Lionsgate owes tweens a big thank-you bouquet after becoming the first independent studio to hit the $1 billion mark at the domestic box office for the year.
The studio's record-breaking achievement comes thanks to its two young adult franchises, the "Twilight" and "Hunger Games."
The young vampire lovers of "Twilight Saga: Breaking Dawn -- Part 2" dominated the global box office this weekend, sinking their teeth into $141 million domestically and an additional $200 million overseas. Lionsgate reaped the hormonal whirlwind because of its $412.5 million leveraged buyout of Summit, the studio that fostered "Twilight," earlier this year.
Not that Lionsgate was devoid of its own in-house success: Its adaptation of the first book in Suzanne Collins' dystopian novel series, "The Hunger Games," racked up $686.5 million worldwide. A sequel is on tap for 2013, although the "Twilight" series has now ended its mega-grossing run. Lionsgate hopes that "Divergent," another big screen version of a young adult novel, will help replace that revenue stream.
Lionsgate said it also expects to cross the $1 billion mark at the international box office and the $2 billion mark at the worldwide box office in the next few weeks as "Breaking Dawn" part deux continues to bewitch members of Team Edward and Team Jacob from one end of the globe to the other.
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