THE HUNGER GAMES Will Return to Theaters This Fall
Article excerpt
We're going back to Panem this fall, in a move that's proving lucrative for movie studios
Practice your mockingjay call, readers: we’re going back to Panem. All five films in the Hunger Games franchise will return to theaters this September.
While theatrical re-releases aren’t new, we’ve seen an uptick in the last few years. There was an older film in rotation at nearly every movie theater I went to in 2024, a strategy that likely began as a way to fill gaps in the release calendar after the 2023 SAG-AFTRA strike halted production for nearly four months.
The strategy behind the latest re-releases is likely more about getting that sweet, sweet nostalgia-fueled revenue, and in the case of The Hunger Games, marketing for new projects. Whatever the reason, the strategy has been a lucrative one.
Titanic went back to theatres in 2023 for its 25th anniversary. While not a book adaptation, this drop proved that nostalgia gets butts in seats: it brought in around $15 million in one weekend
The Twilight Saga films returned to theatres in October 2025 for the novel’s 20th anniversary. The films were released over the course of five days, with the first installment bringing in $1.55 million in a single day
The Lord of the Rings trilogy was re-released earlier this year for the 25th anniversary of The Fellowship of the Ring, and presales for the multi-day release came in at $5 million
The Hunger Games films will return to theaters ahead of the November release of the highly anticipated Sunrise on the Reaping and will also follow a multi-day release schedule: The Hunger Games on September 3, Catching Fire on September 4, Mockingjay, Part 1 on September 5, Mockingjay, Part 2 on September 6, and The Ballad of Songbirds and Snakes on September 7.
Will this tug at nostalgia prove as profitable as sparkly vampires and sinking ships? Probably, but may the odds be ever in their favor.