'The Hunger Games: Mockingjay - Part 2' To Open In IMAX 3D

Katniss is going big for her final blowout. Lionsgate has announced that The Hunger Games: Mockingjay, Part 2 will be released this fall in IMAX and IMAX 3D, as well as plain old normal-sized-screen 2D.

That makes The Hunger Games: Mockingjay, Part 2 the first Hunger Games film to open in 3D in the U.S. (Mockingjay, Part 1 played in 3D in China.) The news also brings the franchise back to the IMAX format. The Hunger Games and The Hunger Games: Catching Fire both hit the jumbo screens, but IMAX opted to show Christopher Nolan's Interstellar over The Hunger Games: Mockingjay, Part 1 last year.

Learn more about The Hunger Games Mockingjay Part 2 IMAX 3D release after the jump.

Lionsgate shared the news via a press release, which you can read in full below. The news reflects a change in the series' attitude toward the 3D format.

Back in 2012, around the release of The Hunger Games, director Gary Ross insisted that the series would "absolutely not, never" go out in 3D. "I don't think it's appropriate for this film. I think that if we shoot this movie in 3D, we become the Capitol," he said at the time. "We start making spectacle out of something that I don't think is really appropriate here."

Of course, that was three years and one director ago. Ross was replaced by Francis Lawrence for The Hunger Games: Catching Fire and all subsequent films, and Lawrence is a fan of the 3D Mockingjay, Part 1 that went out in China. "The new level of immersion was really fantastic," Lawrence said in the statement.

The nature of the story has also changed. Whereas in the first two installments, we were watching characters put in life-and-death situations for the amusement of others, the Mockingjay movies chronicle an uprising led by Katniss and others.

Moreover, with Mockingjay, Part 2 set as the last Hunger Games movie, Lionsgate is probably eager to milk the series for all it's worth. Mockingjay, Part 1 was an undeniable hit — it was the #1 film of 2014 — but IMAX and 3D surcharges would've further inflated the grosses.

The Hunger Games: Mockingjay, Part 2 closes out the Hunger Games series on November 20.

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SANTA MONICA, Calif., February 6, 2015 – IMAX Corporation (NYSE: IMAX) and Lionsgate (NYSE: LGF), a premier next generation global content leader, today announced that The Hunger Games: Mockingjay – Part 2, the next installment of the global blockbuster Hunger Games franchise, will be digitally re-mastered into the immersive IMAX® format and released in IMAX® 3D theaters domestically for the film's November 20th rollout."I'm thrilled Mockingjay – Part 2 will be in IMAX theaters," said director Francis Lawrence. "Fans will now have the chance to see the film in any format they want, which is exciting; we recently saw the 3-D version of Mockingjay – Part 1 before its release in China, and the new level of immersion was really fantastic.""It's exciting to be back in The Hunger Games world and once again team up with our partners at Lionsgate, director Francis Lawrence and producers Nina Jacobson and Jon Kilik on what we believe will be a thrilling, action-packed finale to this blockbuster franchise," said Greg Foster, Senior Executive Vice President, IMAX Corp. and CEO of IMAX Entertainment. "The fan enthusiasm and cultural impact that this series has generated has been truly remarkable and we are thrilled to offer audiences the opportunity to experience the last chapter in IMAX 3D."The IMAX® 3D version of The Hunger Games: Mockingjay – Part 2 will be digitally re-mastered into the image and sound quality of The IMAX Experience® with proprietary IMAX® DMR (Digital Re-mastering) technology. The crystal-clear images, coupled with IMAX's customized theatre geometry and powerful digital audio, create a unique environment that will make audiences feel as if they are in the movie.The blockbuster Hunger Games franchise has taken audiences by storm around the world, grossing more than $2.2 billion at the global box office, and it was the #1 movie of the year two years in a row domestically. The Hunger Games: Mockingjay – Part 2 now brings the franchise to its powerful fourth chapter in which Katniss Everdeen (Jennifer Lawrence) now fully realizes the stakes are no longer just for survival — they are for the future.With the nation of Panem in a full scale war, Katniss confronts President Snow (Donald Sutherland) in the final showdown. Teamed with a group of her closest friends – including Gale (Liam Hemsworth), Finnick (Sam Claflin), and Peeta (Josh Hutcherson) – Katniss goes off on a mission with the unit from District 13 as they risk their lives to stage an assassination attempt on President Snow who has become increasingly obsessed with destroying her. The mortal traps, enemies, and moral choices that await Katniss will challenge her more than any arena she faced in The Hunger Games.The Hunger Games: Mockingjay – Part 2 is directed by Francis Lawrence from a screenplay by Peter Craig and Danny Strong and features an acclaimed cast including Academy Award®-winner Jennifer Lawrence, Josh Hutcherson, Liam Hemsworth, Woody Harrelson, Elizabeth Banks, Philip Seymour Hoffman, Jeffrey Wright, Willow Shields, Sam Claflin, Jena Malone with Stanley Tucci and Donald Sutherland reprising their original roles from The Hunger Games and The Hunger Games: Catching Fire. The impressive lineup is joined by The Hunger Games: Mockingjay – Part 1 co-stars five-time Academy Award®-nominee Julianne Moore, Mahershala Ali, Natalie Dormer, Wes Chatham, Elden Henson and Evan Ross.