The Hunger Games: Sunrise on the Reaping arrives in cinemas on Friday, November 20, 2026 — and tracking has surged so fast that forecasters now talk about a nine-figure opening. Deadline reported exclusively on November 6 that the film carries an estimated North American opening floor above $80 million, with advance sales ahead of Wicked and the strongest for any Lionsgate title since Covid.
The sixth film returns to Panem 24 years before Katniss Everdeen, to tell the story fans have waited for: the 50th Hunger Games, the Second Quarter Quell, and the victory of 16-year-old Haymitch Abernathy.
Release date, formats and early screenings
Lionsgate releases it in US and Canadian cinemas on November 20, 2026, in 2D, 3D and IMAX. Early-access screenings begin Wednesday, November 18, at 6 p.m., on premium screens only. Tickets went on sale October 28; the film is rated PG-13.
At 158 minutes, it is the longest Hunger Games film yet — one minute longer than The Ballad of Songbirds & Snakes.
The film also gets a 3D release under a Lionsgate–Meta deal announced November 2. The conversion was made with DNEG’s Stereo team alongside director Francis Lawrence — Meta’s first partnership with a Hollywood studio to convert a feature into 3D for theatrical release. The same 3D version will later play on Meta’s VR Glasses, launching in spring 2027.
The story: Haymitch’s Games
The film adapts Suzanne Collins’s novel of the same name (published March 18, 2025), from a screenplay by Billy Ray and Michael Lesslie. It opens on the morning of the reaping for the 50th Hunger Games — the Second Quarter Quell — when the Capitol doubles the tributes to 48.
At the centre is Haymitch Abernathy, a 16-year-old from District 12, reaped alongside Maysilee Donner. The story follows his unlikely victory in an arena designed to punish him — and the price the Capitol makes him pay. It is the origin of the mentor Woody Harrelson played in the first four films.
The cast
Francis Lawrence directs his fifth Hunger Games film, having helmed every entry since Catching Fire.
| Actor | Character |
| Joseph Zada | Haymitch Abernathy (age 16) |
| Mckenna Grace | Maysilee Donner |
| Whitney Peak | Lenore Dove Baird |
| Ralph Fiennes | President Coriolanus Snow |
| Jesse Plemons | Plutarch Heavensbee |
| Elle Fanning | Effie Trinket |
| Kieran Culkin | Caesar Flickerman |
| Glenn Close | Drusilla Sickle |
| Billy Porter | Magno Stift |
| Lili Taylor | Mags Flanagan |
Ralph Fiennes takes over as President Snow from Donald Sutherland and Tom Blyth. Elle Fanning plays a young Effie Trinket, Glenn Close debuts as District 12’s Capitol chaperone, and Billy Porter plays the district’s stylist.
On October 28, Jennifer Lawrence confirmed that she, Josh Hutcherson and Woody Harrelson appear as Katniss, Peeta and the older Haymitch — the original trio, back more than a decade later.
Opening weekend tracking: the numbers keep climbing
Box Office Pro had the film at $55–65 million as recently as late October. Deadline‘s November 6 update put the floor above $80 million — up from $60–70 million the previous weekend — with advance sales ahead of Wicked, Lionsgate’s strongest since Covid.
Box Office Theory’s November 6 forecast goes further: a $105 million-plus domestic debut, with a $116 million pinpoint, a $140 million high end and a $319 million domestic total pinpoint. The firm calls the film “volatile to forecast,” but says there is minimal data pointing below nine digits.
Those numbers would put the film in franchise-record territory. Deadline has retired The Ballad of Songbirds & Snakes as a presale comparison — that 2023 prequel opened to $44.6 million and finished at $166.3 million domestic. The benchmarks now are Wicked ($112.5 million) and Michael ($97.2 million), Lionsgate’s biggest debut since Mockingjay – Part 2 ($102.7 million, 2015).
What it means and what’s next
Sunrise on the Reaping opens into a Thanksgiving corridor with the weekend largely to itself — Deadline‘s clear five-day holiday favourite against Disney’s Hexed and Universal’s Focker-in-Law, each tracked around $40–50 million. The first hard evidence arrives with Thursday-night previews on November 19–20 and the studio’s Friday morning estimate.
For Lionsgate, the stakes go beyond one weekend: a $100 million-plus opening would validate the return to the franchise’s most beloved character and justify the Meta 3D experiment. A miss would not sink the film, but the tracking has set a bar the studio will be judged against.
Frequently asked questions
When is Sunrise on the Reaping released?
It opens in US and Canadian cinemas on Friday, November 20, 2026, in 2D, 3D and IMAX; early-access screenings begin Wednesday, November 18, at 6 p.m.
Who plays young Haymitch in Sunrise on the Reaping?
Joseph Zada stars as 16-year-old Haymitch; Ralph Fiennes plays President Snow, Elle Fanning plays Effie Trinket, and Glenn Close and Billy Porter join as Drusilla Sickle and Magno Stift.
Is Sunrise on the Reaping based on a book?
Yes — Suzanne Collins’s 2025 novel, set 24 years before The Hunger Games, during the 50th Games, the Second Quarter Quell.
What is the opening weekend box-office tracking?
Deadline reported a North American opening floor above $80 million on November 6; Box Office Theory forecasts $105 million-plus, with a $116 million pinpoint. Both are forecasts.
Do Jennifer Lawrence and Josh Hutcherson appear in the film?
Yes — Jennifer Lawrence confirmed on October 28 that she, Josh Hutcherson and Woody Harrelson return as Katniss, Peeta and the older Haymitch.