Is The Hunger Games: The Ballad Of Songbirds & Snakes Suitable For Children?

In preparation for The Hunger Games: The Ballad of Songbirds and Snakes’ impending release, it’s worth knowing how mature the film will be. The first Hunger Games, based on the book by Suzanne Collins, was a bona fide box office phenomenon. Arriving in theaters the same year that the Twilight saga came to a close, the movie capitalized on the YA boom of the 2010s, raking in $677 million and spawning a franchise. While interest had waned somewhat by the time the last installment, The Hunger Games: Mockingjay – Part 2, hit theaters in 2015, the franchise still did great numbers, pulling in almost $3 billion across four films.

When Suzanne Collins released a prequel novel, The Ballad of Songbirds and Snakes, it’s no surprise that Lionsgate pounced on the opportunity to once again adapt the work for the big screen. The resulting film, which traces the rise of Hunger Games antagonist and authoritarian dictator Coriolanus Snow, is primed to revisit the brutal dystopia of The Hunger Games. The film’s PG-13 rating implies that the upcoming Ballad of Songbirds and Snakes will strike a similar balance as the preceding outings when it comes to mature content, yet the darker source material may make viewings difficult for children.

The Ballad Of Songbirds & Snakes’ PG-13 Rating Explained: Violence & Disturbing Material

With The Hunger Games: The Ballad of Songbirds and Snakes receiving its official MPAA rating breakdown, it’s worth unpacking what qualifies the film as PG-13. In the US, the rating is attributed to “violence & disturbing material.” The violence tag is an expected one; after all, the entire Hunger Games franchise hinges around the titular death games. PG-13 movies can show brief glimpses of gore and a small amount of blood, while violence without injury detail is unrestricted. The “disturbing material” label isn’t so clearly defined, but likely refers to emotionally distressing images, such as the public executions and other brutal practices of the movie’s authoritarian regime.

The Ballad Of Songbirds & Snakes Might Not Be Suitable For Children

In light of the implications of this rating tag, The Hunger Games: The Ballad of Songbirds and Snakes may not be suitable for younger viewers. Violence and brutality are essential to the dystopian Hunger Games franchise. While every film installment has its work cut out when it comes to maintaining a PG-13 rating despite the intense violence, there’s plenty of material in the Ballad of Songbirds and Snakes book that classifies the story as the most mature in the franchise.

While the gruesome deaths, torture, and images of bodies being dragged through the streets may not be as graphically depicted in the film as in the book, it’s likely that the movie will push the violence as far as it can within the realm of a PG-13 rating. Indeed, franchise veteran director Francis Lawrence explains that nearly every Hunger Games movie is initially cut with an R-rating, before being trimmed down to the minimum level of suitability. As such, even if The Hunger Games: The Ballad of Songbirds and Snakes does not contain gratuitous injury detail, there’s a good chance that the images will prove too upsetting for children.