‘Hunger Games’ Prequel Scores SAG-AFTRA Interim Agreement

The Hunger Games: The Ballad of Songbirds & Snakes scored a SAG-AFTRA interim agreement that allows the prequel's stars to promote the movie during the strike. The Hunger Games prequel is set 64 years before the events of the first film and stars Tom Blyth, Rachel Zegler, Peter Dinklage, Hunter Schafer, Josh Andrés Rivera, Jason Schwartzman, and Viola Davis.

IndieWire reports, “Hundreds of movies have qualified for the interim agreement from SAG-AFTRA and have agreed to the Guild’s original demands while the strike is still ongoing, including some with major stars and other buzzy awards-hopefuls premiering at film festivals. But with a budget of around $100 million, the Hunger Games prequel film is almost certainly one of the biggest films to sign the agreement to date.

“Songbirds & Snakes is a release from Lionsgate, which is not an AMPTP-affiliated company, despite being a mini-major studio, thus making its theatrical releases eligible. Lionsgate is an independent company; however, this is expected to be the first Lionsgate title to apply for and receive an interim agreement to date.”

Promotion by The Hunger Games: The Ballad of Songbirds & Snakes Cast Will Boost Opening-Weekend Box Office

According to IndieWire, The Hunger Games: The Ballad of Songbirds & Snakes is currently tracking for an opening weekend of $50 million, but 11th-hour promotion via interviews with the stars could boost that projected opening by millions of dollars.

The official Lionsgate synopsis for The Ballad of Songbirds & Snakes reads:

“Experience the story of The Hunger Games — 64 years before Katniss Everdeen volunteered as tribute, and decades before Coriolanus Snow became the tyrannical President of Panem.

“The Hunger Games: The Ballad of Songbirds & Snakes follows a young Coriolanus (Tom Blyth) who is the last hope for his failing lineage, the once-proud Snow family that has fallen from grace in a postwar Capitol. With his livelihood threatened, Snow is reluctantly assigned to mentor Lucy Gray Baird (Rachel Zegler), a tribute from the impoverished District 12. But after Lucy Gray’s charm captivates the audience of Panem, Snow sees an opportunity to shift their fates. With everything he has worked for hanging in the balance, Snow unites with Lucy Gray to turn the odds in their favor. Battling his instincts for both good and evil, Snow sets out on a race against time to survive and reveal if he will ultimately become a songbird or a snake.”

The Hunger Games: The Ballad of Songbirds & Snakes opens in theaters nationwide on November 17.