The biggest The Hunger Games: The Ballad of Songbirds and Snakes‘ criticism takes center stage in a new fan-made poster for the movie. Serving as a prequel of sorts to the story of Katniss Everdeen, director Francis Lawrence’s latest installment in the hit franchise is once again based on source material from author Suzanne Collins. The movie follows a younger version of Coriolanus Snow (Tom Blyth), chronicling his relationship with Rachel Zegler’s Lucy Gray Baird and his descent into villainy during the events of the 10th Hunger Games.
Now, following the prequel’s release in theaters, a mock poster shared by Weekly Planet Posters on Instagram highlights The Hunger Games: The Ballad of Songbirds and Snakes‘ runtime criticism. Check out the power below:
Instead of featuring the movie’s real title, the mock poster calls it simply “Three Hour Hunger Games Prequel,” with a tagline that reads: “This IS your grandpappy’s hunger games.“
Why The Ballad Of Songbirds & Snakes Has Been Divisive
Critics & Audiences Can’t Agree On The Hunger Games Prequel
Right out of the gate, The Hunger Games: The Ballad of Songbirds and Snakes‘ reviews were quite mixed. While the return to Panem proved thrilling and worthwhile for some, other critics found the movie to be bloated, with the story between Lucy and Snow feeling underdeveloped and the ending feeling rushed despite an over-long runtime. The reviews resulted in a fairly disappointing Rotten Tomatoes score of 66%, a new low for the franchise.
Title | RT Critics’ Score | RT Audience Score |
|---|---|---|
The Hunger Games | 84% | 81% |
The Hunger Games: Catching Fire | 90% | 89% |
The Hunger Games: Mockingjay, Part 1 | 70% | 71% |
The Hunger Games: Mockingjay, Part 2 | 70% | 66% |
The Hunger Games: The Ballad of Songbirds and Snakes | 66% | 89% |
The divide among critics is seemingly just as great as the divide between critics and audiences. While the critics’ score for the prequel is a new franchise low, The Ballad of Songbirds and Snakes‘ audience score almost marks a new franchise high, tying The Hunger Games: Catching Fire at 89%. For the most part, then, it seems like general moviegoers have found the latest installment to be a fitting expansion to the franchise.
A fairly consistent high point in all the reviews, however, is Zegler’s committed and moving performance as Lucy Gray. The Hunger Games: The Ballad of Songbirds and Snakes‘ cast, in general, seems to be one of the movie’s biggest strengths, with Viola Davis, Peter Dinklage, and Hunter Schafer, among others, delivering powerful performances. It’s unclear whether there will be another movie in the franchise, but audience response – and, by extension, box office – will be a key determining factor, not critical reception.
The Hunger Games: The Ballad of Songbirds and Snakes
- Release Date:
- 2023-11-17
- Director:
- Francis Lawrence
- Cast:
- Tom Blyth, Rachel Zegler, Hunter Schafer, Jason Schwartzman, Peter Dinklage, Josh Andrés, Josh Andrés Rivera, Viola Davis
- Rating:
- PG-13
- Runtime:
- 157 Minutes
- Genres:
- Action, Adventure, Drama
- Writers:
- Michael Lesslie, Michael Arndt, Suzanne Collins
- Studio(s):
- Color Force, Lionsgate
- Distributor(s):
- Lionsgate
- Sequel(s):
- The Hunger Games, The Hunger Games: Catching Fire, The Hunger Games: Mockingjay Part 1, The Hunger Games: Mockingjay – Part 2
- Franchise(s):
- The Hunger Games
