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Tag: The Ballad Of Songbirds And Snakes

  • ‘Wish’ Underperforms as ‘Hunger Games’ and ‘Napoleon Surprise at the Box Office

    ‘Wish’ Underperforms as ‘Hunger Games’ and ‘Napoleon Surprise at the Box Office

    The fall box office is rough, that’s certainly sure now. Though, not for everyone. In a surprise twist, The Hunger Games: The Ballad of Songbirds and Snakes seemingly pulled in a stronger second weekend than expected even with a B+ CinemaScore; further adding to its validity for telling movie’s legs nowadays given Five Nights at Freddy’s had an A- and just crashed in its second weekend. However, the film was also promoted by its cast before the premiere due to getting a waiver during the strikes,w which likely gave it a bit of a boost. It added $28.8M over the weekend (a 38% drop) and generally had a $42M run over the Thanksgiving holiday.

    The Marvels‘ managed to pull in $6.4M over the weekend with $9.2M in the holidays, which is putting it on a path to be the first MCU film to make less than $100M. Still, a 37% drop after its first massive drop is a much better hold than Ant-Man and the Wasp: Quantumania’s 60% and The Flash’s 65%. If it manages to surprise and hold a bit better it could still surprise but that just depends on if Marvel Studios and Disney decided to drop it before Christmas as an early gift for subscribers (which wouldn’t be new for them). Plus it had quite a bit of competition with two new releases and the other three from last weekend. Not going to change much but still worth noting.

    The true disappointment of the weekend is, however, that Disney’s 100-year celebration release Wish only earned $35M over the weekend and pulled in $45M in the Thanksgiving timeframe. It’s miles ahead of Strange World from last year which opened to $18M, but it’s definitely not close to where Encanto was two years prior. It only opened in 27 markets overseas, which means its global tally is $49M as most of the slate this year has underperformed with very high budgets and the fall doesn’t come with that summer bonus. It does have an A- CinemaScore but glancing at Hunger Games and Five Nights at Freddy’s, who knows how valuable that really is.

    It may be a general issue with Disney+ showcasing a similar effect with Five Nights at Freddy’s second-weekend drop. If Wish faces a similar development, it showcases that audiences are going to need some time before they adjust to the new non-45-day release schedule on streaming platforms. Plus, Disney turned its own films into “wait and see” releases with its overall push into streaming. It’ll take time and focus to heal, which will likely happen but has shown its thorns in 2023; an overall detrimental year for blockbuster releases.

    The surprise was Napoleon who opened to $78.8M worldwide and had a $21M weekend opening with $32.5M over its first five days. Yet, it continues the trend of a $200M budget for a film that is massively underperforming to cover its bill similar to Martin Scorsese’s Killers of the Flower Moon, which stands at $151M globally. The comparison with superhero flicks is commonly that those are made for all age audiences and is also a point made by Variety, but given that many point to Oppenheimer as the “cinematic revival” of long-films with R ratings doing well at the box office: the point becomes far more difficult as that film’s success is looking more and more like an exception.

    One thing continues to dominate the box office: it is struggling and while Comscore analyst Paul Dergarabedian points out that it’s doing better than the last few years and sees it as “encouraging,” it’s very likely that studios are going to avoid this timeslot moving forward if things don’t change with high-budget releases. The fall box office is looking grim overall, as even the second entry to the billion-dollar Aquaman and the Lost Kingdom is going to premiere quite low and who knows if it’ll actually enjoy a holiday boost given just how volatile this year has been.

    Source: Variety Deadline, Deadline

  • ‘Hunger Games’ Prequel Opens to Franchise Low as ‘The Marvels’ Hits Record Low for Genre

    ‘Hunger Games’ Prequel Opens to Franchise Low as ‘The Marvels’ Hits Record Low for Genre

    Seems that the fall cinematic line-up is having a hard time picking up with even pandemic standards. We’ve seen a number of projects flounder at the box office that would’ve been surefire wins but are barely even managing to open to 50M or falling below initial projections. The only exception was the fan-frontloaded Five Nights at Freddy’s that swiftly plummeted in its second weekend.

    The same effect is hitting The Marvels which had the franchise’s lowest opening and now seemingly the lowest second weekend as well. Promotion by the cast only slowly started throughout the week, which was hopeful to give the film some room to improve a bit but it’s not seemingly working.

