The Hunger Games: The Ballad of Songbirds & Snakes

''The Hunger Games: The Ballad of Songbirds & Snakes'' is a 2023 American dystopian action film directed by Francis Lawrence from a screenplay by Michael Lesslie and Michael Arndt, based on the 2020 novel of the same name by Suzanne Collins. It is the fifth installment in ''The Hunger Games'' franchise and is a prequel to ''The Hunger Games'' (2012). The film stars Tom Blyth, Rachel Zegler, Peter Dinklage, Jason Schwartzman, Hunter Schafer, Josh Andrés Rivera, and Viola Davis. In the film, Coriolanus Snow (Blyth) is called on to mentor Lucy Gray Baird (Zegler), a Games tribute, as he seeks to restore his family's prosperity in Panem.

Lionsgate Films CEO Jon Feltheimer confirmed future ''Hunger Games'' films would be produced if Collins wrote further installments. In 2019, the studio announced plans for ''Songbirds & Snakes'' and official development on the film began a year later, with Lawrence returning as director and Leslie and Ardnt serving as screenwriters. Blyth and Zegler were cast in May 2022 and principal photography began that July and lasted until that November, with filming locations including Wrocław, Berlin, and Leipzig.

''The Hunger Games: The Ballad of Songbirds & Snakes'' premiered in Berlin on November 5, 2023, and was theatrically released in the United States on November 17. The film received mixed reviews from critics, with praise for its cast and story, but criticism for its execution. It grossed $337.4 million worldwide against a production budget of $100 million, making ''The Hunger Games'' series the 20th-highest-grossing film franchise of all time, having grossed $3.3 billion worldwide.

A sequel based on the forthcoming novel, ''Sunrise on the Reaping'', is set to be released on November 20, 2026. Provided by Wikipedia