The Hunger Games Blu-ray and DVD is likely to shoot right to the top of Amazon.com’s Blu-ray bestsellers list when it goes up for pre-order in the near future. How quickly fans can get their hands on the hot discs isn’t being determined by the usual 3-4 month window between theatrical and home video releases.

According to the Wall Street Journal, Lionsgate is likely to wait a full five months to release The Hunger Games on Blu-ray and DVD. That time frame would put the release date in late August or early September.

The reason for this delay is twofold. First, The Hunger Games stellar box office performance has forced theater owners to keep it around longer than a typical film. It would make little sense to rush the movie to home video so quickly after slowly exiting cinemas.

Second, Lionsgate and Summit Entertainment are now one in the same. In looking back at Summit’s history, they delayed the Blu-ray and DVD release of Twilight so it could be timed to better coincide with production on The Twilight Saga: New Moon. That strategy worked like a charm as New Moon has the highest opening weekend totals of all the Twilight films, including Breaking Dawn Part 1.

Newly confirmed The Hunger Games: Catching Fire director Francis Lawrence is expected to begin principal photography on the sequel around August or September. Using the publicity of The Hunger Games home video release to alert fans that Catching Fire is on the way makes all the sense in the world.

I’ll share more information on the Blu-ray and DVD release of The Hunger Games: Catching Fire as it becomes available.

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Lionsgate is planning to shoot the movie starting in the fall for a Nov. 22, 2013 release date. “The Hunger Games” director Gary Ross ankled the sequel on April 10, citing a “fixed and tight production schedule” as his key reason for exiting.

Fox is planning to start its “X-Men: First Class” sequel in January with “Hunger Games” star Jennifer Lawrence — no relation to Francis Lawrence — committed to the superhero pic.

Suzanne Collins’ “Catching Fire” story features a special edition of the Hunger Games every quarter-century in which tributes are “reaped” from the victors of past games. Among the key new characters is Finnick, a combatant in the second book who leads a revolt against the Capitol, and the head Gamemaker in the second book who turns out to be working stealthily for the uprising.

“Slumdog Millionaire” screenwriter Simon Beaufoy is crafting the “Fire” script.

“It is truly an honor and a privilege to bring ‘Catching Fire,’ the second chapter of Suzanne’s beloved trilogy, to the big screen,” Lawrence said in a statement. “I fell in love with the characters, the themes and the world she created and this chapter opens all of these elements up in such a thrilling, emotional and surprising way.”

Jennifer Lawrence, Josh Hutcherson, Liam Hemsworth, Lenny Kravitz, Elizabeth Banks, Stanley Tucci, Donald Sutherland, Toby Jones, and Woody Harrelson will return in their roles. The film will be produced by Nina Jacobson’s Color Force with producer Jon Kilik.

Lawrence, a native of Austria, broke into show business as a music video director and landed his first feature gig on 2005″s “Constantine.” He then directed “I Am Legend” and “Water for Elephants.”

Lionsgate has not set the release dates for the final two films in the franchise, based on the concluding “Mockingjay” tome in Collins’ trilogy.

Lawrence is repped by CAA and 3 Arts.

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So yes, it’s some very powerful stuff and should be solid stuff with Lawrence in the lead. Marti Noxon (“Buffy The Vampire Slayer,” “Fright Night”) will pen the script, which bring an interesting voice to this. No word yet on who will direct. But this isn’t the only non-Panem movie Lawrence has on the way. The horror flick “The House At The End Of The Street” and David O. Russell’s “The Silver Linings Playbook” arrive later this year, and she’s currently filming the Depression era drama “Serena” with Susanne Bier.

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A source close to the actress told me Sunday that the Oscar nominee had a sarcastic reaction to some of the critics of her mega-hit movie who basically claimed she was too chubby-looking to convincingly play Katniss Everdeen in the blockbuster, based on Suzanne Collins’ best-selling novel.

“Jennifer told me, ‘This is hilarious. First, people say how so many actresses in Hollywood look anorexic, and now they are criticizing me for looking normal,’ ” the source recalled. The actress reportedly added that overly thin body images “are too often adopted by young girls and women — thanks to what they are constantly being shown as being attractive.”

Another point supposedly made by Lawrence was that nothing was written about her two main co-stars — Josh Hutcherson and Liam Hemsworth — who both also play residents of the film’s fictional District 12, where people are constantly facing starving conditions.

While most critics raved about the film and Lawrence’s performance, it was comments from the Hollywood Reporter’s Todd McCarthy (about the actress’ “lingering baby fat”), Salon’s Andrew O’Hehir (“well-fed” body) and Hollywood Elsewhere’s Jeffrey Wells (calling Lawrence a “big-boned lady”) that have unleashed a torrent of furious responses from the legions of loyal “Hunger Games” fans.

