Hunger Games Hits 3.8 Million in DVD Sales Over Weekend

NEW YORK: Lions Gate Entertainment Corp. (LGF) reported DVD and Blu-ray sales of 3.8 million units for “The Hunger Games” in its first weekend, bolstering revenue for a film that brought in almost $700 million at theaters.The movie also generated record on-demand and digital sales for Lions Gate, which released “The Hunger Games” on Apple Inc. (AAPL)’s iTunes, cable on-demand services and Microsoft Corp.’s Zune Video on the Xbox console, according to a statement today.“The Hunger Games,” based on the Suzanne Collins young- adult novel, cost about $78 million to make, according to Box Office Mojo. The sequel, “The Hunger Games: Catching Fire,” will begin shooting next month and be released in November 2013, Vancouver-based Lions Gate said.Lions Gate rose 2.9 percent to $14.28 at 1:23 p.m. in New York after gaining as much as 3.1 percent. Shares of the company, run from Santa Monica, California, had risen 67 percent this year as of yesterday.(Bloomberg/api)