'The Hunger Games' Will Get A One-Week IMAX Run

The most exhilarating experience of "The Hunger Games" won't be around long.

Sure, the panoramic, enveloping IMAX format has taken already guaranteed blockbusters like "Fast Five," "Star Trek" and Michael Bay's "Transformers" trilogy and generated uniquely breathtaking theater experiences - and, equally importantly, box office hauls that indicate thrill-seeking movie-goers get positively orgasmic when big, bright colors and explosions can be made bigger and brighter.

That being said, The IMAX Corporation and Lionsgate have announced that "The Hunger Games," one of 2012's most hyped and anticipated theatrical releases alongside "The Avengers" and "The Dark Knight Rises" in promotional scope, will only receive a one-week IMAX release starting March 23, reports ComingSoon.net. Starring Academy Award nominee Jennifer Lawrence, Josh Hutcherson and Liam Hemsworth among others, "The Hunger Games" is the first adaptation of the trilogy of novels written by Suzanne Collins with about 23.5 million copies in print in the U.S. alone.

It's the story of 16-year-old Katniss Everdeen (Lawrence) and her struggle in a post-apocalyptic world's annually televised survival-of-the-fittest battle.

"With this news, the release of 'The Hunger Games' has truly become an epic event," said Lionsgate representative Joe Drake. "'The Hunger Games' and IMAX are a match made in Heaven - fans love this book because its world is so vividly imagined and seeing the film in IMAX will make them feel as if they have landed right in the middle of the action. It is the ideal way for fans to experience this film for the first time."

Drake, of course, conspicuously downplays a marketing sensibility that could only work when paired with a release this hotly anticipated. Fans would've continuously flooded IMAX theaters even with a longer engagement. But instead, in something akin to the "Disney Vault" catch-it-while-you-can scarcity principle, fans may be more likely to hit a big lottery jackpot during the Rapture at the same time they're struck by lightning than to find an IMAX showing that isn't sold out well in advance.

That being said, IMAX Filmed Entertainment Chairman and President Greg Foster certainly doesn't dumb down that with the "Harry Potter" legacy complete and the "Twilight" saga wrapping up late this year, this might very well be a new page-to-screen tentpole franchise.

"'The Hunger Games' is one of the most popular properties in recent memory and we're excited to offer this passionate fan base the opportunity to experience this exciting adventure in the most immersive way," Foster said. "We're proud to kick off our relationship with Lionsgate around this high anticipated film that will make a strong addition to our 2012 film slate."

Though "The Hunger Games" doesn't hit theaters until March, "Slumdog Millionaire" writer Simon Beaufoy has already been developing the script for "Catching Fire," the second book in the series.