All this aside, “The Hunger Games” continued its roll as the biggest box-office bonanza of the year — easily winning its second weekend and holding off new releases “Wrath of the Titans” and “Mirror, Mirror,” with Julia Roberts.

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Sources tell The Hollywood Reporter that Fox was informing talent agencies Thursday that the studio plans to begin shooting its in-development sequel to X-Men: First Class in January. That means Lionsgate could move forward with an August-September start date for the Hunger Games sequel Catching Fire without a conflict for Lawrence, who is set to star in both.

As THR previously reported, tensions between the studios were running high last month as Fox was considering filming the Matthew Vaughn-directed X-Men follow-up in the fall, potentially conflicting with Lionsgate’s plans for Hunger Games. Fox, which cast Lawrence as the shape-shifting Mystique in summer 2010, months before Lionsgate chose her to play Katniss Everdeen in March 2011, has the right to exercise the option on her contract if it conflicts with another Hunger. That’s true even though Lawrence is part of a large ensemble in X-Men but is the clear star of the Hunger franchise.

Fox’s acquiescence isn’t a total win for Lionsgate. One source says the studio would have liked to “hold” all the Hunger Games actors for seven months in connection with shooting Catching Fire. But that lengthy demand (typical holds are months shorter) is said to have been dropped amid complaints by interested parties, including Fox.

Next up for Lionsgate is settling on who will actually direct the Hunger Games follow-up. As THR reported Wednesday, Gary Ross, who co-wrote and directed the first film, does not have a deal for the second. The heated negotiation leaves open the possibility that another filmmaker could be hired to shepherd the next installment in the franchise, as happened on the mega-grossing Twilight series. But sources close to the dealmaking expect Ross to stay with the franchise he helped launch.

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While the Thursday midnight take of $19.7 million may have been lower than the last few “Twilight” movies–midnight screenings only took place in 2,565 theaters–it made up for it on Friday, expanding into over 4,000 theaters and bringing its first 24-hour total to $68 million, followed by an estimated $51 million on Saturday and a projected $36 million for Sunday.

The number of records it set or surpassed with that $155 million opening are vastly impressive, not only being the highest March opening and biggest opening for a non-sequel (besting Tim Burton’s Alice in Wonderland in both cases), but in just two days, it became Lionsgate’s highest grossing release ever. Going by that estimate, it’s the third-biggest opening domestically for a movie behind last year’s Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows – Part 2 and Christopher Nolan’s The Dark Knight, as well as the third highest per-theater average for a wide release behind “Deathly Hallows” and the Hannah Montana/Miley Cyrus 3D movie.

As far as the film’s IMAX release onto 268 IMAX screens (only one per theater), The Hunger Games brought in $10.6 million or $40 thousand per screen, also the best showing for a non-sequel, a 2D movie and a digital-only release for the Imax Corporation.

Internationally, The Hunger Games brought in another $59.2 million as it opened in 7,700 further theaters in 67 other markets where it ended up number 1 in nearly every country. Australia brought in $9.7 million, which is comparable to blockbusters like “Transformers” and “Harry Potter,” Russia grossed $6.5 million, followed by Germany, France, Mexico and Scandinavian markets, which brought in roughly $3.7 million each.

Needless to say, this has certainly been a good week for Lionsgate, who has been needing a big hit for some time, and one expects that the A- to A Cinemascores the movie received will keep things going as word-of-mouth helps get others interested in seeing it. (MovieTickets.com is reporting that 450 screenings for the next four days are already sold out.)

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Jennifer Lawrence has an Oscar nomination, she’s been in an ”X-Men” movie and more — not bad considering she’s only 21.

But Katniss, the heroine of “The Hunger Games,” is her biggest role, the possible start of a franchise based on the novels by Suzanne Collins. Lawrence talked about the role, and about the decision to take it, recently.

Question: The obvious question — are you a fan of the book?

Answer: I am a fan of the book. The film is made by fans. We loved Suzanne’s work, and we wanted to do the best by it. But at the same time, we had to make a film. We’re really proud of this movie. We’re fans, and I think — I hope — everyone really enjoys it.

Q: So you read it before you got the part?

A: Yeah, I was a fan before I even knew about the film.

Q: Did you picture yourself as Katniss?

A: No, I read it like everybody else (laughs). Reading the script was like that. Reading the book, I didn’t know about the movie. I was just picturing it like everybody else, some random blurry face, a brunette.

Q: Were you worried about how big a deal the movie would be?

A: Yeah, that was definitely scary. But that was something we knew going in.

Q: You’ve seen the film. Do you watch as a fan, or do you critique your performance?

A: Well, I’m a girl. When I watch things, I critique everything. The first time I see a movie it’s critiquing everything. The second time I can usually watch it as a movie, hopefully.