    Predictions saw that the new releases wouldn’t have too much of an audience overlap, but it also just seems like audiences aren’t really coming back for a second weekend this fall. If The Hunger Games prequel faces a similar drop in its second weekend with a B+ score, we might be looking at a really rough fall release schedule ahead.

    Expectations were that The Marvels from The Numbers’ prediction would land at $20,4M in its second weekend with a soft drop of 56% and their algorithms are pretty on point, as The Ballad of Songbirds and Snakes is heading towards their predicted $45M after many even claimed it could go as high as $60M. That would place it slightly lower than even The Marvels with the only caveat being it has a $100M price tag.

    So, it’ll be interesting to see if that second weekend drop is going to stand out or not. Even many try to put a selective positive spin on what amounts to the worst opening in The Hunger Games franchise with this opening being about a third of the original Hunger Games that opened to 152M back in 2012. The production budget is a fair point to this not being a bad opener but still oddly how different the framing is compared to last weekend.

    The Marvels opened to 2.8M on Friday, and unless it suddenly gets a pick up it’ll likely fall under $10M which could post it towards the worst second weekend after this year’s Ant-Man and the Wasp: Quantumania. Even Eternals had a stronger hold on a B CinemaScore during the pandemic, but perhaps we’re seeing more and more the Cost of Living Crisis affect audiences’ decisions on middling word-of-mouth and an eventual streaming release.

    The only thing will be if this film ends up making $100M domestically, as of now the film could’ve either gone the same direction as Elemental and surprised with a stronger hold or ended up dropping like The Flash. Now, it’s even lower than that as it dropped around 72% in its second weekend. That means the film is likely not going to hit 100M domestically. So we could be looking at a lower than $200M box office run if the international box office sees a similar development.

    It’s even lower than BoxOffice Pro, which had it at around 16M though for The Marvels. Promotion started this week and only gave the film a bit of energy going into the weekend, but it’s definitely hard to make up for lost time that swiftly. There’s of course the hope it would make a dent and perhaps hold it going into its second weekend but we’ll have to see how the coming weeks go for the franchise.

    One thing to note as THR points out, Hunger Games and the new Trolls film both skewed heavily female and there’s a good chance that that is what took a big chunk out of the latest MCU release. It had a much stronger reception with female audiences and that would’ve been the ones to keep it going but with not one but two films released hitting that demographic, it may have been a poor placing on Disney’s part as well with decent word-of-mouth not being enough to carry it through the current prices and competition.

    Source: Variety, The Numbers, The Numbers (Hunger Games), Box Office Pro, THR

  • ‘The Hunger Games: The Ballad of Songbirds and Snakes’ Wraps Production

    ‘The Hunger Games: The Ballad of Songbirds and Snakes’ Wraps Production

    Actress Rachel Zegler has announced that production has wrapped on The Hunger Games: The Ballad of Songbirds and Snakes. Zegler, who plays Lucy Gray Baird in the film, shared two images of herself with the film’s clapperboard on set.

    “Many, many, many more words come to mind but I shan’t bore you by pretending I have anything new to offer you with my thoughts,” she tweeted. “Just know I am thankful. Just know I love telling stories. Just know I am so happy with real life. Happy wrap, my songbirds.”

    The film is directed by Francis Lawrence, who helmed three of the Hunger Games films. It was first announced by Lionsgate as part of its Cinema Con presentation back in April. He directs the from a script by the book’s author Suzanne Collins, Michael Arndt (Catching Fire), and Michael Lesslie. The Ballad of Songbirds and Snakes tells the story of Coriolanus Snow at the age of eighteen as he prepares to enter the Hunger Games

    The Ballad of Songbirds and Snakes will be produced by franchise producer Nina Jacobson and her partner Brad Simpson, as well as Lawrence. Collins, who penned The Hungers Games books, will also serve as an executive producer alongside Tim Palen and Jim Miller. The film is set to hit theaters on Nov. 17, 2023.

    Source: Twitter.

