Film hub: Sunrise on the Reaping — cast, stills, trailers and the Australian release record.
News · AU
Roadshow is putting on the premiere at HOYTS Melbourne Central IMAX two nights before the film opens, and handing out passes through Instagram partners. The first giveaway closes on Tuesday night.
Cinemas · AU
IMAX, 4DX, ScreenX and Dolby Atmos sessions are confirmed across Australia, with a new format-specific poster for each.
Merch · AU
HOYTS has an exclusive districts tin, Village a pink tub on a bed of flowers, Event a Haymitch cup, and the flint striker key chain looks to be at all three. Village's are on pre-order now.
News · AU
The Australian author and TikTok creator announced the gig on her own account on Sunday night and tagged Roadshow Films. Roadshow hasn't confirmed a date, venue or guest list.
Exhibition · AU
IMAX has confirmed the 1.90:1 expanded ratio runs for more than 45 minutes, the arena opens up Catching Fire style, and IMAX Melbourne already has a 18 November preview on sale.
Music · score
The franchise's six-time composer gets a standalone digital score album, listed for the week after the Dave Cobb song soundtrack.
Marketing watch · AU
A Westfield London fan screening is listed for 28 October and Lucca Comics & Games has confirmed one for 1 November, three weeks before release. Australia's earliest sessions are still 18 November.
Marketing · Activation
Lionsgate and Westfield are running a free, ticketed Hunger Games activation in London from 30 October, with a clip shown nowhere else. Nothing has been announced for Australian Westfields.
Cast & creative
Francis Lawrence and Nina Jacobson walk USA Today through the casting of all 14 principals, from the Sydney unknown who had to be put 'through the wringer' to the email Glenn Close sent them.
Press tour · AU
Dates and venues for London, Berlin and Madrid have surfaced after Sydney's fan event, while Mexico, Los Angeles and New York are still unannounced.
Merch · AU
Lenore Dove's inscribed birthday gift to Haymitch is now official merchandise, priced in AUD and shipping here. We ordered both; this is what the shipping bill looks like.
Soundtrack · lead single
The lead single from Sunrise on the Reaping (The Album) dropped on Friday, the same night Noah Kahan played it for the first time at Afterpay Arena.
Cast · cover story
Zada, Whitney Peak, Mckenna Grace, Elle Fanning and Glenn Close shot Entertainment Weekly's Sunrise on the Reaping cover, with Francis Lawrence on what 48 tributes meant on set.
Marketing · AU exclusive
The official makeup collection for the film arrives 29 September as a limited-edition MECCA exclusive, with a second drop to follow in October.
Merch · Collectibles
Three new Pop! Movies figures, including the first ever Haymitch Abernathy, open for US pre-order on 26 August. The Australian date is coming in September.
Exhibition · AU
IMAX Melbourne has confirmed the film opens on the museum screen in IMAX. The aspect ratio, the thing Catching Fire fans actually care about, is still with IMAX Corp.
Community · Giveaway
Assouline printed 350. Three have sat in our storage for a decade. One hundred days out from the Australian release of Sunrise on the Reaping, one of them is leaving the vault.
Casting · interview
Francis Lawrence has addressed the casting a lot of people assumed was coming. The part needed someone who read considerably older — and it went to an actor who once played Philip Seymour Hoffman's son.
Rerelease · AU
One film a night from 3 September, with a Sunrise on the Reaping sneak peek attached in the US. We're confirming whether Australian sessions get the footage.
Cast
Six years ago he was in a low-budget film his dad directed and his brother wrote. In November he leads a $3.4 billion franchise. The career, the family, and why this casting is a bigger deal in Australia than anywhere else.
Production
A decommissioned German steelworks stands in for District 12. A protected Spanish mountain range is the arena. The franchise that built Panem in North Carolina now shoots almost entirely on the other side of the Atlantic — and there's a reason.
Exhibition
IMAX Melbourne has confirmed the date and the format: 19 November, in IMAX 4K Laser Digital. The trailer points to an expanded 1.90:1 ratio in the arena — which makes the question of which Australian IMAX you book more interesting than it looks.
First look
Released on Haymitch's birthday, the featurette runs from the sunrise of Reaping Day to the arena — with Francis Lawrence and the cast on building the boy before the bottle.
Distribution · AU
The prequel arrives a day ahead of its US bow, with Hoyts, Event and Palace already listing sessions.
Marketing
The mockingjay and the snake, built out of flowers, have taken over the garden at The Grounds — Australia's stop on a campaign running through more than thirty countries. It's there until Friday, and the trailer lands tomorrow.
The Friday Briefing
One email a week until the Reaping, then whatever the week deserves.
