significant incremental financial benefits to Lionsgate,” said Lionsgate Chief Marketing Officer Tim Palen. “We’re thrilled to launch this initiative with the U.S. tour of The Hunger Games exhibition, which celebrates the world of The Hunger Games and offers Hunger Games fans an extensive behind-the-scenes look at the movie-making process.”
In the same press release the studio announced that they have brought on an executive of Thinkwell to “explore additional theme park attraction and other location-based entertainment opportunities around the world for The Hunger Games franchise.”
You may remember that Lionsgate revealed last November that they had received two Hunger Games theme park development offers from undisclosed properties. It wasn’t clear where the Hunger Games-themed lands would be built, but it’s easy to predict that one of them could’ve been in the United States, home to countless parks.
The Hunger Games touring exhibition will serve as a test for Lionsgate to see if they can draw crowds to an attraction outside of the film. It remains to be seen how they would handle a theme park attraction since the story starring Katniss is quite depressing.