  • ‘The Ballad of Songbirds and Snakes’ Rounds Out Cast With Fionnula Flanagan and 10 More

    ‘The Ballad of Songbirds and Snakes’ Rounds Out Cast With Fionnula Flanagan and 10 More

    The Hunger Games: The Ballad of Songbirds and Snakes, a prequel that will follow 18-year-old Cornelius Snow in the 10th Annual Hunger Games, has added eleven actors to its roster. Tony Award nominee Fionnula Flanagan, as well as Isobel Jesper Jones, Flora Li Thiemann, Honor Gillies, Eike Onyambu, Konstantin Taffet, Burn Gorman, Scott Folan, Carl Spencer, Michael Greco, and Daniela Grubert have joined the cast.

    The film is led by Tom Blyth, who will play a young Coriolanus Snow, and Rachel Zegler, who plays tribute Lucy Gray Baird from the impoverished District 12. Other announced stars include Josh Andrés Rivera, Peter Dinklage, Hunter Schafer, Jerome Lance, Ashley Liao, Knox Gibson, Mackenzie Lansing, Aamer Husain, Nick Benson, Laurel Marsden, Lilly Cooper, Luna Steeples, Hiroki Berrecloth, Jason Schwartzman, and Viola Davis.

    Flanagan has signed on to play Grandma’am, young Coriolanus Snow’s strict grandmother. Jones will play Mayfair Lipp, the daughter of the mayor of District 12. Thiemann will portray Livia Carden, mentor to a tribute from District 1. Meanwhile, Gillies, Onyambu, and Taffet have all signed on as Barb Azure, Tam Amber, and Clerk Carmine – members of the Convey, a group of nomads in District 12. Additionally, Gorman, Folan, and Spencer will be portraying Commander Hoff, Beanpole, and Smiley – Peacekeepers sent by the Capitol to District 12. Lastly, Greco and Grubert are set to portray Strabo Plinth and Mrs. Plinth, wealthy parents to Sejanus Plinth, Coriolanus’s best friend.

    The Ballad of Songbirds and Snakes was written by Hunger Games writer Suzanne Collins and was published in 2020. The book is set 64 years before the events of the Hunger Games. The film is directed by Francis Lawrence, who helmed the franchise’s Catching Fire, Mockingjay Part One, and Mockingjay Part Two. The most recent screenplay for the film has been developed by Michael Lesslie and the film is currently set to be released in theaters on November 17, 2023.

    Source: Deadline

  • ‘The Hunger Games’ Prequel Adds ‘Game of Thrones’ Alumni

    ‘The Hunger Games’ Prequel Adds ‘Game of Thrones’ Alumni

    Lionsgate’s The Hunger Games: The Ballad of Songbirds and Snakes has added yet another impressive name to its cast. Deadline reports that Game of Thrones alumni Peter Dinklage has joined the cast as Casca Highbottom, who is the dean of the Academy.

    “Dean Highbottom is one of the most powerful people in Snow’s life. As the austere and vindictive face of the games, he sets the rules that will determine every aspect of Coriolanus’s fate. I’m thrilled that Peter will be bringing him to life,” director Francis Lawrence said in a statement to Deadline.

    Dinklage joins a cast led by Tom Blyth, who will play the young Coriolanus Snow, and Rachel Zegler, who plays tribute Lucy Gray Baird. Also starring in the film are Josh Andrés Rivera, Hunter Schafer, Jerome Lance, Ashley Liao, Knox Gibson, Mackenzie Lansing, Aamer Husain, Nick Benson, Laurel Marsden, Lilly Cooper, Luna Steeples, Hiroki Berrecloth and Jason Schwartzman. Production on the Hunger Games prequel is currently underway, with the film slated to hit theaters next year.

    “With production underway, we couldn’t be more excited about the way this cast has come together and thrilled to be welcoming Peter Dinklage to Panem. Peter is not just a fan favorite actor who brings a commanding presence to every part he plays,” Nathan Kahane, President of Lionsgate’s Motion Picture Group told Deadline. “He is one of the best actors alive. He will bring a formidable, charismatic authority to the important role of the dean of the Academy.”

