In prior conversations about the next pop culture
phenomenon, The Hunger Games inevitably
rose to the top of the list… but I remained skeptical. After all, these things have a way of
appealing to a certain fan base and then disappearing into the Twilight. (See what I did there?)
It’s amazing how quickly someone can be proven wrong.
Grossing an incredible $152.5 million in its opening
weekend, The Hunger Games has already
shattered numerous box-office records:
Highest grossing weekend for a non-sequel.
Third highest opening weekend of all-time.
In fact, it is already the highest grossing film in
Lionsgate’s history, easily overtaking Fahrenheit
9/11 (which amassed a mere $119.2 million in it’s entire run).
Nevertheless, what impresses me more than the final total is
the manner in which The Hunger Games
made that much money. According to
Box Office Mojo,
the movie held up incredibly well on the Saturday of its release, suggesting
that the demand “exists across a wide array of moviegoers, and isn't just rooted in the
type of rabid fans that drove the front-loaded openings for recent Harry
Potter and Twilight movies.” With this in mind, reports also suggest that an
incredible 51% of the audience held an average age of over 25, further
revealing that the film’s appeal was not limited to pre-teens. In fact, the Chicago Tribune even went
so far as to call the series a ‘uniting
force’ in our culture.
In other words, The
Hunger Games has become a full-blown pop culture phenomenon.
The question that I have is ‘Why?’
I think that the obvious first response to a question such
as this is the film’s well-planned marketing strategy. Rather than taking the more traditional
route of focusing on the book’s legions of fan, Lionsgate opted to take a much
broader approach in its marketing.
By emphasizing the intensity
of the tournament, Lionsgate
was able to help the film seem more accessible to a wider audience. All of a sudden, The Hunger Games wasn’t simply the latest ‘must-see’ event for
‘tweens. Instead, the film also started
to gain interest to the average ticket-buyer.[i] (Although, to be fair, the plan was far
from perfect. For example, a major
misstep appeared to occur with the release of the film’s first footage. Releasing
a teaser with a tone akin to ‘Twilight’
in late August of last year, the early buzz was decidedly negative and actually
appeared to work against the
film. Still, it’s also possible
that this error inadvertently aided the film in that it slowed the hype machine
temporarily, ensuring that the general public were not experiencing Hunger Games fatigue by the time of the
actual film’s release.)
To be honest though, I am not one to simply buy the excuse
that ‘the marketing paid off’.
I’ve seen tonnes of examples of films that tried all the same strategies
and failed to catch fire with audiences. People don’t rush out to the movies in numbers like this simply
because a promotional campaign
tells them to do so.
They have to care about the story.
Truthfully, I believe that the primary reason that this
story has connected with such a broad base is due to the relevance of the narrative
in our current cultural climate.
Obviously, our North American culture has yet to resort to watching
teenagers hunt each other for sport.
(Although, that would probably be a step up from watching the Jersey Shore.) Nevertheless, this series of stories
really manages to capture the atmosphere of a world that feels trapped. It’s true to say that dystopian
narratives are far from new ideas.
Still, Katniss’ emotional journey somehow feels relevant to 21st
Century North America. Like the
rest of the people of District 12, we too cry out for freedom in a social
climate that threatens to break us down.
Does hope really exist? If so, where does it come from?
Angered over the callousness of the Capitol and the cruelty
of the Games themselves, Katniss provides a voice for all audiences, regardless
of age. Her angst is more than a
deep-seeded yearning for someone to save her from this life (read: Bella Swan). Katniss’ journey is filled with a
desire to see things change. Yes,
she feels helpless… but she is willing to challenge the system. In a world such as ours that is battling
global economic collapse and demonstrating ongoing protests, Katniss’ desire for
freedom reveals itself as a universal ‘cry’ on behalf of everyone who feels as
though they’ve been bullied by the system. (Yes, even you, Harvey
Weinstein.) Her situation may be foreign to us… but her feelings and quest
for hope in a broken society are all too relevant.
Therein lies the incredible secret of the vastness of Hunger Games’ success. On the surface at least, this series appears
as though it should only appeal to a very limited age group. Yet, at the same time, the depth of the
thematic content also connects with an audience that is much more broad in its
scope. As a result, The Hunger Games manages to find an
audience that consists of a hybrid between die-hard fans and the average
filmgoer. Will it flame out by
next week? It’s possible. However, given the numbers that have
been reported—and the film’s strong ‘A‘ Cinemascore average— I suspect that
these Games will have an impact for some time.
At the very least, the odds are certainly 'in their favour'..
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