March 22, 2012|By Meredith Broussard, For The Inquirer
At William Allen III Middle School in Moorestown, eighth graders put on a "Hunger…
You're probably aware that The Hunger Games will premiere in movie theaters just after midnight. If you're a fanatic about Katniss Everdeen, you've probably already bought your ticket.
For some, the countdown to the opening is just agony. "You wake up in the morning feeling happy, but then you realize it's not March 23," said Kate Kopf, 11, of Philadelphia.
The film, focusing on teens in a dystopian world, is already the top-selling movie franchise opener and non-sequel recorded by ticket seller Fandango in its 12 years. Nearly 2,000 showtimes sold out within two days of its release, making the movie a likely blockbuster, with more than $100 million in sales.
Video clips feed the Hunger hype machine. The official YouTube channel, TheHungerGamesMovie, clocked 18.5 million video views for its eight trailers and movie clips as of early this week. The film is based on a young-adult book by Suzanne Collins that has been a best seller since it debuted in 2008, with its sequels not far behind. There is even a cookbook.
Part of what's fueling The Hunger Games mania is excitement from an unlikely source: schoolteachers and librarians. With the success of the books and film series surrounding Twilight and Harry Potter, educators are realizing they can jump on pop-culture bandwagons to promote literacy.
Librarians at the Agnes Irwin School in Rosemont tacked up book posters and filled the shelves with copies of The Hunger Games, the sequels, and similar books in February. They chose books with strong female protagonists, some dystopian novels, and a few fantasy titles. The inventory was rapidly decimated by girls hungry to read about heroines like Katniss. The library's website displays a digital countdown clock, ticking away the minutes until the movie opens. After school, girls can play The Hunger Games board game.
At William Allen III Middle School in Moorestown, eighth-grade language-arts teacher Heather Keleher organized a field trip for opening day. On Friday, she will load 800 students and teachers onto buses. Their destination: Rave Motion Pictures Ritz 16 in Voorhees for a special screening.
"Suzanne Collins has a knack for engaging readers, especially reluctant ones," Keleher said.
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