‘Hunger Games’ Theme Park Coming to Atlanta and Macau

Atlanta could be welcoming another theme park that is based on a 'brutal dystopian world full of pre-pubescent homicide and gravity-defying thrills' to its repertoire. Hunger Games fans would be ecstatic to know that the possibility of a Hunger Games Theme Park is high.

It all started, according to The New York Times, three years ago when Jon Feltheimer, the chief executive of Lions Gate Entertainment, sought his team to come up with ways to turn the box-office movie into a Disneyland theme park. It was an idea that shook his team's sanity, as the movie was about games that involved violence, to the extent of killing children.

"The more we thought about it, the more we realized there was a major opportunity - not just to create something smart and captivating that 'Hunger Games' fans would love, but to bring all of our franchises alive in new ways," Tim Palen, who is now the studio's chief brand officer, said to The New York Times.

According to Palen, these theme parks will have roller coasters and other rides that will be based on the Hunger Games movies. They will anchor, accordingly, in Atlanta and in Macau.

"It speaks to the ability of management to skillfully leverage their intellectual property to other growth avenues," Amy Yong, an analyst at Macquarie Securities, said.

Business ventures such as theme parks are new additions to the Lionsgate portfolio. To minimize risk, the studio has been its movie properties for the building, operation and management of the projects to developers.

The Hunger Games movie is licensed to developers who plan to build an entertainment destination near Atlanta called Avatron Smart Park. These developers are making ends meet to raise the estimated $625 million needed for the construction, according to James Ram, Avatron's vice chairman.

"There are so many positives about these movies, starting with the fact that she's an empowered young woman," Mr. Ram said.

Who is excited for the Hunger Games theme park?