Hordes of Hunger Games fans have an appetite for merchandise and social media marketing

Knowing that diehards will see the movie out of loyalty to the book series helped Lionsgate keep its marketing budget at $45 million. John Longo, who teaches stock valuation and market psychology at Rutgers Business School, said the hype has made an impression on Wall Street, too. Lionsgate Entertainment Group’s stock price soared to a 52-week high as the studio shows signs of reaping big rewards with its newest franchise. Yesterday the stock closed trading for $14.55, up nearly 90 percent this year.