Studio certainly seems to think so . . .

“The world will be watching,” the latest poster for the upcoming movie, The Hunger Games, boldly proclaims.

The poster of course refers to the so-called fictional “Huger Games” in the movie itself.

The story is set in a future America in which one part of the country ominously called “the Capitol” rules over the other districts after a devastating war. To keep the other districts in line the Capitol throws annual televised games in which the contestants – boys and girls aged between 12 and 18 – must fight each other to the death.

One however cannot help but think that its studio, Lionsgate, also believes the world will be watching on March 23, 2012 when it releases this movie adaptation of young adult novel by Suzanne Collins.

The novel has sold more than 3 million copies in print in the U.S. alone and shares the same young adult female demographic which had made the Twilight movie franchise such an unexpected box office phenomenon ($2 billion and counting).

Hunger Games may not have any vampires, but it does have a fantastical premise as well as a love triangle featuring some photogenic teens.

It is unlikely that Hunger Games will make as much money as the Twilight movies, but Lionsgate seems pretty sure of the movie’s box-office prospects: it has in effect already started work on a sequel (there are three books in the series) titled Catching Fire – before even finishing production on the first movie!

So much for not counting your chickens before they are hatched . . .

(Catching Fire has been slated for a November 22nd, 2013 release date. It will again star Jennifer Lawrence and be directed by Gary Ross.)

The Twilight demographic may work against Hunger Games.

On the Internet there is already a backlash by the same males who dread the Twilight movies and being dragged by girlfriends to The Hunger Games against their will. (This is actually unfair:  the Hunger Games novels are much better than anything we’ve ever read by Stephanie Meyer.)

We’re not entirely convinced of Hunger Games’ box office chances though . . .

Lionsgate has a lot riding on the Hunger Games franchise’s fortunes.

The movie may not have cost a whopping $250 million like the Disney flick John Carter (our bet for box office flop of the year), but since Lionsgate doesn’t belong to a huge media conglomerate like, let’s say, Sony, the impact of a $80 million (excluding marketing, and its marketing division does seem to be in overdrive with this title) flop on its hands will be enormous. Hunger Games was originally budgeted at $60 million.