The Hunger Games: The Ballad of Songbirds & Snakes is an American dystopian film directed by Francis Lawrence, based on the prequel novel of the same name. It is the fifth installment in the film franchise.
It was released theatrically on November 17, 2023. The mid-November release date follows the release pattern of the The Hunger Games: Catching Fire, Mockingjay - Part 1, and Mockingjay - Part 2.[1]
Synopsis[]
As one of the top students at the Academy, a school for the Capitol's elite, Coriolanus Snow is selected to mentor Lucy Gray Baird, District 12's female tribute, in the 10th Hunger Games. As he works with Lucy Gray, the two grow close together, leading Snow on an unexpected rise to power as he fights to make sure Lucy Gray wins the Hunger Games at any cost.
Plot[]
Dark Days[]
Three years before the 1st Hunger Games, a young Coriolanus Snow is led by his cousin Tigris through the ruined streets of the Capitol. They locate food, but they're confronted by a rabid dog, so Tigris hurls something at it and leads Coriolanus away. However, while hiding behind a pillar, they see an otherwise respectable man kneeling and chopping off the leg of a corpse. When Coriolanus asks Tigris why he would do that, she replies that he's starving. They make their way home safely, but inside their apartment, the Grandma'am is flanked by two Peacekeepers, and she explains that Coriolanus's father has been killed by a rebel trap in the woods outside District 12.
Part I: The Mentor[]
13 years later, Coriolanus Snow is now in his senior year at the Academy. It is the day of the reaping ceremony, and tensions run high for the Plinth Prize—a prize awarded to the highest achieving student upon graduation, giving them access to the highest reaches of the government and paying their university tuition. Ever since the war began, the Snow family has fallen into tough times, and the Plinth Prize is a necessity for Coriolanus to attend the University.
In the morning, Coriolanus cannot find his father's dress shirt, which he plans to wear to the reaping. However, his cousin Tigris returns it to him after fashioning the shirt with bleached white curtains and tesserae buttons. Coriolanus thanks Tigris and leaves for the Academy. Once there, Coriolanus joins his friends: Festus Creed, Arachne Crane, and Felix Ravinstill, President Ravinstill's son. They discuss Sejanus, the son of Strabo Plinth—who created the Plinth Prize. Their family was originally from District 2, but bought their way to the Capitol. Sejanus joins them and refuses to reveal who won the Plinth Prize.
As the anthem plays and the students get into their seats, Sejanus tells Coriolanus that there is no prize today. Dr. Volumnia Gaul, Head Gamemaker and lead of the Capitol War Department, begins to speak, having high hopes of the new generation and introducing Dean Casca Highbottom, the creator of the Hunger Games.
Highbottom, who doses on morphling regularly, continues with the speech, announcing that the Capitol citizens have grown bored of the Games. Now the Plinth Prize winner will not be based on grades, but instead awarded to the best mentor in the Hunger Games, who can persuade their district tribute to perform for the cameras. Arachne Crane complains about the possibility of being assigned a weak tribute, but Highbottom corrects her by saying that their role is to turn these tribute into spectacles, not survivors.
Once the reaping starts, Sejanus is assigned the District 2 boy, Marcus, and seems uneasy about it. At last, Coriolanus is assigned the District 12 girl, Lucy Gray Baird. During the reaping, Lucy Gray drops a snake down the dress of the of District 12 Mayor Lipp's daughter, Mayfair. She then sings a song, getting attention from everyone and charming Coriolanus.
In a private conversation with Dean Highbottom, Coriolanus learns that Highbottom is well aware of his family's poverty, despite his best efforts to hide it. Furthermore, Highbottom seems to possess an inexplicable grudge against him. At night, Tigris suggests that Coriolanus make Lucy Gray trust him, so she can sing to attract an audience.
