Hunger Games: Sunrise on the Reaping set for November 20, 2026 release
What’s great is that Suzanne upends expectations, director Francis Lawrence said of the upcoming film adaptation of Suzanne Collins’s dystopian novel, which returns the franchise to the deadly arena contests that defined the original trilogy.
The Hunger Games: Sunrise on the Reaping is scheduled to arrive in cinemas on November 20, 2026. The film follows Haymitch Abernathy during the 50th Hunger Games, taking place 24 years before the events involving Katniss Everdeen.
Witness the beginning of the revolution. #TheHungerGames: Sunrise on the Reaping – in theaters & IMAX November 20. pic.twitter.com/fKCrWXIk3T
Sunrise on the Reaping Targets Higher Opening Weekend
Lionsgate’s sixth film in the franchise is poised to out-open its immediate predecessor, 2023’s The Hunger Games: The Ballad of Songbirds & Snakes, which pulled in a domestic opening of $44.6M. Long-range forecasts place Sunrise on the Reaping in an opening weekend range of $55M – $65M. While Ballad shared its mid-November window with Trolls Band Together, Sunrise enters the frame with the weekend largely to itself before facing Thanksgiving competition from Disney’s Hexed and the comedy Focker-In-Law.
International distribution schedules vary. The film was initially slated for a November 19 release in Russian cinemas before moving to November 26, 2026.
The biggest Hunger Games ever. The Hunger Games: Sunrise On The Reaping – in theaters & IMAX November 20.
New Cast Members Portray Characters in Second Quarter Quell
The film adapts Collins’s March 2025 novel, bringing younger iterations of familiar characters to the screen. Joseph Zada stars as the young Haymitch Abernathy, joined in District 12 by Maysilee Donner played by Mckenna Grace, and Wyatt Callow played by Ben Wang. The expanded cast also features Elle Fanning and Iris Apatow as Prosperina, showcasing Capitol fashion influenced by 1960s and 1970s aesthetics.
The story centers on the second Quarter Quell, an anniversary tournament where the Capitol doubles the tribute count, forcing 48 participants into the arena instead of the usual 24. Alongside the newcomers, original franchise leads Jennifer Lawrence and Josh Hutcherson are reported to reprise their roles in the film’s epilogue.
Returning to the Arena Structure
Speaking to GamesRadar+, director Francis Lawrence explained that reading the novel revived the enthusiasm he felt when he first joined the series for 2013’s Catching Fire. He contrasted the prequel’s structure with Mockingjay, which was split into two films, and The Ballad of Songbirds and Snakes, which focused on the origins of Coriolanus Snow.
Sunrise on the Reaping refocuses on the core components of the early films—including the reaping ceremonies, chariot processions, interviews, and the arena itself—while subverting familiar narrative beats.
As for whether additional Panem stories will follow, editor David Levithan told Variety in 2025, I genuinely have no idea.
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