The Hunger Games appeal to its target audience

LIonsgate had the advantage of a ready built fan base for the Hunger Games thanks
to the success of Suzanne Collins book. About 9.6 million books were already in
circulation when the film began shooting.
Lionsgate wanted to widen the core fan base which was made up of female fans 14
35. The lead character was a 16 year old action female and historically films with a
female action lead such as Tomb Raider hadnt always done too well at the box
office. Lionsgate strategy was to target their campaign towards young males at the
same time. We always wanted this to be a four quadrant movie meaning it would
appeal to boys, girls, men and women - that would be the target audience.
TheHunger Games books appealed to teens because the daily struggle for survival
in the arena that heroine Katniss Everdeen confronts in the books reminds young
people of their daily struggles in the corridors of high school.

Box Office: The Hunger Games" (2012) $408 million

Tom Nunan, a longtime studio executive and producer who also teaches in the
UCLA School of Theater, Film and Television.
Lionsgate, the studio behind The Hunger Games is savvy in its marketing of
movies, and from the first film has helped The Hunger Games maximize its
audience. But more than anything its the depth of meaning in the movies
thats made the series what its become.
The big distinction between this franchise and, say, the Twilight series, and
possibly even Divergent, theres a purpose beneath whats happening in the
action, Nunan says. There are big ideas here that make not only tweens,
teenagers and adults eager to watch the next chapter, but it gives people
permission to care about these movies and support them.
Reporter and Photographer Diane Gardner
I believe this series, and subsequently the movies, crosses the generations
not just due to the entertainment value, which is very high in the films due to
the amazing cast, directors, and cinematographers, but due to the ability to
bring awareness to numerous issues of crisis in our country.
To Jason Squire, an associate professor at the USC School of Cinematic Arts,
the success of The Hunger Games is due in large part to the quality of the
movies. The movies work as movies alone without knowledge of the books.
Everyone knows that theres a fan base stemming from the books devoted,

loyal fans. But if the content did not deliver, the audience would abandon it.
You definitely care about the characters, he says. Its kind of a compelling
situation. And when you have characters that you care about, that theyre
being oppressed and not theyre taking back their lives, I guess thats the
thing thats most appealing.
Nunan says hes not sure exactly how the demographics of The Hunger Games
fans break down,
but if you look at the box office, its obvious that it goes beyond young girls.
Its what we call a four-quadrant movie: This is for boys, girls, families and
single adults. It reaches all four.