The Hunger Games: Catching Fire is almost here and we're so excited we might just burst. The sequel to 2012's The Hunger Games will revisit Katniss Everdeen and the people of Panem in what promises to be the action movie of the year. The first film grossed close to $700 million (£450million) worldwide, which cemented its place as the ninth highest earner of 2012.

The Hunger Games
The Sequel Promises To Be Even More Overblown Than The Original.

After the colossal success of The Hunger Games came to light, it was only natural that Lionsgate would plough even more money into its sequel with the promise of virtually guaranteed success. Indeed, Catching Fire is expected to outperform its predecessor when it is released from the 22nd November.

A reported budget in excess of $130 million was spent on the high spec second adaptation of Suzanne Collins' monstrously popular novel trilogy. This budget-blowing figure dwarfs the amount spent on the original which is said to be in the region of $78 million (£48.6m) with $10 million on special effects alone, according to Yahoo! News.

Watch The 'The Hunger Games: Catching Fire' Trailer:

This vastly increased figure is apparently not a normal procedure for a film studio and indicates that Catching Fire has gone massively over budget. However, fans may feel assured that the large budget spent shows that Lionsgate were fully backing the movie and that no costs have been spared making it as spectacular as possible.

As with the Twilight, The Hobbit and Harry Potter movies, the third of Collins' novels, Mockingjay, will be split into two movies to ensure as much detail is packed in to the story's climactic finale. Jennifer Lawrence will reprise her role as heroine Katniss in Catching Fire, and will be joined by returning cast members Josh Hutcherson, Liam Hemsworth, Woody Harrelson and Lenny Kravitz.

New faces on the cast will include Philip Seymour Hoffman, who plays gamemaker Plutarch Heavensbee, and Sam Claflin, who plays Finnick Odair and Katniss' love interest. It has also been announced that Julianne Moore will be joining the franchise for its final two instalments, expected on release in 2014 and 2015.

The Hunger Games: Catching Fire will be released from the 22nd November worldwide after premiering in London on the 11th November.

Katniss Hunger Games
Jennifer Lawrence Will Reprise Her Role As Katniss In 'The Hunger Games: Catching Fire.'