Q: Is that true of all your movies?

A: Yeah, I do that with every picture, every interview, every everything. That’s why I don’t read anything anymore.

Q: Was there a danger of the hype getting in the way of making the movie?

A: I think it can get in the way. That’s why we all put it aside and just made a film. It’s the first thing we realize signing on, and the first thing that we have to forget.

Q: There are some similarities to your character in “Winter’s Bone.” Did you think about that, or do you put a character behind when you’re done?

A: You go on to the next one. They have a lot in common, but each character is different.

Q: Did you think about the specific audience — the ’tween audience?

A: Yeah, of course. Signing on to it you realize, not only am I doing this, I’m going to be a role model for young girls. My entire demographic’s going to be completely different.

Q: Did you think about that while shooting?

A: Not when I’m shooting it. When I’m shooting it, it felt like a film, it felt like everything else. It was before, when I signed on to do it, and after, while I’m doing press.

Q: Was the physical work hard?

A: Yeah. The hardest part, though, was the heat. The climbing and the running and the jumping, that’s all fun. But you add 100 degrees and it gets a little bit harder. (They filmed in North Carolina.)

Q: You look pretty convincing shooting a bow and arrow. That’s harder than it looks.

A: Yeah, the archery is very tricky. It’s all about technique. You can’t really hide anything.

Q: Was it fun?

A: It was a blast. It was, I think, the most fun movie I’ve ever done.

Q: If there are two more, are you on board for those?

A: Yeah, absolutely.

Q: There was no hesitation about becoming involved with a possible franchise?

A: Not too much, because when you get a chance to do a movie that you love and you’re passionate about, and a character that you love and you respect and that you’re excited about doing, that doesn’t happen a lot, unfortunately, in an actor’s life.

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During the recent Los Angeles press junket, I landed an exclusive interview with Jennifer Lawrence. Since she’s been doing so much press recently, I tried to ask new questions like what’s her favorite movie, director and actor, her karaoke song, what TV shows does she watch, what surprised her the most about making this big tentpole release and the promotion that goes with it, how many takes does she prefer, the sequels, did she call anyone in Twilight to ask ‘What am I getting myself into?’ and more. In addition, we talked about director David O. Russell‘s The Silver Linings Playbook where she plays an an ex-sex addict, and she talked about her tabloid “feud” with Kristen Stewart and how it’s completely made up.

Collider: Do you have a favorite director, movie and actor?

Jennifer Lawrence: I don’t have one that’s specific. I think Kubrick, obviously. I love Sofia Coppola. It’s tricky because I’ve worked with a lot of them, David O. Russell, Susanne Bier. Woody Allen, the Coen Bros.

Do you have a favorite movie?

Lawrence: That one’s tricky. I love Pan’s Labyrinth, I love Guillermo del Toro. Alejandro González Iñárritu. I Heart Huckabees is definitely one of my favorite movies. It might be my favorite.

What is your go-to karaoke song?

Lawrence: I could never do karaoke, but if it were it would be [“Wind Beneath My Wings”].

When you signed up for this thing, obviously you knew there was gonna be a lot of fan interest. Did you call anyone on Twilight and say ‘What am I getting myself into?’

Lawrence: (laughs) No. The only time I’ve spoken to anyone from Twilight is, I just emailed with Kristen Stewart a few days ago because we’re in this really giant “fight” all over the tabloids—it’s not real. We’ve never met or even spoken to each other, but apparently we’re in this gigantic feud because “it’s my turn to take over as Hollywood’s glam girl, and she has to step over as the famous one,” and we’ve been fightin’ like cats and dogs. So I basically just shot her this email, and she wrote back, “Don’t worry about it, welcome to the world of bullshit,” basically. So that was the only time I’ve spoken to them. But saying “yes” to the role, there was nobody really I could talk to because it was all kind of personal matters that I had to work out on my own. It was nothing that anybody could tell me, it was all just kind of “Are you ready?” It was kind of personal things that I had to work with on myself.

What surprised you most about this process of making this big tentpole release and the promotion that goes with it?

Lawrence: That it feels like an indie. Preparing for the script and the filmmaking side of it was nothing like this. We made an amazing film; Gary made a war movie. Making it felt so un-tentpole, and even watching it I feel that way as well. I think it’s odd to kind of leave the set and leave the creative process that felt so organic and small in so many ways, and then all of a sudden to do this press tour and to find out that it’s so much bigger than it felt on set.

Something interesting about the film is that Gary chose to do a lot of close-ups. When you were filming, did he sort of let you know that that was gonna be the aesthetic of the film or was it kind of like “Gary’s a great director, whatever he wants to do?”

Lawrence: It was both. You caught on very quickly to his vision and what he wanted to do, and a lot of his ideas and his vision were what made me want to do the movie. Once he got a camera and once he started mapping out his shots and what he wanted to do, that’s when I realized he was making a war movie. It was amazing to see it just get better and better.

