Hunger Games Theme Park Attractions Headed to Both the U.S. and Around the Globe

© Lionsgate

The Hunger Games, a smashing success at the box office, will soon be available at several theme parks across the globe.

In a story by the New York Times, the Hunger Games is reported to be the major draw to new theme parks in the U.S. near Atlanta, Georgia, and also near Macau, China.  The theme parks will come on top of a new live stage show themed around The Hunger Games opening in London, and a Lionsgate themed land at a new park in the Middle East.

In a careful approach to entering the theme park sphere, Lionsgate will be licensing the Hunger Games characters to developers, not actually building and running the new parks and experiences.

In the U.S., the Hunger Games is set to be a major part of Avaton Park, located outside Atlanta, Georgia.  Described by developers a "next generation theme park built on the crossroads of where
entertainment meets fantasy and perception becomes reality," the creators are "focused on creating an
interactive theme park with user-centered design and technology to provide a fully immersive experience."  While Avaton Park is still in the design and investor phase, the licensing with Lionsgate also includes franchises like Step Up and Now You See Me.

In Hengqin, China, developers have licensed The Hunger Games along with several other movie properties for a large indoor theme park - planned to open in 2018.

© Motiongate Dubai

The soonest we will see The Hunger Games open at a theme park will be at Motiongate Dubai, opening around a year from now.  The movie studio themed park will host lands based on studios like Dreamworks, Sony and Lionsgate.  The Lionsgate themed section will include Hunger Games attractions like a roller coaster themed to the story's transport trains, and a simulator that lets guests explore and adventure through the franchise's settings.  The drawing at the top of this post is from the New York Times article, which appears to depict the attractions at Motiongate.

While many thought the Hunger Games wouldn't translate well into theme parks, it appears as though the popularity of the series has changed some minds.  I'll be interested to see the finished products of these planned developments.