It’s been an interesting year at the box office. Moviegoers don’t seem to be rushing out to see franchise films like they used to while original movies have been thriving along with some other surprises. This weekend has seen a huge win for Five Nights at Freddy’s, the new PG-13 horror movie that’s based on the video game series of the same name. While some upcoming movies have been pushed back due to the SAG strike, others are moving forward with their 2023 release dates. One such film is The Hunger Games: The Ballad of Songbirds and Snakes, which is a prequel to The Hunger Games that takes place 64 years before the original story. According to Deadline, the new film is projected to earn $50 million in its opening weekend. The film cost $100 million to make.
For comparison, The Hunger Games opened to $152.5 million worldwide in 2012, The Hunger Games: Catching Fire opened to $158.1 million in 2013, The Hunger Games: Mockingjay – Part 1 earned $121.9 million in its opening weekend in 2014, and The Hunger Games: Mockingjay – Part 2 took away $102.7 million in its opening weekend in 2015.
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Who Stars In The Ballad of Songbirds and Snakes?
The Ballad of Songbirds and Snakes follows 18-year-old Coriolanus Snow (Tom Blyth) as he sees a chance for a change in fortune when he is chosen to be a mentor to Lucy Gray Baird (Rachel Zegler), the girl tribute from the impoverished District 12. In addition to Blyth and Zegler, The Ballad of Songbirds and Snakes is set to feature big names such as Viola Davis (Head Gamemaker Volumnia Gaul), Peter Dinklage (Casca Highbottom), Jason Schwartzman (Lucretius “Lucky” Flickerman), Hunter Schafer (Tigris Snow), and Josh Andrés Rivera (Sejanus Plinth).
The movie will also include Fionnula Flanagan as Grandma’am, young Coriolanus Snow’s grandmother. Isobel Jesper Jones is playing Mayfair Lipp, the daughter of the mayor of District 12. Honor Gillies will be making her professional acting debut as Barb Azure. Eike Onyambu has been cast as Tam Amber, Konstantin Taffet will be playing Clerk Carmine, Burn Gorman is Commander Hoff, Scott Folan is Beanpole, Carl Spencer is Smiley, and Michael Greco and Daniela Grubert have been cast as Strabo Plinth and Mrs. Plinth, the wealthy parents to Sejanus Plinth, Coriolanus’s best friend. Nick Benson, Laurel Marsden, Lilly Cooper, Luna Steeples, and Hiroki Berrecboth are also a part of the cast.
The Hunger Games: The Ballad of Songbirds and Snakes is set to open in theaters on November 17th.
