There are only two The Hunger Games movies left: Mockingjay — Part 1 and Mockingjay — Part 2. Like the Harry Potter series, The Hunger Games has split its final book into two films, and an announcement from Lionsgate has revealed that there are a few more ways Katniss hopes to follow in Harry's footsteps. In the summer of 2015, Lionsgate will launch The Hunger Games: The Exhibition , the first step in the studio's exploration of a Hunger Games theme park. And if all of that sounds familiar, it should. Harry Potter has both a traveling exhibition and a theme park, and even though the Hunger Games version doesn't even exist yet, we already know it can't be as good.
The Hunger Games: The Exhibition will be a collection of props, costumes, and more from the films that will travel to various museums and other places throughout the country. In 2009, Harry Potter: The Exhibition started and has since become an international exhibition. They're very similar ideas, so what implies that The Hunger Games: The Exhibition will fail when Harry Potter's didn't? The Hunger Games is about a dystopian future in which a corrupt, greedy government forces children to kill each other every year. Harry Potter is about an 11-year-old who finds out he has magical powers and must defeat an evil wizard.
Consider what could actually be included in a Hunger Games exhibit. Katniss's bow and arrow, which she uses to save her family from starving and herself from being murdered; the beautiful wedding dress Cinna designed for her, that caused him to be bludgeoned to death in front of her; and even the locket that Peeta gave her on the beach during the quarter quell, you know, the one that was his way of saying he was okay with dying. Just to compare, the Harry Potter exhibit featured Hagrid's hut, Harry's glasses, Hogwarts uniforms, Hermione's Yule Ball dress, and more.
Adding a Hunger Games amusement park wouldn't help either. When Harry Potter: The Exhibition started, plans for The Wizarding World of Harry Potter had already begun, and the park opened in 2010. Lionsgate is doing things differently and seems to be using the Hunger Games exhibit as a sort of test to see if a theme park would be successful. If the potential offerings of the exhibit seem morbid, just imagine what the amusement park rides would be like.
The Wizarding World of Harry Potter, the original Orlando park prior its recent expansion, includes a roller coaster themed around the Triwizard tournament, a 3D ride that takes you through Hogwarts with Harry, Ron, and Hermione, and a kid-friendly Hippogriff roller coaster. There's also Hogsmeade, a shopping and dining center that includes locations from the series such as Ollivander's wand shop, The Three Broomsticks pub, Honeydukes candy shop, Zonko's Joke Shop, and more fun stores. There's butterbeer to drink, chocolate frogs to eat, wands to try out, and plenty of other exciting things to do.
What exactly would a Hunger Games version of this entail? The only dining places shown in The Hunger Games series are the Hob, where people illegally buy and trade things, and Peeta's family's bakery. The Capitol has all of the good food, but it's also filled with people who make bets on which kids will kill the most during the Hunger Games. There aren't any shops either, unless they create a storefront for Cinna, though that would still be depressing since again, he was bludgeoned to death in front of Katniss.
As for rides, even the biggest Hunger Games fans probably wouldn't be on board for anything besides a slightly themed roller coaster. No one wants a tour of the oppressed Panem and any of the series' events turned into an attraction would just be cruel. All Katniss does is hunt and participate in the Hunger Games, we don't need rides based on either of those things.
The only planned Hunger Games-themed entertainment with real potential is an upcoming mobile game. However even that doesn't sound very exciting, described in a press release as a "role playing, card collection mobile game."
Sorry Hunger Games fans, but when it comes to exhibits, amusement parks, and games, Harry Potter wins. Hey, it could be worse. Just imagine how Twilight fans feel.
Images: Lionsgate, humorinrecovery/Tumblr, rp-ing-gifs-for-you/Tumblr, comediva, oijio/Tumblr
