'The Hunger Games' Mania Puts N.C. in the Spotlight

If you know nothing else about The Hunger Games, you likely at least know that the highly anticipated movie, based on the hugely successful books, opens in theaters this Friday. The movie was filmed entirely in North Carolina, including cities such as Charlotte, Concord, and Asheville and small towns like Hildebran and Shelby. In the March issue of Charlotte magazine, I wrote about the local locations The Hunger Games production used and how the movie's projected box office revenue stacks up against other movies filmed in Charlotte.

This scene from The Hunger Games was likely filmed inside one of the Uptown Charlotte locations. Effie Trinket (Elizabeth Banks, left), Haymitch Abernathy (Woody Harrelson, center), and Katniss Everdeen (Jennifer Lawrence, right).
Credit: Murray Close/thehungergamesmovie.com.

Now that the premiere of the movie is upon us--some lucky Charlotteans are being treated to an advance screening this evening--the buzz and media coverage surrounding The Hunger Games are at a fever pitch. And a lot of it is putting the spotlight on North Carolina. Below are some of the news links from the past few days:

• The Associated Press: North Carolina gets ready for 'Hunger Games' fans
• NBC17: North Carolina braces for 'Hunger Games' impact
• Los Angeles Times: 'The Hunger Games' fuels Hollywood's appetite for North Carolina
• Forbes: Will North Carolina Win the Hunger Games?
• The Charlotte Observer: ‘Hunger Games’ making immediate impact in N.C.

Because of all the hype and local ties, I plan to go see The Hunger Games some time within the first two weeks. If you haven't already purchased advance tickets, you can forget about seeing it during this opening weekend. Fandango announced yesterday that the movie has sold more advance tickets than any other non-sequel ever, and that more than 2,000 showtimes have sold out. The Hunger Games is projected to bring in somewhere between $100 million and $140 million this weekend.