Dec. 20, 2023

The Hunger Games Prequel to Premiere on Digital Platforms

The Hunger Games: The Ballad of Songbirds and Snakes will be accessible on premium video on demand and premium electronic sell-through December 19th onwards, from Lionsgate. By: Dylan Low

Referencing Suzanne Collin’s novel with the same name, the prequel highlights Panem’s President Snow, set 64 years before Katniss Everdeen’s games. Tom Blyth‘s Coriolanus Snow is an Academy student with duty to mentor District 12 tribute Lucy Gray Baird, portrayed by Rachel Zegler, in the 10th annual Hunger Games. Their partnership begins a sequence of events that compels Snow to tackle instincts of good and evil. Other cast members include Peter Dinklage, Hunter Schafer, Josh Andrés Rivera, Jason Schwartzman and Viola Davis. The film is still screening in theatres today, garnering over $300 million in global revenue.

Francis Lawrence reprises his role as the film’s director, as Michael Lesslie and Michael Arndt contribute as screenwriters. In a review by notable film critic Peter Debruge, he claimed, “Much like Harry Potter, the book series whose Hollywood success made this franchise possible, the big-screen adaptations took a few false steps before hitting their stride with a single director — in this case, Francis Lawrence — who now returns to helm a prequel (far better than the Fantastic Beasts movies) that impressively expands the canon while honouring its key themes.”

 

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