Imax to release 'Hunger Games' day and date

Imax will release Lionsgate's high-profile ''The Hunger Games'' for a one-week window day and date with the pic's March 23 wide release. Digitally re-mastered into the Imax format, the film will have a limited one-week engagement in Imax theaters. ''With this news, the release of ''The Hunger Games'' has truly become an epic event,'' said Lionsgate's Joe Drake. ''The Hunger Games'' and Imax are a match made in heaven - fans love this book because its world is so vividly imagined and seeing the film in Imax will make them feel as if they have landed right in the middle of the action.'' The pic is the first installment of the trilogy based on Suzanne Collin's bestselling novels. Earlier this week, Imax announced that Marvel and Walt Disney will release a digitally re-mastered ''The Avengers'' day and date as well on May 4. Last year, Paramount's ''Mission Impossible , Ghost Protocol'' launched in previews on Imax for five days before its wide release. Contact the Variety newsroom at news@variety.com