Four-film 'Hunger Games' franchise planned

LOS ANGELES, June 2 (UPI) -- U.S. film and television studio Lionsgate has announced it will split the "Hunger Games" series of three books into four films.

Both the "Harry Potter" and "Twilight" franchises have more films than the number of books in the series on which they were based.

"The ['Hunger Games] property is generating tremendous buzz and excitement, and it all points to a major Lionsgate franchise in the making," E! News reported Lionsgate Chief Executive Officer Jon Feltheimer said in a conference call with reporters Wednesday.

"We have distributors who consider this as their big brand next year, the movie that can change their company," added motion picture group president Joe Drake.

The big-screen adaptations of the science-fiction books are to star Jennifer Lawrence, Josh Hutcherson, Liam Hemsworth and Donald Sutherland.

E! News said it is unclear how the three books will be stretched into four movies.