HOLLYWOOD, May 6-China has given the green light for the premiere of the U.S. blockbuster "The Hunger Games" this summer, the film's distributor said this weekend.
Lionsgate said the pending June release in China will be the first under a new revenue-sharing agreement that will enable Western distributors to pocket up to 25 percent of a film's Chinese box office receipts.
Lionsgate executive said in a written statement that "The Hunger Games" had the potential to repeat the huge business it did after its North American release, which has totaled $380 million so far.
"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," said Patrick Wachsberger and Rob Friedman, co-chairmen of Lionsgate Motion Picture Group.