Lions Gate Entertainment Wednesday reported a 71 per cent increase in revenue in its most recent quarter, in part because of the launch of its much-anticipated dystopian film, The Hunger Games.

Revenue in the three months ending in March rose to $645.2 million, compared with $376.9 million in the same period in 2011.

Lions Gate said the increase was driven in part by the first eight days of theatrical revenue from The Hunger Games, as well as the home entertainment release of The Twilight Saga: Breaking Dawn — Part 1 and strong television and library revenues.

The Hunger Games — based on the first instalment of the bestselling young adult book trilogy by Suzanne Collins — is set in a post-apocalyptic America ruled by a ruthless government where chosen teens must battle to the death.

But when the company accounted for costs associated with its acquisition of Summit Entertainment, it ended the period with a net loss of $22.7 million.

For the full year, Lions Gate had revenue of $1.59 billion and a net loss of $39.1 million.

CEO Jon Feltheimer called it a “milestone year,” given that “substantially all of the profitability” of The Hunger Games and The Twilight Saga are still ahead for the firm.

Lions Gate was founded in Vancouver in 1997 and still has its headquarters there, although its operations are based in Santa Monica, Ca.