Image Courtesy: YouTube/ Lionsgate Movies
Key Highlights
-
The Hunger Games: Sunrise on the Reaping set for release on November 20, 2026 -
The film is adapted from Suzanne Collins’ upcoming book, releasing in 2025
Excellent news for Hunger Games fans! A new prequel film, The Hunger Games: Sunrise on the Reaping, will be released in theaters on November 20, 2026. It is based on Suzanne Collins’ upcoming novel, which will be released in 2025 as per Variety.
Success of ‘The Ballad of Songbirds and Snakes’
The decision to create another prequel comes after the success of the previous one, The Ballad of Songbirds and Snakes. It earned $337 million at the box office after being released in November of last year. Despite not reaching the heights of the original Hunger Games series, the film was profitable for Lionsgate, costing only $100 million to produce. The studio was encouraged to continue exploring the world of Panem after receiving such positive feedback.
Returning to Panem: The Second Quarter Quell
The Hunger Games: Sunrise on the Reaping will return to Panem 24 years before the original series and 40 years after The Ballad of Songbirds and Snakes. The story will begin on the morning of the reaping in the 50th Hunger Games, also known as the Second Quarter Quell.
This event is significant because it is when Haymitch Abernathy, played by Woody Harrelson in the original series, competes. Haymitch eventually becomes an important character, mentoring Katniss Everdeen and Peeta Mellark during the 74th Hunger Games.
Suzanne Collins’ vision and collaboration
Adam Fogelson, chairman of Lionsgate’s motion picture group, expressed enthusiasm for continuing to work with Suzanne Collins. “The film opened an endless series of possibilities that Suzanne can go, and that [Lionsgate] can go with her,” he stated.
Fogelson also called Collins “a master storyteller and our creative north star.” He stated, “We couldn’t be more fortunate than to be guided and trusted by a collaborator whose talent and imagination are so consistently brilliant.”
Francis Lawrence, the director of every Hunger Games film since 2012’s Catching Fire, is in talks to direct the new prequel. Lionsgate’s production will be overseen by Meredith Wieck and Scott O’Brien, with Patricia Laucella and Phil Strina managing the book’s rights.
The Hunger Games film franchise has grossed more than $3.3 billion at the worldwide box office. The highest-grossing film, Catching Fire, earned $865 million. Although, The Ballad of Songbirds and Snakes did not meet these expectations.
Continuation of a beloved franchise
The prequel, The Ballad of Songbirds and Snakes, laid the groundwork for subsequent stories. It took place 64 years before Katniss Everdeen’s story and starred Tom Blyth as a young Coriolanus Snow and Rachel Zegler as Lucy Gray Baird, a District 12 tribute. The film concludes with Snow beginning his ruthless rise to power, leaving Lucy Gray’s fate uncertain.
This successful franchise expansion prompted Lionsgate to greenlight Sunrise on the Reaping. The new novel and film will delve into the pivotal event of the Second Quarter Quell, revealing more about Panem’s dark history and Haymitch Abernathy’s early years.
Disclaimer: The box office figures are compiled from Variety and our own research. The figures can be approximate and Pinkvilla does not make any claims about the authenticity of the data. However, they are adequately indicative of the box-office performance of the film(s).
