Mass starvation? Children battling one another to the death?
If this sounds to you like a great day of family fun, then you might be interested in Hollywood’s latest big idea in entertainment — a “Hunger Games” theme park.
Lionsgate Entertainment Corp., the studio behind the blockbuster adventure movie, revealed Friday that it is looking at opening a park based on the dystopian film and book franchise.
“We have been approached in two different territories by potential park opportunities,” Lionsgate CEO Jon Feltheimer said.
Speaking in a conference call, Feltheimer told financial analysts that the interest in a “Hunger Games”-themed park “gives you some sense of the cultural impact of this franchise.”
He said the company was “pursuing” the idea but gave no details.
Officials said the studio is doing well with “Hunger Games” merchandise — such as its Capitol Couture clothing line, named after the fictional world’s utopian metropolis.
A theme park based on the post-apocalyptic world of the “Hunger Games” would compete with other hit movies that have translated into family attractions.
The Wizarding World of Harry Potter — featuring a replica of Hogwarts Castle and a Dragon Challenge roller coaster — has been a hit at Universal Orlando Resort in Florida.
And the Walt Disney World Resort in Florida is planning to open a walk-through “Avatar” attraction at its Animal Kingdom theme park in 2017.
Based on the 2009 sci-fi mega-hit, the recreation of the film’s planet Pandora would allow parkgoers to “encounter awe-inspiring floating mountains and wander through a nighttime jungle of bioluminescent plants that are alive with light and sound,” said Walt Disney Parks chief Tom Staggs.
What could a “Hunger Games” theme park offer to compete?
A Lionsgate spokesman refused comment.
The dark future envisioned by the book doesn’t sound very family friendly, but a high-speed ride based on the movie’s bullet train might work.
On the other hand, encouraging teenage admirers of heroine Katniss Everdeen to try their hand at archery could be disastrous.
And what food concessions could exist in a world where teens compete — and kill — for meals?
Lionsgate, meanwhile, is releasing a sequel, “The Hunger Games: Catching Fire,” on Nov. 22
The first film, starring Jennifer Lawrence, pulled in nearly $700 million in worldwide ticket sales and was the third best-selling film of 2012 in the United States, making more than $400 million.