$3.3 Billion
Global Film Franchise Returns to Theaters November 20, 2026
SANTA
MONICA, Calif., June 6, 2024
/PRNewswire/ -- Lionsgate (NYSE: LGF.A, LGF.B) will return to
the world of Panem with the major motion picture adaptation of the
next book in the franchise, Suzanne
Collins's highly anticipated Hunger Games novel Sunrise on
the Reaping, it was announced today by Adam
Fogelson, chair of the Lionsgate Motion Picture Group.
Franchise producer Nina Jacobson,
alongside her producing partner Brad
Simpson, will return to produce The Hunger Games: Sunrise
on the Reaping under their Color Force banner. It will be the
sixth outing for Color Force since bringing the franchise to
Lionsgate in 2012. Francis Lawrence
is in talks to direct the film; Lawrence has helmed four previous
films in the Hunger Games franchise – every film since Catching
Fire.
The film will be released in theaters in North America beginning on November 20, 2026.
The Hunger Games: Sunrise on the Reaping will revisit the
world of Panem 24 years before the events of The Hunger
Games, starting on the morning of the reaping of the 50th
Hunger Games, also known as the Second Quarter Quell. One of the
most eagerly awaited publishing events of the year, Sunrise on the
Reaping will be published by Scholastic simultaneously in print,
digital, and audio formats in the US, Canada, the UK and Ireland, Australia, and New
Zealand on March 18, 2025.
There are more than 100 million copies of
all four books in The Hunger Games series in print and
digital formats worldwide, and foreign publishing rights have
been sold in 54 languages. Lionsgate has adapted these best-selling
books into five feature films that have collectively grossed more
than $3.3 billion at the worldwide
box office and boasted star-studded casts including Academy Award®
winner Jennifer Lawrence,
Josh Hutcherson, Liam Hemsworth, Academy Award® nominee
Woody Harrelson, Elizabeth Banks, Lenny
Kravitz, Stanley Tucci,
Donald Sutherland, Rachel Zegler, Tom
Blyth, Viola Davis,
Jason Schwartzman, and Peter Dinklage.
The world of The Hunger Games that Suzanne Collins created continues to grow around
the globe as theme park attractions, experiences, and live events,
including The World of the Hunger Games at the Motiongate
Dubai theme park and
a major stage production set to debut in London from Olivier Award-winning playwright
Conor McPherson ("Girl from the
North Country") and directed by Matthew
Dunster ("2:22—A Ghost Story," "Hangmen," "The
Pillowman").
"Suzanne Collins is a master
storyteller and our creative north star," said Fogelson. "We
couldn't be more fortunate than to be guided and trusted by a
collaborator whose talent and imagination are so consistently
brilliant. We know Hunger Games fans worldwide will be
spellbound by where Suzanne has focused this next extraordinary
story. The Second Quarter Quell is legendary and looms large over
the history of the Games, even into the time of Katniss Everdeen a
quarter-century later. Like fans around the globe, we are eagerly
anticipating this exciting return to Panem."
"From the beginning, Lionsgate has been a wonderful home and
partner for the Hunger Games franchise, and I'm
very excited to be collaborating with Adam and the team as we bring
this next story to theaters in 2026," said Suzanne Collins.
Meredith Wieck and Scott O'Brien will oversee the production on
behalf of the studio. Patricia
Laucella and Phil Strina
oversaw the rights for the book for Lionsgate. Collins was
represented by Jason Dravis from The
Dravis Agency and Diane Golden and
Sarah Lerner from the law firm Katz
Golden Lerner LLP.
ABOUT SUZANNE COLLINS AND THE HUNGER GAMES
Bestselling
author Suzanne Collins first made
her mark in children's literature with the New
York Times bestselling Underland Chronicles fantasy series
for middle grade readers. She continued to explore the effects of
war and violence on those coming of age with The Hunger Games
series. The Hunger Games (2008) was an instant bestseller,
appealing to both teen readers and adults. It was called
"addictive" by Stephen King
in Entertainment Weekly, and "brilliantly plotted and
perfectly paced" by John Green in
the New York Times Book Review. The book appeared on
the New York Times bestseller
list for more than 260 consecutive weeks (more than five
consecutive years), and the total series has been on the series
bestseller list for over 329 weeks to date. There are more than 100
million copies of all four books in the series—The Hunger
Games, Catching Fire (2009), Mockingjay (2010),
and The Ballad of Songbirds and Snakes (2020)—in
print and digital formats worldwide. Foreign publishing rights for
The Hunger Games Series have been sold in 54 languages to 52
territories to date. Lionsgate has successfully adapted each of
these books into five feature films that collectively grossed more
than $3.3 billion worldwide in
theatrical ticket sales.
