The Hunger Games: The Ballad of Songbirds & Snakes

64%

Tomatometer

238 Reviews

89%

Popcornmeter

2,500+ Verified Ratings

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 post-war 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.

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The Hunger Games: The Ballad of Songbirds & Snakes

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Critics Consensus

An outstanding cast and exciting story help make The Hunger Games: The Ballad of Songbirds & Snakes a worthy return to Panem in spite of a rushed and somewhat frustrating ending.

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Audience Says

The Hunger Games: The Ballad of Songbirds & Snakes does a great job of adapting the book, adding depth to a central character while giving fans a look at how it all started.

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Critics Reviews

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The Hunger Games: The Ballad of Songbirds & Snakes | Rotten Tomatoes (1)

Elizabeth Weitzman

Time Out

The action scenes remain well-shot and tightly edited, and even without the provocative political energy of the Katniss years, the cultural parallels between Panem’s world and ours retain their unsettling power.

Rated: 3/5

Dec 1, 2023

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The Hunger Games: The Ballad of Songbirds & Snakes | Rotten Tomatoes (2)

Valerie Complex

Deadline Hollywood Daily

"The Hunger Games: The Ballad of Songbirds & Snakes" is a film of contrasts — visually stunning yet narratively uneven, it offers a fascinating glimpse into the origins of Panem, but not without stumbling over its own ambitious intentions.

Dec 1, 2023

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The Hunger Games: The Ballad of Songbirds & Snakes | Rotten Tomatoes (3)

Tim Cogshell

FilmWeek (KPCC - NPR Los Angeles)

I do not buy it philosophically for one second.

Nov 29, 2023

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The Hunger Games: The Ballad of Songbirds & Snakes | Rotten Tomatoes (4)

Calum Cooper

Cinerama Film

It may not always sing like a songbird when taken as a whole, but The Ballad of Songbirds and Snakes still packs a venomous bite at its best.

Rated: 3/5

Jul 19, 2024

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The Hunger Games: The Ballad of Songbirds & Snakes | Rotten Tomatoes (5)

Josh Larsen

LarsenOnFilm

...retains the hard edge that made most of these movies register as piercing satires of our reality-television age.

Rated: 2.5/4

Jun 18, 2024

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The Hunger Games: The Ballad of Songbirds & Snakes | Rotten Tomatoes (6)

John Serba

Decider

Ballad sanitizes its brutality for a PG-13 rating and diminishes the story’s sense of high-stakes survive-or-die suspense, and Francis Lawrence’s approach to action sequences is bland and uninspired, a reflection of the film’s generic visual aesthetic.

May 14, 2024

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Audience Reviews

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Cavin You can’t you can’t catch me now Rated 5/5 Stars • Rated 5 out of 5 stars 11/24/24 Full Review Crystal B This movie adds a new layer to the Hunger Games series while staying close to the book, with only minor changes. Lucy Gray is a phenomenal character who enhances the story as it connects to Katniss’s journey. Additionally, we gain deeper insight into Snow's character, allowing us to understand how he became the person we know from the other movies. Rated 4/5 Stars • Rated 4 out of 5 stars 11/19/24 Full Review jac excellent adaptation of the book Rated 5/5 Stars • Rated 5 out of 5 stars 11/11/24 Full Review Emyr It was pretty good, there were some references to previous movies/books that were done nicely Rated 5/5 Stars • Rated 5 out of 5 stars 10/21/24 Full Review Jordan F A dark family friendly movie is hard to come by. I had a blast with this movie and that’s hard especially with there being so many already. Some excellent acting by new and old faces in this ballad. Rated 5/5 Stars • Rated 5 out of 5 stars 10/12/24 Full Review Jace Great move, kinda disturbing but it was perfect for the franchise. Rated 4/5 Stars • Rated 4 out of 5 stars 10/12/24 Full Review Read all reviews

The Hunger Games: The Ballad of Songbirds & Snakes

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Cast & Crew

Francis Lawrence Director Tom Blyth Coriolanus Snow Rachel Zegler Lucy Gray Baird Peter Dinklage Casca Highbottom Jason Schwartzman Lucretius "Lucky" Flickerman Hunter Schafer Tigris Snow

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