Coriolanus decides to visit Lucy Gray at the train station, where the tributes will be arriving in cattle cars. Lucy Gray seems unimpressed with Coriolanus, who gave her a white rose his Grandma'am grew. He then follows her to a cargo car with the other tributes, intent on accompanying her to her quarters. In the cargo car, he nearly gets strangled by District 11 tribute Reaper Ash. The car dumps them into the old monkey enclosure in the Capitol Zoo, where the tributes will be put on display before the Games.
They are greeted by Lucretius "Lucky" Flickerman, a weatherman and amateur magician who will be hosting the 10th Hunger Games. Coriolanus puts the white rose into Lucy Gray's hair and presents her to the Capitol audience at the Zoo. Lucy Gray's dress garners lots of attention from the children. She reveals that she was not originally from District 12, but part of a traveling music group known as the Covey and got trapped in District 12 following the war. Lucy Gray also asks Coriolanus to bring food for her and the other District 12 tribute, Jessup, as neither have eaten since the reaping.
Coriolanus arrives at a mentor meeting, where Highbottom expresses great disappointment in his actions and threatens to disqualify him as mentor. Arachne adds on that Coriolanus is making it seem they're the same as these "animals". Sejanus then defends Snow, stating that the tributes are human beings and that's why no one watches the Games. However, Dr. Gaul interrupts him. She was very pleased with Coriolanus visiting Lucy Gray and suggests he should be a Gamemaker, like her. Dr. Gaul then asks him what the Hunger Games are for, and Coriolanus answers that they're to punish the districts—an answer that Dr. Gaul is unsatisfied with. Sejanus questions the morality of the Games, making Highbottom agree with him. Coriolanus snaps back, suggesting that they can allow the citizens to place bets on the tributes and interview them, so they actually care about what happen to these tributes. His classmate, Clemensia Dovecote, suggests that she and Coriolanus work on this project together, hoping to take the credit.
In the cafeteria, Sejanus reveals to Coriolanus that his tribute, Marcus, was his classmate back in 2 and that his father bought him just to show Sejanus that he can never go back to the districts. They head to the zoo in the hopes of interacting with and feeding their tributes. Marcus ignores Sejanus, and Coriolanus gives a sandwich to Lucy Gray. She shares it with Jessup, who had been bitten by a bat. Coriolanus tells her that he might be able to send her food in the arena and tries to convince her to sing again. Lucy Gray notices Coriolanus staring hungrily at the sandwich, so she also shares some with him. Their conversation stops when Arachne's tribute, Brandy, slits her mentor's throat with a broken bottle, killing her. Brandy is shot dead by Peacekeepers, being the first tribute to die. In the apartment, the Grandma'am warns Coriolanus of Lucy Gray.
The next day, the tributes and mentors have their first official meeting, during which most mentors fail to get their tributes to comply. Clemensia and Coriolanus are invited to meet Dr. Gaul. Clemensia panics, as Coriolanus wrote their assignment without her help. Having realized the truth, Dr. Gaul has her retrieve the project page from a tank of snake mutts. Not recognizing her scent, the snakes bite Clemensia, who is taken away unconscious.
The mentors and tribute tour the arena the next day. Treech, the District 7 male, gets recruited into an alliance with both the District 4 tributes and Tanner, the District 10 male, leaving his betrayed district partner, Lamina, behind. Soon, bombs start going off, killing Sabyn and Ginnee from District 2 and 6, and Felix Ravinstill was severely injured. The District 1 tributes, Facet and Velvereen, escape with Marcus when an exit is bombed opened—although Facet and Velvereen are immediately shot. Instead of running, Lucy Gray chooses to save Coriolanus from burning debris. Coriolanus wakes up in the hospital and watches Lucy Gray sing a song about her past lover back home for the interviews, gaining many sponsor donations. Coriolanus returns the favour of Lucy Gray saving his life by secretly going into the bombed, rubble filled arena, discovering tunnels she can hide in and also giving her his mother's compact filled with rat poison. Lucy Gray tells him about her former boyfriend Billy Taupe Clade, who caught the attention of Mayfair Lipp. Mayfair was very jealous and purposely had her dad reap Lucy Gray.