In 2010, Suzanne Collins was
named to the TIME 100 list as well as
the Entertainment Weekly Entertainers of the Year list;
in 2011, Fast Company named her to their 100 Most Creative People
in Business; and in 2016, she was presented the 2016 Authors Guild
Award for Distinguished Service to the Literary Community for
exemplifying the unique power of young people's literature to
change lives and to create lifelong book lovers. It was the first
time the Guild presented its annual award to a YA author. The
Atlantic called Hunger Games heroine Katniss Everdeen "the most
important female character in recent pop culture history," and
TIME magazine named Katniss to its list of "The 100 Most
influential People Who Never Lived." On The Hunger Games
trilogy, The New York Times Book Review wrote, "At its
best the trilogy channels the political passion of 1984, the
memorable violence of A Clockwork Orange, the imaginative
ambience of The Chronicles of Narnia and the
detailed inventiveness of Harry
Potter." The Ballad of Songbirds and Snakes was
published in May 2020 and debuted at
#1 on the New York
Times, USA
Today, Wall Street Journal, and Publishers
Weekly bestseller lists. The book also was the top selling
book in any category for the first half of 2020. On October 1, 2024, Scholastic will publish The
Hunger Games Illustrated Edition, a deluxe illustrated edition of
Suzanne Collins' worldwide
bestseller The Hunger Games, featuring more than thirty
black-and-white illustrations by internationally acclaimed artist
Nico Delort. For more information
about The Hunger Games series, visit:
http://mediaroom.scholastic.com/hungergames.
Follow The Hunger Games online on these platforms:
https://www.facebook.com/TheHungerGamesMovie
https://www.instagram.com/thehungergames/
https://x.com/TheHungerGames
https://www.tiktok.com/@hungergamesofficial
https://www.youtube.com/@TheHungerGamesMovies
Lionsgate Socials:
https://www.instagram.com/lionsgate/
https://www.facebook.com/lionsgate/
https://www.tiktok.com/@lionsgate
https://www.youtube.com/user/LionsgateLIVE
https://x.com/lionsgate/
ABOUT LIONSGATE
Lionsgate (NYSE: LGF.A, LGF.B)
encompasses world-class motion picture and television studio
operations and the STARZ premium global subscription platform,
bringing a unique and varied portfolio of entertainment to
consumers around the world. The Company's film, television,
subscription and location-based entertainment businesses are backed
by a more than 20,000-title library and a valuable collection of
iconic film and television franchises. A digital age company driven
by its entrepreneurial culture and commitment to innovation, the
Lionsgate brand is synonymous with bold, original, relatable
entertainment for audiences worldwide.
ABOUT LIONSGATE STUDIOS
Lionsgate Studios (NASDAQ:
LION) is one of the world's leading standalone, pure play,
publicly-traded content companies. It brings together diversified
motion picture and television production and distribution
businesses, a world-class portfolio of valuable brands and
franchises, a talent management and production powerhouse and a
more than 20,000-title film and television library, all driven by
Lionsgate's bold and entrepreneurial culture.
ABOUT COLOR FORCE
Color Force is a leading independent
film and television production company that develops and produces
some of the most acclaimed and successful films and television
series today. Led by producer and film executive Nina Jacobson, who founded the company in 2007,
and Brad Simpson, who joined
Jacobson in 2012, some of Color Force's most successful film and
television projects include worldwide phenomenon The Hunger
Games franchise, as well as Crazy Rich Asians, The
Diary of a Wimpy Kid franchise, and for television, FX's
critically acclaimed "Pose" and "American Crime Story" anthology
series, including Emmy® and Golden Globes® Awards winning "The
People v. O.J. Simpson: American Crime Story."
Up next for Color Force is limited series the upcoming
Aaron Hernandez story for the
"American Sports Story" anthology series and limited series "Say
Nothing," adapted from Patrick Radden
Keefe's book, "Say Nothing: A True Story Of Murder And
Memory," both for FX. Color Force's most recent releases include
FX's "Clipped," about the downfall of LA Clippers' owner
Donald Sterling; one of the biggest
holiday tentpoles of 2023, Lionsgate's prequel to The Hunger
Games franchise, The Ballad of Songbirds & Snakes;
as well as FX's "Impeachment: American Crime Story" and "Y: The
Last Man."
The production company's film and television slate is
demonstrative of Jacobson and Simpson's driving aspiration to tell
stories that challenge assumptions and create empathy from shared
experiences. As a result, the pair have personally won two Emmy®
Awards, two Golden Globes, three TCA Awards, three Critics Choice
Awards, two PGA Awards, three AFI Awards, two GLAAD Awards, as well
as a BAFTA Award, an NAACP Award and a Peabody.
FOR MORE INFORMATION:
Steve
Elzer
Elzer & Associates
steve@elzerassociates.com
(213) 392-4660
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SOURCE Lionsgate; Lionsgate Studios
