The Hunger Games: Sunrise on the Reaping Early Screenings in 3 Days — $80M+ Opening Tracking

The countdown is almost over. In just 3 days, The Hunger Games: Sunrise on the Reaping opens its early-access screenings in the US — Wednesday, November 18 at 6 p.m. local time in IMAX and premium formats — two days before the full release on Friday, November 20, 2026.

When and where to watch

• Early-access screenings: Wednesday, November 18, 2026 at 6 p.m. local time — IMAX, Dolby Cinema, 4DX, ScreenX, Cinemark XD, Regal RPX and AMC Prime at participating theaters.
• Full US release: Friday, November 20, 2026, in theaters and IMAX, just before Thanksgiving.
• Rated PG-13, runs 158 minutes. Tickets have been on sale since October 28 through Fandango and theater chains.
• Sunrise Screenings: special pajama-friendly morning shows on Saturday, November 21.
• Fandango is offering up to $14 off two or more IMAX tickets with the code SOTRIMAX, through November 24.

Whose story is this?

The film adapts Suzanne Collins's 2025 novel of the same name. It takes place 24 years before Katniss Everdeen — during the 50th Hunger Games, known as the Second Quarter Quell. Because it is a Quarter Quell, each district must send double the usual number of tributes: 48 young fighters enter the arena instead of 24.

At the center is a 16-year-old Haymitch Abernathy, played by newcomer Joseph Zada — the same character Woody Harrelson played as an adult in the original films. This is the Games Haymitch won, and the story shows what that victory cost him.

Cast

• Joseph Zada as young Haymitch Abernathy
• Whitney Peak as Lenore Dove Baird
• McKenna Grace as Maysilee Donner, the original owner of the Mockingjay pin
• Ralph Fiennes as President Coriolanus Snow
• Jesse Plemons as a young Plutarch Heavensbee
• Elle Fanning as a young Effie Trinket
• Kieran Culkin as Caesar Flickerman
• Glenn Close, Maya Hawke, Kelvin Harrison Jr., Ben Wang and Billy Porter also star
• And for longtime fans: Jennifer Lawrence returns as Katniss Everdeen in an epilogue, alongside Josh Hutcherson as Peeta and Woody Harrelson as the older Haymitch.

Francis Lawrence directs — he has directed every Hunger Games film except the first.

The tracking keeps climbing

Forecasts vary, and they are forecasts, not results — but they have been moving in one direction:

• Boxoffice Pro's long-range forecast (October 23): $55–65 million opening weekend in the US and Canada.
• Deadline has now raised its floor to $80 million or more, up from the $60–70 million range a week earlier.
• Updated tracking reported in early November: $80–100 million, with Box Office Theory forecasting $105 million-plus — a $116 million pinpoint and a $140 million high end.

Deadline also reports the presales are the strongest Lionsgate has logged for any release since the pandemic, running ahead of both Wicked and the studio's own Michael, which opened to $97.2 million.

For comparison, the last film, The Ballad of Songbirds & Snakes (2023), opened to $44.6 million. If the higher forecasts hold, this would be the biggest Hunger Games opening since the original series.

First reactions

First reactions after the October 28 London premiere were strongly positive, with newcomer Joseph Zada getting the most praise. Full critic reviews are still embargoed and Rotten Tomatoes still lists the Tomatometer as "coming soon" — the first real verdicts land with the early screenings on November 18.

One wild card

GTA VI launches on November 19, the day before the film opens — the biggest entertainment launch of the year, right in the middle of opening week. Whether it steals attention or just shares it is the one question nobody can answer yet.

More movie news and updates: https://auctionr.org/4/27a688174226782303a1860b3aa0346b

Will you be watching on opening weekend? Tell us in the comments — Team Haymitch or Team Snow?