Tom Blyth and Rachel Zegler in The Hunger Games: The Ballad of Songbirds and Snakes.
Courtesy of Murray Close/Lionsgate
Lionsgate’s prequel “The Hunger Games: The Ballad of Songbirds and Snakes” is set to open above $45 million at the domestic box office after grossing $19.1 million on Friday. That was easily enough to win the weekend, but perhaps fell short of expectations.
As we headed in, tracking suggested the film would gross at least $50 million as Lionsgate embarks on the difficult task of creating a spin-off franchise. The studio still hopes the picture will reach $50 million, but rival studios say it will cost between $46 million and $47 million.
The Ballad of Songbirds and Snakes begins eight years after the last Hunger Games in theaters and twelve years after the first film hit the big screen. The new film received a B+ CinemaScore, the lowest of the franchise. The majority of Friday’s audience were women – 64 percent.
The four “Hunger Games” films, based on the dystopian young adult novels by Suzanne Collins, starred Jennifer Lawrence and all opened with more than $100 million domestically and $2.9 billion at the global box office to bring in US dollars.
“The Ballad of Songbirds & Snakes” is based on the book of the same name by Collins. Rachel Zegler and Tom Blyth lead the cast of the prequel, which also stars Peter Dinklage, Jason Schwartzman and Viola Davis. Francis Lawrence, who directed the previous four Hunger Games films, returns to the director’s chair.
The dystopian action-adventure opens at the Thanksgiving box office this weekend alongside Universal and DreamWorks’ Trolls Band Together and TriStar and Spyglass Media Group’s Eli Roth-directed slasher film Thanksgiving.
Trolls Band Together earned $9.4 million on Friday from an estimated domestic opening of $30 million, which was in line with expectations and more than enough for a second place finish. The family film may have turned off critics, but audiences gave it an A CinemaScore. “Trolls Band Together” has already opened in a number of markets overseas and is expected to close there on Sunday with $76.3 million overseas and $106.3 million worldwide.
The threequel brings back Anna Kendrick and Justin Timberlake in the roles of Poppy and Branch, who are now officially a couple. The film was helmed by returning director Walt Dohrn and producer Gina Shay. Similar to the prequel to The Hunger Games, the film is predominantly female (69 percent).
The outlook for superhero film “The Marvels” remains bleak as it drops 78 to 80 percent in its second outing, marking the worst second weekend decline ever for Marvel Studios and the worst of any Hollywood superhero film. Among Marvel Cinematic Universe titles, the threequel Ant-Man and the Wasp: Quantumania previously saw the largest decline of 69 percent.
The Marvels is expected to earn $9 million to $10 million over the weekend, potentially putting it in a close race with Thanksgiving, although most rival studios expect The Marvels to finish in third place before Thanksgiving.
Roth’s latest horror film grossed $3.8 million on Friday, earned a B CinemaScore and is overwhelmingly male (56 percent).
Oscar hopeful Saltburn is opening at the box office in seven locations. The MGM and Amazon film is on track to pull in a promising average of $45,400 per theater.
On November 22nd, a Wednesday, Apple Original Films and Sony’s Napoleon and Disney Animation’s Wish, among others, will take their place at the Thanksgiving holiday table.