Summary
The Hunger Games: The Ballad of Songbirds & Snakesreveals that a differentHunger Gamesprequel should have been made. Based on the2020 Suzanne Collins novelof the same name, the film launches audiences back to 64 years before 2012’sThe Hunger Games.Itchronicles the story of a young Coriolanus Snow— later to become the infamous President Snow — as he helps mentor District 12 firecracker Lucy Gray Baird for the 10th annual Hunger Games.
By the timeThe Ballad of Songbirds & Snakescame out, it had been eight years since theatrical audiences had last entered the world of Panem. Set so many years before the events of the original films, the only character thatSongbirdshad in common with the rest of the series was Snow. This fact was a risk, asPresident Snow is the main villain in theHunger Gamesfranchise, so the prequel would have to do a lot of work to make him sympathetic. Looking atBallad of Songbirds & Snakes, it is clear the wrong prequel was made.
The Hunger Games: The Ballad Of Songbirds & Snakes Ending Explained
The Hunger Games: The Ballad of Songbirds and Snakes ends ambiguously for one major character. We break down the prequel’s ending & what’s next.
The Film Made $337.3 Million At The Box Office
The Hunger Games: The Ballad of Songbirds & Snakesended up grossing $337.3 millionworldwide. Made on a budget of an estimated $100 million, this total was considered respectable for the film. Bringing home over three times its budget,Ballad of Songbirds & Snakesalmost certainly turned a profit. The film received mixed reviews among critics, getting a 64% Rotten Tomatoes score, but was liked by audiences overall, getting an 89% approval rating.
$408 million
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$424.6 million
$865 million
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$337.1 million
$755.3 million
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$281.7 million
$653.4 million
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The Hunger Games: The Ballad of Songbirds and Snakes(2023)
$166.3 million
$337.3 million
64%
In a vacuum,The Hunger Games: The Ballad of Songbirds & Snakes’ performance may have been solid, but it does not hold up against the other films. Theoverall box office total for the prequel represented aHunger Gamesfranchise low. The lowest-grossing film in the franchise before that wasThe Hunger Games: Mockingjay - Part 2, but even that made nearly double the total ofSongbirds & Snakes, taking home $661.4 million worldwide. Looking at these numbers, the box office forThe Ballad of Songbirds & Snakeslooks far less exciting.
Snow Was Never The Best Choice For A Hunger Games Prequel Story
President Snow Is Hard to Redeem
Part of the failure ofThe Ballad of Songbirds & Snakescomes down to the fact that Coriolanus Snow is not the strongest option when it comes to picking a protagonist for a prequel story. Going into the film, the majority of audiences will know the monster that he becomes as President Snow. Even if he has faced loss and hardship, he is still incredibly privileged to live in the Capitol. These privilegesmake his fall from innocence even less sympathetic, as it’s hard to seeSnow as a humanized, mere unfortunate victimof his situation.
Portraying Coriolanus Snow was a pretty unavoidable fate for theSongbirds & Snakescreators, given their priorities. Director Francis Lawrence and producer Nina Jacobson have both previously stated thatthe making of anyHunger Gamesfilm hinges on a story being written by author Collins. The President Snow origin story was thenovel that Collins wrote, so as such, it was the material that theHunger Gamesteam had to work with to keep their commitment of faithfulness to Collins’ world.
The Hunger Games: The Ballad of Songbirds & Snakeslacks an energy with Snow as the protagonist.The Hunger GamesandThe Hunger Games: Catching Firesucceed in the suspense that arises as viewers question whether the main character, Katniss, will survive the Hunger Games and overcome adversity. With Snow, there is no significant adversity apart from complex Capitol politics, and there is no tangible threat to his life. The latter piece, is of course, heightened by a common prequel folly, which is that a character’s presence in later chronologies removes suspense over whether they will live or die.
Hunger Games Has Better Prequel Characters From Past Movies
Past Tributes Would Have Been More Interesting To Explore
IfThe Hunger Games: The Ballad of Songbirds & Snakeshad not adhered only to Collins’ book content, there would have been a plethora of options for better prequel characters.One suchstrong option would be Haymitch Abernathy, who is Katniss’ mentor. Haymitch was the victor of the 50th Annual Hunger Games. Since then, he has fallen into a distraught alcoholic state, making him a tragic figure in the series and a good metaphor for the horrors of the Capitol.
Because of how his life has fallen apart since his Hunger Games victory, Haymitch could be a great parable for the disaster that the Hunger Games can cause. His story also takes place 24 years before the events ofThe Hunger Games. For a prequel, this would allow enough time for there to be distance from the main story while still chronicling the story of a major character whose journey is a lot easier to empathize with.
In addition to Haymitch,The Hunger Games: Catching Fireintroduces several past victors who could have their own interesting stories. Finnick Odair and Johanna Mason, winners of the 65th and 71st Hunger Games, respectively, would also provide interesting perspectives on the games. Both of them became mentors afterwinning their Hunger Games, and formed a friendship afterward. While a prequel related to either of them would be significantly closer chronologically than either a President Snow or Haymitch prequel, they are but one example of the tribute-based stories thatThe Hunger Gamesfranchise could tell.
Songbirds & Snakes' Performance Could Mean No More Prequel Movies Happen
The Future of The Hunger Games Movies Is Uncertain
The Hunger Gamesfranchise does have the opportunity for one of these such stories, even if they follow Jacobson and Lawrence’s rule about sticking to Collins’ work. Earlier this year, it was announced thatCollins was working on anotherHunger Gamesprequel book, titledSunrise on the Reaping. This prequel would follow the story of Haymitch and his battles in the Second Quarter Quell, allowing a film adaptation to cover this fascinating character.Sunrise on the Reapingwill be released next year.
That said, the performance ofThe Hunger Games: The Ballad of Songbirds & Snakescould inhibit any further prequels from being made. WhileBallad of Songbirds & Snakeswas not a huge loss for Lionsgate, it did not nearly match the totals of the previous movies. Lacking this momentum, the studio might be more hesitant to embark on anotherHunger Gamesproject. If Collins’ book is successful, this narrative could change, but for now, the future ofThe Hunger Gamesfranchiseremains uncertain.
The Hunger Games: The Ballad of Songbirds and Snakes
Cast
The Hunger Games: The Ballad of Songbirds and Snakes is a prequel movie set 64 years before the events of the original movie with Katniss Everdeen. The film centers on a young Coriolanus Snow (Tom Blyth) and shows his rise to power as the leader of Panem. Taking place during the 10th Hunger Games, Snow is tasked with mentoring Lucy Gray Baird (Rachel Zegler), the tribute from District 12.
