Winning the Hunger Games gives you a quite a pay raise

Winning the Hunger Games earns you a lot of money — around $10 million worth. According to The Hollywood Reporter, that's how much Hunger Games star Jennifer Lawrence will earn in the upcoming sequel Catching Fire. In comparison, Lawrence — who plays antagonist Katniss Everdeen — earned only $500 thousand upfront for the first film, with additional bonuses based on box-office performance. Needless to say, performance was through the roof, as The Hunger Games grossed $683.8 million worldwide.

Lionsgate recognized that it has a star that is going to carry the next three films, and it paid her accordingly. You can bet if Catching Fire does well that she'll receive even more money for both parts of Mockingjay — the final book in the series which is being planned as two films.

Co-stars Josh Hutcherson and Liam Hemsworth are both getting raises, as well. But their raises are no where near the increase that Jennifer Lawrence received.

The Hunger Games: Catching Fire starts filming in September. Director Francis Lawrence is replacing Gary Ross, who didn't want to rush a sequel. Catching Fire is planned for a November 22, 2013 release.

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