'Hunger Games' Movie Fuels Sharp Rise in Book Sales

3:23 PM PDT 3/28/2012 by Andy Lewis

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With 36.5 million copies in print, "Hunger Games" is now running ahead of "Twilight" at the same moment.

The astounding popularity of The Hunger Games movie has given a bigger than expected boost to sales of the book series.

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Publisher Scholastic announced today that there were 36.5 million copies of the bestselling trilogy in print, a 55 percent jump from the 23.5 million copies in print at the start of 2012.

The Hunger Games book sales are now probably running ahead of the Twilight Saga at a comparable moment. When the first Twilight movie was released in 2008, the book series had about 30 million copies in print.

Scholastic broke down the numbers as more than 17.5 million copies of The Hunger Games in print, 10 million copies of Catching Fire; and 9 million copies of Mockingjay.

The books have been on The New York Times bestseller list for three consecutive years and Amazon recently announced that writer Suzanne Collins was the bestselling author of all-time on its Kindle ereader.

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Set in a postapocalyptic future where the primary entertainment is an annual televised death match among 24 teens, Hunger Games mixes action, thrills, romance and teenage rebellion.

The movie starring Jennifer Lawrence, Josh Hutcherson and Liam Hemsworth, which opened March 23, grossed $152.2 million its first weekend, the third best opening weekend ever.

“Suzanne Collins has created a vivid and compelling future world that has captivated both teen and adult readers and is sure to become a classic,” said Ellie Berger, President, Scholastic Trade Publishing. “We are proud to be her publisher and we join readers everywhere in celebrating her amazing talent.”