Part II: The Prize[]
The day of the 10th Hunger Games, Coriolanus walks into the Control room with Communicuffs for sending sponsors, and Highbottom warns him to find Sejanus a seat near the door. Lucky introduces himself and shows that he has an envelope with his predicted winner, which he'll open once the Games end. The tributes enter the arena to see a beaten up Marcus hung on a beam in the middle of the arena. Seeing this, Sejanus smashes a chair into the image and runs out of the room, shouting that everyone there is a monster.
Lucky starts the countdown and the Games begin. Most tributes runs to the Cornucopia as Lucy Gray desperately calls for Jessup. She gets attacked several times by other tributes but successfully takes him to the tunnels, against Coriolanus's wishes. Following them are the District 5 tributes, Hy and Sol, who are then chased by the District 4, 7, and 10 alliance (nicknamed "The Pack"). Lucy Gray gets through a slot in the wall which leads her to another room, while Jessup follows her. Sol also goes under the slot, hanging onto Jessup’s leg. The Pack reaches the District 5 tributes, with Hy being caught in a net and killed by Mizzen and Treech. Sol, whose body is halfway through the slot, is stabbed with a trident by Coral.
The bloodbath has ended with the tributes from District 3, 5, 9 dead. Lucky starts his weather forecast when Lamina from District 7 emerges and mercy kills Marcus with an ax. Her mentor, "Pup" Harrington, sends her the first sponsor gift in the history of the Hunger Games. A drone arrives with her gift but crashes into a pole.
The Games have continued for longer than expected, mainly due to the tunnels revealed during the bombing. Lucky cancels his hotel reservation as Treech and Tanner drag Otto from District 6's corpse from underneath the rubble. Highbottom confronts Coriolanus about what he's going to do after the Games and threatens to still not give him the Plinth Prize even if Lucy Gray wins. In the tunnels, Jessup is acting strangely and gets scared of the water Lucy Gray is giving her, a sign of rabies. At night, when Coriolanus is napping in the Academy viewing room, Dr. Gaul suddenly wakes him up, informing him that Sejanus has snuck into the arena to perform a District 2 tradition of throwing bread crumbs on a fallen comrade. Gaul tells Coriolanus to get Sejanus out of the arena and she might convince Strabo Plinth to give him the Plinth Prize.
Coriolanus finds Sejanus after entering the arena, attempting to convince him to leave. Sejanus refuses, saying he wants to be in front of the cameras, but Coriolanus tells him Gaul has already cut the feed. While trying to convince Sejanus to leave, a tribute attacks the pair. Coriolanus tells the tribute he doesn't want to hurt him, but proceeds to beat him to death when the tribute continues to fight. The two escape while other tributes chase them, nearly making it through the gate with them, and they state Lucy Gray is their next target now.
Coriolanus returns home to Tigris and tells her about what happened. He tells her that he felt awful during the murder, but then felt powerful. Tigris reminds him that his father only had hate in his eyes, and that Coriolanus doesn't have to follow in his footsteps to be in charge.
The next day, as the mentors watch the Games, Jessup turns on Lucy Gray as his rabies progresses. Coriolanus gets his mentor to send water to scare him away from Lucy Gray. He falls, landing on rocks and mortally wounding him. Lucy Gray stays with him until he passes. Suddenly, the Pack begins to close in on Lucy Gray, who is now alone. As they begin to approach her, Coriolanus sends multiple donations of water into the arena, and a flock of drones start flying into the Pack, who are injured as they stand in the drones' path. Lucy Gray grabs a jar of water and runs before they notice her. She poisons the water while the other tributes go after Lamina and leaves it in the middle of the arena, pouring out the rest of their water. She narrowly escapes, hiding in a duct as the other tributes chase after Wovey. Dill ends up drinking the water and passing. Reaper grieves and collects the bodies of the other fallen tributes, placing them together and covering them with a flag of Panem in protest and as a memorial, then stares at the camera as he shouts asking if he will be punished. Dr Gaul interrupts the broadcast to inform the others of Felix's death, stating she will punish the distributes by attacking the arena, even if it results in no survivors.
