London, UK. — Film fans took part in exciting events around the Capital this weekend to celebrate the DVD and Blu-ray release of top film ‘The Hunger Games’.

A futuristic black chariot travelled the route of the District Line in London on Friday, replicating the famed parade of the “Tributes” from the 12 “Districts” in the ground-breaking movie… The horse-drawn chariot contained two fans who had made their own District costumes for the event, 16 year old Billie Anne Surrey from Stoke-on-Trent and 21 year old Ibtisam Ahmed from Nottingham, who relished the opportunity to get involved with the stunt.

And fans had to look to the skies on Saturday when twelve special parachutes were launched into the air around some of London’s most well-known landmarks. These limited edition, official ‘Gifts From The Sponsors’ – each representing the 12 Districts of Panem – were dropped into the arena of the Capital City offering the finders special ‘The Hunger Games’ prizes by following the written instructions on the attached card…

Sunday saw ‘live reapings’ taking place in HMV stores across the UK as fans were urged to check-in via Foursquare to one of 12 participating stores to buy the DVD or Blu-ray a whole day early and enter into a competition to win tickets to the premiere of the sequel – Catching Fire. The 12 stores fed the names of their ‘Tributes’ into the Capitol store HMV Oxford Circus and a live reaping was held by a ‘Capitol Representative’ who declared Marcel Fellerfrom Luton and Niall McKenna from Belfast the worthy winners.

‘The Hunger Games’ is out on two-disc DVD and Blu-ray and Digital Download September 3, 2012.

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Santa Monica, U.S.A. — IMAX Corporation and Lionsgate, a leading diversified global entertainment company, announced that ‘The Hunger Games: Catching Fire’, the second film in the wildly popular franchise, will be released in the immersive IMAX format.

The first Hunger Games film just crossed the $400 million mark at the North American box office, making it the 14th highest-grossing film of all time. The film has grossed nearly $650 million worldwide, with a rollout in China (including 67 IMAX screens) later this month.

Helping to further eventize this cultural phenomenon and transport moviegoers into the world of Panem, director Francis Lawrence will utilize IMAX cameras in filming portions of ‘The Hunger Games: Catching Fire’. Exclusively in IMAX theatres, sequences shot with the extremely high-resolution cameras will expand to fill the entire screen with unprecedented crispness and clarity, putting moviegoers right into the action alongside Katniss and her fellow Tributes. Leading the cast is Oscar nominee Jennifer Lawrence, reprising her role as Katniss Everdeen, along with fellow returning cast members Liam Hemsworth as Gale Hawthorne and Josh Hutcherson as Peeta Mellark.

“We are thrilled to continue the productive partnership we enjoyed with IMAX on the first installment of ‘The Hunger Games’,” said Lionsgate Motion Picture Group Co-Chairs Rob Friedman and Patrick Wachsberger. “Our partnership on the first Hunger Games film was a resounding success, and we look forward to building on that experience with an expanded IMAX relationship on Catching Fire. IMAX delivers a unique and memorable experience that is the perfect way to celebrate this special moviegoing event.”

“Beyond the global phenomenon that was ‘The Hunger Games’, the film resonated exceptionally with IMAX fans, resulting in sell outs across the network during the limited IMAX run,” said Greg Foster, Chairman and President, IMAX Filmed Entertainment. “We are excited to expand our partnership with directorFrancis Lawrence, producers Nina Jacobson and Jon Kilik and the Lionsgate team as Catching Fire joins a select group of blockbuster titles that have filmed with IMAX cameras, elevating the property to the next level.”

The IMAX release of ‘The Hunger Games: Catching Fire’ will be digitally re-mastered into the image and sound quality of The IMAX Experience with proprietary IMAX DMR (Digital Re-mastering) technology. The crystal-clear images, coupled with IMAX’s customized theatre geometry and powerful digital audio, create a unique environment that will make audiences feel as if they are in the movie.

‘The Hunger Games: Catching Fire’ is based on the second book in Suzanne Collins’ bestselling series. It chronicles the life of Katniss Everdeen after she emerges from the 74th Annual Hunger Games victorious — but far from safe. Even as she becomes an unwitting symbol of the rebellion mounting in the districts, Katniss never loses sight of her commitment to protect her family. ‘The Hunger Games: Catching Fire’ will be directed by Francis Lawrence, and produced by Nina Jacobson’s Color Force in tandem with producerJon Kilik. The novel on which the film is based is the second in a trilogy that has over 36 million copies in print in the U.S. alone.

Image Courtesy of The Hunger Games

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