A lot of actors like two takes, the Clint Eastwood method, and some actors like a lot of takes like the David Fincher method. Where do you fall on that scale and what’s the most you’ve ever done?

Lawrence: I adapt to directors, I don’t like making directors adapt to me. If I’m with Clint Eastwood then I’ll do two takes, if I’m with Fincher I’ll do 50—though the thought of that sounds horrible. I think the most takes I’ve ever done would probably be maybe 10, on like a big studio movie where you can do those. But after a while it’s like, “It’s not gonna get any better, this is what it is,” the light’s just gonna dull from your eyes. I think the more you do it, the less the actors listen to each other because then you start memorizing the other person’s lines and you start getting bored. There’s this freshness that happens within the first few takes of the actors actually listening to each other and actually really reacting. It kind of starts to dull after a few more takes, but then again you get a few more chances to get it right.

I’ve spoken to some actors that the minute they get a script and know that they’re gonna do the part, they start preparing, and some wanna wait until they get closer to the project to get into it. How are you when preparing for a role?

Lawrence: See I’ve never like had a system or a program, I always think that I don’t know how to act. I’ll adapt to any director because I don’t really have a set way that I do things. If a director hires me and says, “I want you to get started right now and do this research, this research, this research and I want you to have every line memorized before you ever show up for the first day,” then that’s what I’ll do. If not, I normally just kind of read the script the first time before the meeting, the read that makes me say “yes,” and then the next time is at the table read, and after that it’s just [memorizing] my lines the morning of hair and make-up, just kind of specifically.

I really enjoyed the movie and I’m very confident that it’s gonna be a huge hit. You’re obviously making another one, what is it like to know that you’re going back into this world in the not too distant future?

Lawrence: Exciting, which is weird because I remember signing on to it and think, “Well I’ll probably have fun on the first one and be miserable for the others,” but really I’m excited to get back into training, I’m excited to get everybody back together, that was such a fun movie to shoot. And also, a time where an actor gets to do a character and a story that they really love and look up to and feel so strongly about, that happens maybe once in a lifetime maybe once every ten years, it doesn’t happen a lot and I get to do it once a year, and also with people that I love. I love Josh and Liam and Elizabeth, Lenny, Woody, to get back together with those guys it’s great.

Were there any scenes that you remember getting cut or anything you were sad to see go?

Lawrence: You know, I could say yes but they happened afterwards when I was in my car driving away from the screening and remembered what got cut out, and then I realized that if I didn’t notice when I was watching the movie, it shouldn’t have been in there. I never once went, “Oh they cut that out, oh they changed that, they missed that.” It wasn’t until afterwards, and that means they did a good job; I didn’t notice it.

I definitely wanna ask you about The Silver Linings Playbook. For people who don’t know, could you talk about little bit about who you play, what it was like to make that project?

Lawrence: Yeah, Silver Linings Playbook was directed by David O. Russell, it’s with Bradley Cooper, Robert De Niro and Jacki Weaver, and it’s this kind of hilariously dark, sad story about this man, Bradley Cooper, who gets out of a mental institution and his wife has a restraining order against him and they’re divorced but he’s convinced and obsessed with getting her back. Then he meets me, and I’m an ex-sex addict and I agree to legally get letters to his ex-wife if he is my dance partner at a dance competition at the end of the month.

When you read it like that it’s a very interesting synopsis.

Lawrence: Yeah, it’s a David O. Russell synopsis (laughs).

Do more people want to talk to you about Monk, Cold Case, or Medium?

Lawrence: (laughs) Cold Case, but Monk actually has a better story. When I first got to California and started auditioning, this one Sunday we were at this church and I was in this youth group thing I guess where the younger kids go while the adults do their church. There were two characters in that episode, Emily J. and Emily C. I thought I was gonna be Emily C., that was my understanding because that’s who I auditioned for then I found out I got the part so I went, “Cool, Emily C.” Somebody announces like, “Oh I’m gonna be Emily J. in Monk,” and I was like, “Oh my God, I’m gonna be Emily C.!” so everybody at church was like, “Great, we can’t wait to see you guys!” It turns out I’m a mascot, I come in and I’m on the screen for three and a half seconds maybe, I have two lines and then I rumble away. I literally take my cat hat off, it’s the most humiliating [thing] and everybody’s like “Oh Emily C.” so I never went back to church ever again (laughs).

What are the TV shows you’re watching right now?

Lawrence: Doomsday Preppers, Ancient Aliens, I mean Sex and the City always because I’m a girl. Intervention, Addicted, I Didn’t Know I Was Pregnant, My Teen Is a Nightmare I’m Moving Out, oh and Scare Tactics!

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