TV & Movies

Ballad of Songbirds & Snakes beats Box Office expectations

Lucy-Jo Finnighan
Snow and Lucy in Ballad of Songbirds and snakesLionsgate

The Hunger Games prequel movie, Ballad of Songbirds & Snakes, has opened to a lot of fan hype – but how has that affected its box office total?

The Hunger Games movies are considered by many to be the best of the young adult genre. Set in a dystopian future USA – now named Panem – in which children are forced to kill or be killed in an arena created by the oppressive ruling class, the original series proved to be a commercial and critical success.

So when author Suzanne Collins released a prequel novel, titled The Ballad of Songbirds & Snakes, which focused on President Snow’s time as a mentor in the 10th Annual Hunger Games, it seemed clear that it had a hard act to follow.

So how well has it fared in terms of monetary success? Let’s look into how much the movie has made for the box office.

Ballad of Songbirds & Snakes box office – How much has it made?

So far, the movie has made just over $300 million globally at the box office.

It was the front runner of its opening weekend, having already made back its budget, and while it didn’t quite beat it’s opening expectations, success for the movie has continued to grow, with it now remaining in second place at the box office.

The movie’s original opening of $19.1 million was seen as below expectations, which could have been due to the cast not being able to promote the flick until two weeks before, in line with the SAG-AFRTA strikes. Lionsgate was still hopeful that the movie would reach $50 million domestically by the end of the weekend, but it did only garner $44 million.

However, the film was poised to have the smallest second week drop off at the Box Office in record for this year, and successfully battled with Disney animated feature Wish to keep its top spot.

In comparison, the first four Hunger Games movies, starring Jennifer Lawrence, all opened above $100 million domestically, overall ranking $2.9 billion at the global box office.

The Ballad of Songbirds & Snakes opened alongside Thanksgiving and Trolls Band Together this weekend, with the former gaining $3.8 million, and the latter earning $9.4 million on opening Friday.

The synopsis of The Ballad of Songbirds & Snakes is as such: “Years before he becomes the tyrannical president of Panem, 18-year-old Coriolanus Snow remains the last hope for his fading lineage. With the 10th annual Hunger Games fast approaching, the young Snow becomes alarmed when he’s assigned to mentor Lucy Gray Baird from District 12. Uniting their instincts for showmanship and political savvy, they race against time to ultimately reveal who’s a songbird and who’s a snake.”

The movie currently sits at a 61% Critics Score on Rotten Tomatoes, but a 91% Audience Score.

The Ballad of Songbirds & Snakes is now in cinemas. Check out our other Hunger Games coverage below:

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