“The Ballad of the Song Birds and Snakes” serves as a prequel to the trilogy “The Hunger Games,” written by Suzanne Collins. The prequel came out on May 19, 2020 as a novel. And 11 years after the first movie was in theaters, the movie adaptation of “The Ballad of the Song Birds and Snakes” was released in theaters on November 17, 2023. 

Directed by Francis Lawrence, it  is set 64 years before the events of the first novel, where two tributes, a male and a female, taken from each “district” are participating in the 10th annual Hunger Games. The movie depicts the villain origin story of future President Coriolanus Snow, and how he mentors District 12 tribute Lucy Gray Baird to victory in the 10th annual Hunger Games.

The movie portrays Snow’s humble beginnings at the start of the movie when his parents, who are former Capitol members, pass away and he becomes an orphan. He lives with his cousin Tigris and his grandmother while attending a school for the children of members of the Capitol. Usually students of the Academy in the Capitol compete with their academic grades for an opportunity to attend the University from a prize of a strong performance in school. However, for the 10th annual Hunger Games, selected students of the academy have to have a strong performance as a mentor of a tribute from each district. 

The movie follows three parts, similar to the books. Part I: The Mentor, Part II: The Prize, and Part III: The Peacekeeper. Fans who have both read the book and watched the movie say that it is similar to the book, but missing small details. 

“I think they should have added more about Snow’s personality and inner dialogue. The book shows Snow’s inner thoughts and feelings which you don’t really get in the movie so it makes less sense on his decisions,” said Sophomore Frankie Herta. 

Another student, junior Gabriela Rojas shared her opinion on the movie. 

“I liked seeing President Snow’s character development and transition into a villain. I do wish we could’ve seen a more in depth version of this transition though and like his thought processes that resulted in life-changing events because he was clearly scheming throughout the whole movie and sometimes his true intentions got confusing,” Rojas said.  

As of December 5, the movie has grossed $123.9 million in the US and Canada and $246.6 million worldwide. It has a 64% Rotten Tomato rating.