The hotly anticipated The Hunger Games: Sunrise on the Reaping held its London premiere on Wednesday, and the brief first reactions to the film have already hit social media.
Full critics reviews for the film are not expected to drop until much closer to Sunrise on the Reaping‘s theatrical release date of Nov. 30, but Lionsgate clearly is feeling very confident about the latest entry to Hunger Games franchise and is allowing people who attended Oct. 28 screenings to post limited reactions to the film so far ahead of opening day.
Sunrise on the Reaping is a direct sequel to 2023’s The Hunger Games: The Ballad of Songbirds & Snakes, and both films serve as prequels to Lionsgate’s main Hunger Games movie series that were released from 2012 to 2015. In all, there have been six movies in the franchise.
The film follows 16-year-old Haymitch Abernathy (Joseph Zada) from District 12, “beginning on the morning of the reaping for the 50th Annual Hunger Games, also known as the Second Quarter Quell, the biggest Games yet with twice as many tributes.” According to a synopsis: “Set in the world of Panem 24 years before the events of The Hunger Games, the story follows Haymitch into the arena, where he forms an unlikely alliance with fellow tribute Maysilee Donner (Mckenna Grace) and joins a coalition determined to challenge the Capitol’s control under President Snow (Ralph Fiennes). As the competition unfolds, Haymitch risks everything to take down the Games from within the arena — setting in motion the rebellion that will change Panem forever.”
The cast also includes Jesse Plemons, Glenn Close, Kieran Culkin, Elle Fanning, Maya Hawke, Whitney Peak, and Kelvin Harrison Jr.
Directed by Francis Lawrence, the film is based on Suzanne Collins’ best-selling novel of the same name, and features a screenplay written by Billy Ray and Michael Lesslie.
Below is early social media reaction to Sunrise on the Reaping.