Lionsgate is Bringing 'The Hunger Games' to Dubai Theme Park

March 31, 2015, 9:42 AM · Lionsgate is joining the Motiongate theme park project in Dubai — and the studio is promising that a Hunger Games attraction will be part of the development.

Motiongate

DreamWorks and Sony previously announced their participation in the movie-themed park, which is being developed by Dubai Parks and Resorts and will be operated by Parques Reunidos, the Spanish theme park company that runs Kennywood and Lake Compounce, among many other parks around the world. Motiongate is slated to open in October 2016 and will be one of three parks built as Phase One of the project. The other two parks will be a Legoland and a Bollywood-themed park.

Six Flags also had announced its participation in the resort, but it is not included in Phase One of the development.

Lionsgate said that it will help develop attractions and retail locations themed to The Hunger Games, as well as a live show inspired by its Step Up films. Previously Lionsgate licensed The Hunger Games for a live stage show that is being developed for a purpose-built theater near Wembley Stadium in London, as well as for a traveling exhibition of film props, costumes, and interactive displays that will open in New York this July.

No word yet on whether the Dubai project will incorporate any features developed for either of those projects.

Update: Reader Brandon emailed a couple photos of the Motiongate construction site "taken while driving 140KPH on Sheik Zayed highway. The site is about 5 miles outside of Dubai and about 60 from Abu Dhabi. Not much to show, just the huge billboards put up to hide construction."

Motiongate construction site

Motiongate sign

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Replies (13)

March 31, 2015 at 12:22 PM · I'm hoping this is an early april fools joke, seeing as the irony of a hunger games attraction in a city that was built on the back of slave labor is all too palpable.
March 31, 2015 at 2:45 PM · You could say the same about quite a lot of places, including in the USA
March 31, 2015 at 6:05 PM · America too was built on slave labour, so let's chill with all that shall we.

Looking forward to this, although a Bollywood park seems rather strange, but strangely intriguing !

April 1, 2015 at 7:10 AM · A Bollywood Park is a natural for the area due to the demographics, namely the huge number of migrant workers from the Indian sub continent that work in Dubais & the nearby countries. Plus, it's not that far a trip for the upper & middle classes from the Indian sub continent to visit the casinos & other attractions in Dubais' entertainment district.
April 1, 2015 at 7:56 AM · The Hunger Games is a popular movie with 4 movies by the time this is over. I've read the trilogy. The story is focused on the narrative provided by the main protagonist, Katniss Everdeen, which is full of angst and teenager style prose that it is hard to imagine theme park attractions coming from it. It is more like a gentle horror movie. As in the book, you get buttered up for the slaughter.
April 1, 2015 at 9:19 AM · I actually think the Bollywood theme park sounds the most intriguing, and I'm not even into the films. It just sounds so different from anything done before. There are more people who trace their roots to the Indian subcontinent in Dubai than there are Arabs, and quite a few are middle class or even very, very wealthy.
April 1, 2015 at 9:34 AM · And there will be even more than four Hunger Games movies. The LGF lawyers found some loopholes in the contract that allow them to make additional films. It's the same loopholes that are permitting them to do theme park attractions, stores, product etc. There will be Hunger Games until the hunger is satisfied.(From CNBC interviews with LGF executives)
April 1, 2015 at 4:16 PM · Good to know the creative talent expects at least 15 people to show up at the park.
April 1, 2015 at 5:33 PM · I always knew at some point someone was gonna bring Hunger Games into the theme park industry...except I always imagined it would be Universal. However, a Hunger Games ride will be hard to make. Most of the adrenaline in the series comes through emotional tension, and it's not a crazy sci-fi/fantasy world like Star Wars or Harry Potter. However, I have thought of two possible options: 1. Flume ride. Guests can ride in a riverboat through the arena as the Games unfolds all around them, all ending in a climactic 50-foot soaking wet drop. 2. Indiana Jones/Dinosaur style motion-based ride. You could be a part of the rebellion, sent on a covert mission into the Capital, only to be compromised with the rest of the ride having you chased by Peacekeepers. Whether or not these ideas see the limelight, though, it's still gonna take some real creative thinking for this ride to live up to its IP
April 1, 2015 at 9:32 PM · The real key is the merchandise. The "Hunger Games" store will lure fans to the park, and the "Hunger Games"-themed attraction will be the contest to get into the store before the Mockingjay pins, dresses, and combat gear all sell out.
April 2, 2015 at 7:09 AM · Are you, are you
Coming to the tree?
They strung up a man
They say who murdered three.
Strange things did happen here
No stranger would it be
If we met at midnight
In the hanging tree.
-------------------------------------------------------------------------
All of those counties where they do not treat women well can Kiss my - ya know what area...

Make women hide their faces, cover up everything, If a man rapes a woman, it is her fault.... Sorry but I can't stand those places....
Vent Over...


April 2, 2015 at 12:55 PM · Bollywood fascinates me. I don't understand it, but I love the feel of the films.
I never read the Hunger Games books. Friends I trust and respect who have read them, LOVE them. The Husband and I saw the first movie and it frankly made me ill. I'm sure there is something bigger going on, but seeing a bunch of kids forced to kill other kids just turned me off. The idea of transferring that into a theme park land/attraction/merchandise simply mystifies me. It will be very interesting to see what develops. I know people who are working on this project and I trust it will be well done, if not for my tastes in the end.
April 3, 2015 at 5:30 PM · So will there be a hungergames arena where guests admission tickets are added to a raffle to be chosen as tribute and fight to the death till one single victor is left alive. Sounds a lot like the Amierican idol experience. What a great idea. Maybe during haloween events they can step it up to a more intense Version based of the film Battle Royal.

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