The hope was that this Suzanne Collins prequel was bound to file $50M+.
Overseas was better at$54.5M,for a$98.5MGlobal opening.
However, this film was frontloaded, a la any YA movie aimed at women.
THE HUNGER GAMES: THE BALLAD OF SONGBIRDS AND SNAKES, Rachel Zegler, 2023. © Lionsgate /Courtesy Everett Collection
The bigger question going forward is whether or not this is enough to keep a franchise going.
By major studio standards, it is not.
Its going to be more expensive to mount a sequel.
Warner Bros Pictures
theme parks, merchandise, and the overall home sales of older movies in the franchise.
The distance betweenDeathly Hallows 2andFantastic Beastswas only five years.
However, something seems off here in getting a vibrant word of mouth out to fans despite the strike.
True,Spotify was a big partner in the premiere and strutting the music.
Another obstacle was the fact that this was a movie as a dark, character-driven origin tale.
However, Lionsgate didnt want to position this movie as a musical.
That was too challenging and too risky an angle in bringing back the die-hards.
Lionsgate had social media gold in 3x Grammy winner Olivia Rodrigo.
Views on the platform surged into the billions.
Other promo partners forSongbirds & Snakesincluded Gibson Guitars, Urban Outfitters, Poshmark, Butter London, and 1-800-Flowers.
That sequel had an A- Cinemascore.
However, hope prevails in other exits.
On PostTrak,Songbirds & Snakesis still 4 1/2 stars, with 87% positive.
The 18-24 bunch at 45%, the biggest age demo, embracedSongbirds & Snakeswith a 90% grade.
Women over 25 at 27% gave it an 85%.
Sixty-nine percent definite recommend.
Hopefully, this provides a great multiple heading into Thanksgiving.
The latter is more family, andSongbirds and Snakesmore adolescent.
The pic is playing best in the South and Mountain Regions.
Imax and PLFs are only fueling 36% of the weekend gross, which seems low for a tentpole.
North American Imax results were $4.1M, or 9% of the weekend total.
The prequel will share Imax screens withNapoleonover Thanksgiving.
Rotten Tomatoes upticked to 60% fresh with critics.
That didnt hurtTrollsone bit, and audiences came back.
Is Universal out of their freakin minds?
But with their brand rusting, you dont need to worry about them anymore.
The opening is off 35% from the originalTrolls $46.5M back in 2016.
The Walt Dohrn-directed threequel gets an A CinemaScore, just like the first one.
PostTrak is great at 85% and 67% recommend, with kids under 12 huggingTrolls 3at 95%.
Mom-leaning at 71% female, with 31% of the audience between 18-34.
The largest adult quad was 35-44 years old at 27%.
Thats$10.2Mfor the weekend; well see if its third or fourth tomw AM.
B- CinemaScore, which is par for a horror movie, and 74% positive on PostTrak.
At 83% positive on RT, its the best-reviewed movie ever for filmmaker Eli Roth.
PostTrak audiences were similar to CinemaScore, with 86% positive and 65% recommend for the general audience.
Best area for the movie, if we can say that, was the middle of the country.
The Regal Winward Honolulu HI was the highest-grossing cinema in the country, with $9K so far.
Studios reported figures:
1.
Some rivals have director Francis Lawrences fourthHunger Gamesmovie between $45M-$47M.
Critics arent over the moon at 57% Rotten.
No RT audience score yet.
The movie is also available on Peacock.
Ignore the critics, because the first exits for the prequel are very good.
Comscore/Screen Engines PostTrak shows 4 1/2 stars and 87% positive with a 70% definite recommend.
Meanwhile, the Rotten Tomatoes audience score stands at 90%.
The 18-34 turnout was huge at 75%.
Five stars on PostTrak from general audiences and 4 1/2 stars from parents.
Overall audience was 62% female, with 52% over 25, 48% under.
DreamWorks AnimationsBad Guysposted a preview of $1.1M and debuted to $23.95M.
Tri-Star/Spyglass MediasThanksgivinggrossed$1Min Thursday previews that began at 7 p.m. from 2,720 locations.
The movie at 86% on Rotten Tomatoes is filmmaker Eli Roths best-reviewed film to date.
SearchlightsNext Goal Winsfrom Taika Waititi is also wide today.
The soccer comedy is 78% positive and 4 stars with moviegoers on PostTrak.
Rest of Thursday and the week is as follows:
1.
Again, these numbers arent from the studio and we could see a slightly different result by morning.
Furthermore, Lionsgate always covers their risk on a big title with a bulk of foreign sales.
Projections heading into the weekend were at$50M+stateside,$100M+worldwide.
Well see where this lands.
Essentially,Hunger Games fanbase isnt as broad asHarry Potters.
That sales figure ultimately rose to 3.5M copies sold.
This movie will heal trauma from my childhood.'
That threequel is looking at a high $20M-low $30M start.
The movie also has the lowest RT score in the franchise with critics at 62% fresh.
More on those in the AM.