Part III: The Peacekeeper[]
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Cast[]
A full list of credits for both cast and crew can be found on the Internet Movie Database.
Credited[]
Uncredited[]
The following people were not credited with their characters by name, but they were included in the credits as stunt performers.
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Production[]
- "As the proud home of the ‘Hunger Games’ movies, we can hardly wait for Suzanne’s next book to be published. We’ve been communicating with her during the writing process and we look forward to continuing to work closely with her on the movie."
- —Joe Drake, chairman of the Lionsgate Motion Picture Group[2]
On April 21, 2020, the film was announced as being officially in development. It was directed by Francis Lawrence, who directed Catching Fire as well as Mockingjay - Part 1 and Part 2. Nina Jacobson returned as a producer alongside author Suzanne Collins. The screenplay was written by Michael Arndt— one of two writers behind Catching Fire—[3] and Michael Lesslie.[4]
As of July 25, 2020, director Francis Lawrence reported that the script for the film was "progressing really well." He stated that after reading the story, he loved what it was about and how relevant it was.[5] Production was set to begin in the first half of 2022, for a potential release in late fiscal 2023 or early 2024.[6] Lionsgate announced the November release date on April 28, 2022 at CinemaCon, where they also screened a teaser of the film.[7]
On May 16, 2022, People reported that Tom Blyth had been cast in the role of Coriolanus Snow. Regarding the casting, producer Nina Jacobson stated "Tom's performance will both fulfill and disrupt everything you think you know about Coriolanus Snow. He's a tremendous talent who will show why Snow always lands on top."[8] Later, on May 31, 2022, Rachel Zegler was cast in the role of Lucy Gray Baird.[9] A reveal teaser for the film was posted on June 5, 2022,[10] and more casting announcements were spread out from June through September.[11][12][13][14][15][16][17][18][19]
First look at Zegler and Blyth as Lucy Gray and Coriolanus
On June 30, 2022, it was reported that Lionsgate had inked deals for the film's release in numerous international markets,[20] and on August 16, 2022, Vanity Fair released an exclusive first look at the film, featuring an image of Coriolanus Snow and Lucy Gray Baird.[21]
Filming for The Ballad of Songbirds and Snakes took place in Germany and Poland, and on November 5, 2022, Rachel Zegler reported that filming for the movie had officially wrapped. She shared a pair of two behind-the-scenes images to celebrate the achievement.[22] On November 14, 2022, director Francis Lawrence told Collider that this would be the longest film to date in The Hunger Games franchise, likely longer than the 2:26 runtime of Catching Fire, but hopefully not three hours or longer.[23] The film's first trailer was released on April 27, 2023,[24] and its second trailer came out on September 20th.
Music[]
- The Hunger Games: The Ballad of Songbirds & Snakes (Original Motion Picture Score)
- The Hunger Games: The Ballad of Songbirds & Snakes (Music From & Inspired By)
Videos[]
Promotional[]
See also[]
- The Hunger Games: The Ballad of Songbirds & Snakes Gallery
The Hunger Games: The Ballad of Songbirds & Snakes at the Internet Movie Database
Trivia[]
- On March 9, 2022, it was revealed that the film would be shot under the working title of Butterfly.[25]
- During promotion for the film, fans who texted the notes to Rue's four-note song (GBAD) to the official Hunger Games Community feed received a riddle.[26] This riddle, when solved correctly, was suspected to reveal the date and time of the film's second trailer.[27] However, the correct answer was not found.
- Like the novel, the film is split into three parts.
- Because this movie is before the 74th and 75th Hunger Games, this is the first film without Jennifer Lawrence as Katniss Everdeen, Willow Shields as Primrose Everdeen, Josh Hutcherson as Peeta, Liam Hemsworth as Gale, Sam Claflin as Finnick, Paula Malcomson as Katniss and Prim's mother, Julianne Moore as Alma Coin, and Donald Sutherland as President Snow.