    The Hunger Games: The Ballad of Songbirds and Snakes follows an  18-year-old Coriolanus Snow, long before he became the president of Panem, as he becomes the last hope for his fading lineage, a once-proud family that has fallen from grace in a post-war Capitol. With the 10th annual Hunger Games approaching, Snow is alarmed to find he’s assigned to mentor Lucy Gray Baird, a young girl from District 12 – the same district Katniss is from in the original series. Like Katniss, Lucy is defiant, but Snow finds a way to turn the odds in their favor as they race to survive and ultimately reveal who is a songbird, and who is a snake.

    The film will be released into theaters on Nov. 17th, 2023.

    Source: Deadline

  • Jason Schwartzman the Latest to Board Prequel to ‘The Hunger Games’

    Jason Schwartzman the Latest to Board Prequel to ‘The Hunger Games’

    The Hunger Games: The Ballad of Songbirds and Snakes has added yet another actor to its growing cast. Jason Schwartzman joins the cast as Lucretius “Lucky” Flickerman. Not only is the character the host of the 10th Hunger Games, but he is also an ancestor of Caesar Flickerman’s, who we saw played by Stanley Tucci in The Hunger Games franchise. Schwartzman joins the previously announced Tom Blyth as Coriolanus Snow, Hunter Schafer as Tigris Snow, Josh Andres Rivera as Sejanus Plinth, and Rachel Zegler as Lucy Gray. 

    The Ballad of Songbirds and Snakes is a prequel to The Hunger Games films and is based on the book of the same name. Francis Lawrence, who helmed three of the four Hunger Games films, is returning to direct the prequel. He directs from a script by Michael Lesslie (Macbeth).

    The synopsis for the film is as follows:

    Years before he would become the tyrannical President of Panem, 18-year-old Coriolanus Snow is the last hope for his fading lineage, a once-proud family that has fallen from grace in a post-war Capitol. With the 10th annual Hunger Games fast approaching, the young Snow is alarmed when he is assigned to mentor Lucy Gray Baird, the girl tribute from impoverished District 12. But, after Lucy Gray commands all of Panem’s attention by defiantly singing during the reaping ceremony, Snow thinks he might be able to turn the odds in their favor. Uniting their instincts for showmanship and newfound political savvy, Snow and Lucy’s race against time to survive will ultimately reveal who is a songbird and a snake.

    The Ballad of Songbirds and Snakes will be produced by franchise producer Nina Jacobson and her partner Brad Simpson, as well as Lawrence. Suzanne Collins, who penned The Hungers Games books, will also serve as an executive producer alongside Tim Palen and Jim Miller. Production on the film is currently underway for a planned Nov. 17, 2023 release.

    Source: THR

  • Josh Andrés Rivera Joins ‘The Hunger Games’ Prequel

    Josh Andrés Rivera Joins ‘The Hunger Games’ Prequel

    The upcoming Hunger Games prequel film has been quite busy with casting. We got the big casting of Rachel Zegler in the leading role of Lucy Gray Baird. She’s the songbird in the title of the prequel, The Ballad of Songbirds and Snakes. Tom Blyth has also been cast in the title role of Coriolanus Snow, who would eventually grow into the antagonist of the original Hunger Games. Now, they’ve added an additional member.

    Josh Andrés Rivera has joined the cast in the role of Sejanus Plinth. It marks a reunion for the actor who also appeared in West Side Story alongside Zegler. He’s taking on the role of Plinth, who is a close friend to Snow and also the mentor for the tribute from District 2, who will be played by Jerome Lance.

    The film has been busy casting as they are preparing to start produciton. Just recently, they added five new members to the cast which includes the previously mentioned Lance alongside Know Gibson, Aamar Husain, Ashley Liao, and Mackenzie Lansing. The cast is coming together and it’s going to be exciting to see how they welcome viewers back to the franchise with Snow’s younger years.

    Source: Deadline

  • ‘The Ballad of Songbirds and Snakes’ Adds 5 in Key Roles

    ‘The Ballad of Songbirds and Snakes’ Adds 5 in Key Roles

    The Hunger Games: The Ballad of Songbirds and Snakes, a prequel that will follow 18-year-old Cornelius Snow in the 10th Annual Hunger Games, has added five actors to its roster. Knox Gibson, Aamer Husain, Jerome Lance, Mackenzie Lansing and Ashley Liao have joined the film as either tributes or mentors. They join the already announced Rachel Zegler, who will play tribute Lucy Gray Baird, and Tom Blyth, who will play Snow.

