The Hunger Games: The Ballad of Songbirds and Snakes earned a serviceable box office take for a prequel. It brought in $337.4 million on a $100 million budget. That’s impressive enough, but it remains the weakest return of the franchise. Its budget comes in below that of all but the first entry, but it still barely eclipsed half of Mockingjay – Part 2‘s financial take. Don’t let the mild return scare you, because Songbirds and Snakes still has a home in home viewing.
The Hunger Games Prequel is Dominating Hulu and Amazon
The Hunger Games: A Ballad of Songbirds and Snakes adapts the 2020 novel of the same name. It’s a prequel that tells the story of young Coriolanus Snow, the antagonist of the original films. Snow is the fascist dictator of the dystopian post-war state of Panem. Songbirds and Snakes finds him in a more humble position. He occupies the lowest rung of high society, operating on a dozen lies to stay away from poverty. His opportunity to ascend hinges on his participation in this year’s Hunger Games. Snow must guide a teen prisoner through the fight, but his newfound fascination with the poor girl alters his judgment. It’s a strange drama about the ups and downs of life at the top. We’re meant to watch the troubled anti-hero gradually grow into the monster we know from the other films. It aims high and misses noticeably.
The Hunger Games franchise was certainly big enough to carry its prequel beyond the realm of normal popularity. It is not, however, the massive box office juggernaut it was in the 2010s. Other young adult films have the same story. The Wizarding World franchise emerged after a five-year nap with the Fantastic Beasts movies, but they didn’t exactly break any records. The latest Fantastic Beasts thing earned just under half of its closest competitor’s box office take. It’s fair to say that the boom period that brought names like Harry Potter, Twilight, and The Hunger Games to prominence is over. I think it could return if the right book series hits the screen, but it’s dormant for now. Songbirds and Snakes felt like an attempt to check the temperature for a return to form. Based on its performance, studios will have to find a new cash cow.
Songbirds and Snakes is the #1 film on Hulu worldwide and the #6 film on Amazon Prime Video. It has viewers in Latin America and the United States to thank for its current performance. It’s a decent experience, especially for fans of the franchise. The script is bizarre, the story lacks subtlety, and the action is a little off-putting, but the supporting cast rules. Newcomers won’t get much out of it, but The Ballad of Songbirds and Snakes delivers a worthwhile trip to the golden era of YA entertainment.
