Box Office Woes: ‘Hunger Games,’ ‘Trolls’ And ‘The Marvels’ On Pace For Lowest Grosses In Franchise History

Topline

“The Hunger Games: The Ballad of Songbirds and Snakes” grossed $5.75 million in its domestic previews, Deadline and Variety reported, putting the long-awaited prequel on pace for the movie franchise’s worst weekend opening, though it’s not the only box office disappointment this weekend, as “Trolls Band Together” and “The Marvels” underperform.

“The Hunger Games: The Ballad of Songbirds and Snakes” grossed $5.75 million in previews.

Key Facts

Despite its $100 million budget, “The Hunger Games: Ballad of Songbirds and Snakes” is projected to become the lowest-grossing opening in the Hunger Games franchise, projected to gross between $50 million and $60 million during its opening weekend.

That puts it well behind 2012’s “The Hunger Games,” which grossed $152 million in its first weekend, as well as its sequel, “The Hunger Games: Catching Fire” ($158 million), “The Hunger Games: Mockingjay Part 1” (nearly $122 million) and “The Hunger Games: Mockingjay Part 2,” which grossed nearly $130 million, according to Box Office Mojo.

Dreamworks’ “Trolls Band Together,” meanwhile, pulled in $1.3 million at the box office in previews, and is projected to bring in roughly $30 million this weekend, putting it behind 2016’s “Trolls,” which pulled in $46.5 million in its opening weekend and has gone on to total $153.7 million at box offices domestically—2020’s “Trolls World Tour” has grossed $450 million since its digital release in April 2020, though the Covid-19 pandemic restricted its theatrical debut.

Disney’s “The Marvels,” which premiered last week, broke an unwelcome Marvel Cinematic Universe record with the lowest-grossing domestic weekend opening, grossing just $47 million domestically, a drop in the bucket of the $357 million “Avengers: Endgame” grossed in 2019, the best weekend opening of all-time.

Chief Critic

The “Hunger Games” prequel, based on author Suzanne Collins’ 2020 novel by the same name, has the unfortunate recognition of earning the lowest critics’ score on Rotten Tomatoes of any film in the franchise, at a tepid 63%, with BoxOffice.com analyst Shawn Robbins telling CNBC the movie lacks the star power its predecessors had with Jennifer Lawrence, Josh Hutcherson, Liam Hemsworth and Woody Harrelson.

Tangent

“The Marvels” still managed to top the box office last weekend. Director Nia DaCosta’s sequel to 2019’s “Captain Marvel” became the highest-grossing release for a Black woman director, grossing nearly $117 million worldwide, according to data from Box Office Mojo.

Big Number

$424.6 million. That’s how much the second installment of the Hunger Games franchise—“The Hunger Games: Catching Fire—has grossed domestically since its release in 2013, with a worldwide box office gross of $865 million, making it the 84th-highest-grossing film of all-time. The first “Hunger Games” comes close behind at a lifetime U.S. gross of $408 million, while 2014’s “The Hunger Games: Mockingjay Part 1” has grossed $337 million and its successor, “The Hunger Games: Mockingjay Part 2” has grossed nearly $282 million since its release in 2015.