    Liao signed on to play Clemensia Dovecote, a mentor from District 11 and a close friend of Snow. Husain will play Felix Ravinstill, another mentor to a District 11 tribute, while Gibson, Lance and Lansing all signed on as tributes from other Districts.

    The Ballad of Songbirds and Snakes was written by Hunger Games writer Suzanne Collins and was published in 2020. The book is set 64 years before the events of the Hunger Games. The screenplay for the film has been developed by Michael Lesslie and the film is currently set to be released in theaters on November 17, 2023.

    Source: Deadline

  • ‘West Side Story’s Rachel Zegler Joins ‘The Hunger Games’ Prequel

    ‘West Side Story’s Rachel Zegler Joins ‘The Hunger Games’ Prequel

    It looks like the rumors surrounding Rachel Zegler‘s next major production were real as Variety has just broken the news that she will be joining the upcoming The Hunger Games prequel, The Ballad of Songbirds and Snakes. The actress recently teased that she may have a role with a tweet last Monday night where the first letters spell out the main character’s name, Lucy Gray Baird.

    https://twitter.com/rachelzegler?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw%7Ctwcamp%5Etweetembed%7Ctwterm%5E1531244647510683649%7Ctwgr%5E%7Ctwcon%5Es1_&ref_url=https%3A%2F%2Fvariety.com%2F2022%2Ffilm%2Fnews%2Frachel-zegler-hunger-games-prequel-lucy-gray-baird-1235281420%2F

    Now that the news has officially dropped, she confirmed that it was indeed an intentional tweet to catch people’s attention. The film will adapt the book by the same name which was published in 2020 by Suzanne Collins. It explores the early days of Coriolanus Snow, who would eventually become the tyrannical ruler of Panem and the one to make Katniss Everdeen’s life a living hell.

    The movie will explore Snow as he mentors Zegler‘s Lucy Gray Baird, who is a tribute from District 12 during the 10th Hunger Games. Gray sees in her the potential to unleash his own ambitions after she sings during the opening reaping ceremony. Zegler‘s history with musicals makes her the perfect choice for the role, as she just recently wrapped work on Shazam! Fury of the Gods is currently filming the live-action adaptation of Snow White for Disney.

    Source: Twitter, Variety

  • Tom Blyth Cast as Coriolanus Snow in ‘Hunger Games’ Prequel

    Tom Blyth Cast as Coriolanus Snow in ‘Hunger Games’ Prequel

    In what will serve as a return to the Hunger Games franchise, Tom Blyth has been cast as Coriolanus Snow in the upcoming prequel film The Hunger Games: The Ballad of Songbirds and Snakes. The role of Snow was originally played by Donald Sutherland in the original franchise. Blyth is best known for starring in the Epix’s recent Billy the Kid series as the titular character. Francis Lawrence, who served as director for all three sequel films in the franchise, will be returning to helm this new project.

    The film, based on the prequel novel by author Suzanne Collins, is set to follow the narrative of Coriolanus Snow, the main antagonist of the original Hunger Games novels and film adaptations, as he struggles to navigate the political sphere of Panem and the franchise’s titular competition as a young man. He will be paired with a character named Lucy Gray Baird, a tribute from District 12 as she takes part in the 10th annual Hunger Games.

    When discussing the upcoming film, director Francis Lawrence gave a background into Snow’s character and how they feel Tom Blyth became the ideal choice for the role.

    Coriolanus Snow is many things — a survivor, a loyal friend, a cutthroat, a kid quick to fall in love, and a young man ambitious to his core. Tom’s take on the character showed us all the complex ambiguities of this young man as he transforms into the tyrant he would become.

    Francis Lawrence

    It will be not able to follow if this film helps in elevating their career for Blyth, much like the Hunger Games franchise did for the likes of Jennifer Lawrence, Josh Hutcherson, and Liam Hemsworth.

    It’s been considered a somewhat confounding decision by author Suzanne Collins to transition the franchise into the point of view of the franchise’s tyrannical antagonist. Though it will certainly be interesting to see what is done to make this a worthwhile endeavor back into the young adult franchise. The Ballad of Songbirds and Snakes is currently scheduled to release on November 17, 2023.


    Source: The Hollywood Reporter