Updated Sep 28, 2026: added the Sep 16 trailer, the 150-minute runtime, the PG-13 rating, the $185 million budget and where tickets stand. Reviews aren’t out yet.
The Sunrise on the Reaping movie hits theaters and IMAX on Friday, Nov 20, 2026, per Lionsgate’s trailer 2 announcement. Francis Lawrence directs his fifth Hunger Games film, Joseph Zada plays a 16-year-old Haymitch Abernathy, and it’s rated PG-13 with a 150-minute runtime. Tickets aren’t on sale in the US yet. Below: the full cast, both trailers, what the book is about (no ending spoilers) and the stuff we’re side-eyeing.
Sunrise on the Reaping movie release date, tickets and the basics
- Release date: Nov 20, 2026, worldwide, in theaters and IMAX. Lionsgate locked that date back in June 2024, the same day it announced the book, and it’s never moved.
- Tickets: Not on sale as of Sep 28, 2026. Fandango shows “Opens Nov 20” with a “notify me” button, and Lionsgate hasn’t announced a presale date.
- Rating: PG-13 for “strong violence, bloody images, disturbing material, some smoking and teen drinking,” per Screen Rant, citing the MPA’s rating.
- Runtime: 150 minutes, per The Numbers.
- Budget: $185 million, also per The Numbers. That’s nearly double the reported $100 million Ballad cost.
- Behind the camera: Francis Lawrence directs from a script by Billy Ray and Michael Lesslie, and Nina Jacobson, Brad Simpson and Lawrence produce, per TheWrap.
- Streaming: Nothing announced. It’s theaters only for now.
Trailers
There’s been a teaser, a first trailer in April (Deadline had it) and a second trailer on Sep 16, per FirstShowing. Trailer 2 is the one to watch. It leans hard into the arena and the scale of the Quell:
And here’s the first full trailer from April, which spends more time in the Capitol:
Sunrise on the Reaping cast
This is a seriously loaded lineup. Here’s who plays who, with the source for each.
| Actor | Role | Source |
|---|---|---|
| Joseph Zada | Haymitch Abernathy, District 12 tribute | Variety |
| Whitney Peak | Lenore Dove Baird, Haymitch’s girlfriend | Variety |
| Mckenna Grace | Maysilee Donner, fellow District 12 tribute | Variety |
| Ralph Fiennes | President Coriolanus Snow | The Hollywood Reporter |
| Elle Fanning | A young Effie Trinket | MPA |
| Kieran Culkin | Caesar Flickerman | MPA |
| Jesse Plemons | Plutarch Heavensbee | MPA |
| Glenn Close | Drusilla Sickle | MPA |
| Kelvin Harrison Jr. | Beetee Latier | MPA |
| Maya Hawke | Wiress | MPA |
| Lili Taylor | Mags Flanagan | MPA |
| Billy Porter | Magno Stift | MPA |
| Ben Wang | Wyatt Callow | MPA |
| Iris Apatow | Proserpina Trinket | MPA |
| Jennifer Lawrence, Josh Hutcherson | Katniss Everdeen and Peeta Mellark (returning; how they appear is under wraps) | Variety |
Fun detail for longtime fans: Beetee, Wiress and Mags are all victors Katniss meets in Catching Fire, so you’re seeing them decades earlier. And Fiennes is the third actor to play Snow, after Donald Sutherland and Tom Blyth.
What is Sunrise on the Reaping about?
The movie adapts Suzanne Collins’ novel, published March 18, 2025. It was a monster hit, selling 1.5 million copies in its first week, per Variety, about double what The Ballad of Songbirds & Snakes did.
Spoiler-light version: it’s reaping day for the 50th Hunger Games, and it’s a Quarter Quell, so the Capitol adds a twist. This time it reaps twice as many tributes. Haymitch is 16, lives in District 12, has a girlfriend he’s crazy about, and absolutely doesn’t plan on going anywhere near the arena. Then he’s picked. From there it’s the Capitol, the training, the prep and the Games, with Haymitch slowly figuring out that the whole thing is staged for the cameras as much as it’s a fight to survive. That’s all we’ll say. If you’ve read Catching Fire, you already know Haymitch wins. The book is about how, and what it costs him.
Where it fits in the Panem timeline
The official synopsis puts it 24 years before Katniss volunteers, which makes it the middle chapter between Ballad (the 10th Games) and the 2012 original (the 74th). You don’t strictly need homework, but it helps a lot to know who Haymitch becomes. Our Hunger Games movies in order guide has both release and story order, plus where to stream the first five.
Why this one matters for Lionsgate
The Hunger Games is a $3.3 billion franchise, per Screen Rant, but the last entry didn’t hit the old highs. Ballad opened to $44.6 million domestic and finished at $361.8 million worldwide, per Box Office Mojo. That’s solid, but it’s well below the Katniss films. Screen Rant figures Sunrise needs north of $500 million worldwide to count as a hit, and notes nothing else Hunger Games is in development.
Here’s our take: Sunrise has a real shot at doing better than Ballad. The book sold way more, Haymitch is a fan favorite in a way young Snow never was, and the Katniss and Peeta return is a four-quadrant hook. But at $185 million, the bar for “success” just got a lot higher.
Let’s be real: what’s bugging us
We’re excited. We also have notes.
- The movie was announced before anyone read the book. Lionsgate set the release date the same day the novel was revealed, nine months before it came out. Collins’ books have earned that trust, but it’s still the clearest sign that Panem is now a release-calendar slot, not just a story.
- The budget went way up. $185 million, per The Numbers, for a franchise whose last film made $361.8 million worldwide. Our guess is the stacked cast and the IMAX-scale arena eat a lot of that. Either way, it’s a big bet on a lead most moviegoers don’t know yet. When he was cast, Zada’s breakout, Prime Video’s We Were Liars, hadn’t even premiered yet, per Variety.
- Stunt casting risk. Fanning, Culkin, Plemons, Fiennes, Close, Hawke, Porter. That’s a lot of famous people playing roles that, in the book, are mostly side parts. Fiennes himself has said he isn’t trying to be Donald Sutherland, which is the right call, but three Snows in six films is a lot of recasting to buy. The fear is a movie that feels like a parade of cameos around Haymitch instead of his story.
- PG-13 for the darkest book. Lawrence has said some of the book’s worst moments can’t be shown at this rating, per Screen Rant. It’s already the first film in the series flagged for “bloody images,” so they’re pushing it. Still, this book hits harder than any of the others, and we’d bet some of that gets sanded down.
- One book, one movie is the right call. Credit where it’s due. After the Mockingjay split, Lionsgate is doing Sunrise as a single 150-minute film. It’s long, but it’s not a Part 1 that’s all setup. We’ll take it.
Is there going to be another one?
Nothing’s been announced after Sunrise as of Sep 28, 2026. Every movie so far has come from a Collins book, so a seventh one depends on her writing another. If Sunrise opens big, don’t be shocked if that conversation starts fast.
What’s next
Our spoiler-free Sunrise on the Reaping review goes up when the embargo lifts. Before then, catch up on the first five films with our Hunger Games watch order. Just move fast, because they’re all leaving Netflix on Oct 14.
So who are you most curious about: Zada’s Haymitch, Fiennes’ Snow, or Fanning’s baby Effie? Tell us in the comments.
