HUNGER GAMES TO TAKE BITE OUT OF CHINESE BOX OFFICE

The Hunger Games will become the first U.S. film to be released in China under a new deal that raises the quota on foreign films that are released in 3D and/or IMAX and that gives U.S. studios up to 25 percent of the foreign take, Lionsgate said on Saturday. (Until now, they received around 15 percent.) In a statement, co-chairmen Patrick Wachsberger and Rob Friedman said, “China is already one of the leading territories at the international box office, and the launch of The Hunger Games in this key market is another sign of the franchise’s continuing emergence as a truly global phenomenon.” The film is expected to be released in China in the first half of June.