The Ballad of Songbirds & Snakes Was a Massive Hit Earning $44 Million in Its Opening Weekend
The opening weekend of The Hunger Games: The Ballad of Songbirds & Snakes was a success. As the movie fought its way to the top and was shown in 3,776 movie theaters, it reportedly made $44 million globally.
The movie’s lead star is Rachel Zegler who teamed up with Tom Blyth. The prequel to Jennifer Lawrence’s Hunger Games was estimated to have earned about $50 million during its pre-release. That amount quickly picked up after its premiere. It has so far grossed $99 million globally, an impressive amount given that the movie had a budget of $100 million.
Lionsgate Vice Chairman, Adam Fogelson, reported to TMZ, “We were a little lighter domestically and a little over [projections] internationally, so we’re thrilled with the result. It’ll be a great business result for the studio.”
The movie’s early success indicates that Rachel has a chance to be part of a blockbuster movie—a development that can do wonders for her career. However, she still has a long way to go compared to the original star. Jennifer Lawrence’s opening weekend in March 2012 for the first Hunger Games movie was a whopping $152.5 million.
Recall that the first four Hunger Games films were all successes. The first installment earned $694.4 million with only a budget of $78 million. In 2013, The Hunger Games: Catching Fire earned more, grossing $865 million against its budget of $140 million.
The Hunger Games: Mockingjay Part 1, released in 2014, grossed $755.4 million with a budget of $140 million. Part 2 came out the following year with a slightly lower revenue of $653.4 million, however, it was still a win considering that the budget for the movie was $160 million.
While the latest installment’s earnings during the opening weekend were lower, it’s still a feat. So far, the movie has enjoyed one of the highest opening weekends for DreamWorks Animation, especially after the March 2020 pandemic. Since most people prefer to wait for releases on Netflix and other on-demand streaming services, the movie industry has yet to bounce back after the global COVID-19 pandemic.
Other movies, namely The Marvels and Thanksgiving, are in the running to secure third place at the box office. Meanwhile, another box office hit is Five Nights At Freddy’s, a supernatural horror movie that earned about $3.5 million.
The new Hunger Games prequel is still based on the novels of Suzanne Collins. A book with the same title was released in 2020. Its movie adaptation was directed by Francis Lawrence while its screenplay was written by Michael Arndt and Michael Lesslie.
This movie sets the scene for the The Hunger Games from 2012. Alongside Jennifer Lawrence, the first Hunger Games production was headlined by Josh Hutcherson, Liam Hemsworth, Elizabeth Banks, Woody Harrelson, Lenny Kravitz, Donald Sutherland, and Stanley Tucci. The story is set six decades before the first Hunger Games film and narrates the downfall of President Snow.
