100 Things You Didn't Know About The Hunger Games

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1. The 'Hunger Games' set had 100-degree heat and bears.

2. The lead characters are contracted for the entire franchise.

3. The movie cost $90 milion to make, reduced to $78 million after subsidies.

4. Elizabeth Banks, who played District 12 escort Effie Trinket, said the worst part of her costume was the lengthy bejeweled nails because she couldn't unbutton herself or even go to the bathroom without assistance.

5. Lenny Kravitz and Jennifer Lawrence knew each other before the film, which added chemistry between their characters.

6. Actor Stanley Tucci donned a spray tan and lots of makeup and wore a bright blue wig, blue eyebrows and false teeth to portray the host of 'The Hunger Games', Caesar Flickerman in the film.

7. Half-thawed blueberries were used in the film to portray nightlock, a poisonous berry so deadly it kills those who consume it in less than a minute.

8. Fans have combined the names of Katniss and her love interest, Peeta, giving them the shipping name "Peeniss".

9. Actor Josh Hutcherson read the entire trilogy in five days to prepare for his role as Peeta.

10. Most of the movie was shot in the woods of North Carolina, especially in and around Charlotte and Asheville.

11. The film holds the record for the fifth-best opening day ever, bringing in a whopping $68.3 million (including $19.7 million for midnight showings).

12. The chances of their book sequels 'Catching Fire' and 'Mockingjay' being converted into films depended on the money the first movie made. Due to the success of the first movie, 'Catching Fire' is now being produced.

13. The film's costume designers made a minimum of 1,800 elaborate costumes for the citizens of the Capitol.

14. More than 35 full-time makeup artists were needed to work on the main characters and over 500 extras.

15. Taylor Swift contributed two songs to the soundtrack: "Eyes Open" and "Safe & Sound" featuring The Civil Wars.

16. Actor Alexander Ludwig gained 30 to 40 pounds in order to play the role of Cato.

17. Author Suzanne Collins came up with the idea for the book after watching footage of the invasion of Iraq and a reality TV show. The two ideas combined to form "The Hunger Games."

18. "The Hunger Games" has been translated into 26 different languages.

19. Emma Roberts, Hailee Steinfeld, Saoirse Ronan, Abigail Breslin and Chloe Grace Moretz also auditioned for the role of Katniss.

20. Tickets went on sale four weeks before the premiere, and sales broke the record held by The Twilight Saga: Eclipse for the most advance tickets sold in one day, and accounted for 83% of total sales that day.

21. Actor Wes Bentley revealed that the strange beard he sported when playing Seneca Crane was made entirely from his own beard, not from fake hair.

22. Liam Hemsworth and Jennifer Lawrence, both natural blondes, dyed their hair brown for the film, while naturally dark-haired Josh Hutcherson dyed his hair blonde.

23. Director Gary Ross chose to include shaky camera work to reflect the urgency of the situation in the arena and the protagonist's point of view.

24. The name of the fictional nation, Panem, is derived from "Panem et Circenses," or "Bread and Circuses," which refers to the later days of the Roman Empire when the government kept the people satisfied by providing violent entertainment instead of carrying out public services.