Box Office: ‘Hunger Games: Ballad of Songbirds & Snakes’ Makes $5.75 Million in Previews

Welcome back to the “Hunger Games,” and may the box office odds be ever in your favor.

The latest movie in the Lionsgate YA action franchise, “The Hunger Games: The Ballad of Songbirds and Snakes,” has made $5.75 million in previews at the box office. The prequel expected to make around $50 million in its debut this weekend, with some prediction as high as $60 million and some lower at $45 million.

“The Ballad of Songbirds and Snakes,” directed by Francis Lawrence and based on the 2020 novel of the same name by “Hunger Games” author Suzanne Collins, is the franchise’s first movie in eight years. It jumps back more than 60 years to show what happened at the 10th Hunger Games and follows a young Corioloanus Snow, who would later become president of Panem and make Katniss Everdeen’s life miserable.

The prequel won’t reach the same heights that the original, massively popular “Hunger Games” movies did in the 2010s, but it should stand to do well at the box office. It’s predicted to make $50 million internationally for a worldwide opening of around $100 million, and the film came with a $100 million price tag. The original “Hunger Games” debuted to $152 million in 2012, followed by 2013’s “Catching Fire” ($158 million), 2014’s “Mockingjay Part 1” ($121 million) and 2015’s “Mockingjay Part 2” ($102 million).

The “Ballad of Songbirds and Snakes” cast includes Tom Blyth as Coriolanus, Rachel Zegler as Hunger Games contestant Lucy Gray Baird, Hunter Schafer, Peter Dinklage, Viola Davis, Jason Schwartzman and more.

Also stepping into the box office arena are Universal’s animated musical “Trolls Band Together” and Sony’s horror “Thanksgiving.” The “Trolls” sequel made $1.3 million in previews and is expected to make $30 million in its opening. Eli Roth’s Turkey Day slasher made $1 million in previews and is projected for $12 million to $14 million. Last week’s box office champ, Disney’s “The Marvels,” is predicted to drop to $21 million to $23 million in its second weekend.