Summary
-
The Hunger Games
prequel,
The Ballad of Songbirds and Snakes
, will be available for streaming on STARZ starting May 14. - Despite being the lowest-grossing installment in
The Hunger Games
franchise,
The Ballad of Songbirds and Snakes
is considered a box office success. - The future of
The Hunger Games
franchise remains uncertain as new content depends on author Suzanne Collins.
The Hunger Games: The Ballad of Songbirds and Snakes finally gets a streaming release date. The Hunger Games prequel was originally released in theaters on November 17, 2023. Following the coming-of-age story of a young Coriolanus Snow before he became the better-known President Snow, The Ballad of Songbirds and Snakes features leading cast of Tom Blyth, Rachel Zegler, Viola Davis, Hunter Schafer, and Peter Dinklage.
As per Collider, the streaming release date for The Hunger Games: The Ballad of Songbirds and Snakes has been revealed. The Ballad of Songbirds and Snakes will be available to stream starting on May 14. The film will debut exclusively on the STARZ app at 9pm EST and will be available to view on the platform from that point forward.
What Is The Future of The Hunger Games Franchise?
Suzanne Collins Has Not Written Additional Books Beyond Ballad Of Songbirds & Snakes.
Ballad of Songbirds and Snakes
director Francis Lawrence and producer Nina Jacobson have previously said that they will only make another
Hunger Games
film with Collins’ story and blessing, so the lack of a new book likely means another movie will not be arriving soon.
The news of a streaming release comes after the movie’s initial success in theaters nearly five months ago. The prequel earned $337.3 million at the global box office during its run this past fall. While that did mean that the latest installment significantly underperformed from all the main films in The Hunger Games franchise, it was considered a box office success. That is because the movie was a prequel, had largely separate characters from the originals, and was the first release in the franchise in eight years.
|
Hunger Games Movies |
Domestic Box Office Total |
Global Box Office Total |
|---|---|---|
|
The Hunger Games (2012) |
$408,010,692 |
$694,394,724 |
|
The Hunger Games: Catching Fire (2013) |
$424,668,047 |
$865,011,746 |
|
The Hunger Games: Mockingjay Part 1 (2014) |
$337,135,885 |
$755,356,711 |
|
The Hunger Games: Mockingjay Part 2 (2015) |
$281,723,902 |
$653,428,261 |
|
The Hunger Games: The Ballad of Songbirds and Snakes (2023) |
$166,350,594 |
$337,371,917 |
Thus, The Ballad of Songbirds and Snakes will probably be successful upon its streaming release. It is somewhat odd that the film is releasing on STARZ, as the film is higher-profile and the streamer is one of the less-popular streaming platforms. Given the box office performance, however, a number of viewers will likely be driven to catch the Hunger Games prequel at home.
Now that the prequel has a streaming release date, it begs the question of what is next for The Hunger Games franchise. As of yet, author Suzanne Collins has only written four books — The Hunger Games, Catching Fire, Mockingjay, and The Ballad of Songbirds and Snakes — for the literary franchise. Ballad of Songbirds and Snakes director Francis Lawrence and producer Nina Jacobson have previously said that they will only make another Hunger Games film with Collins’ story and blessing, so the lack of a new book likely means another movie will not be arriving soon.
The Hunger Games Franchise’s Complete Timeline Explained
The Hunger Games franchise contains five movies, and their timeline spans decades, capturing the early iterations of the Games and their eventual end.
There is still room for growth in the franchise if Collins were to consider more content. The ending of The Hunger Games: The Ballad of Songbirds and Snakes leaves Lucy Gray Baird’s fate uncertain, meaning that even the character could appear in more movies. If the film is a streaming hit, perhaps Collins might just brainstorm another Hunger Games story to craft.
Source: Collider