Quick answer: The Hunger Games: Sunrise on the Reaping opens in theaters on November 20, 2026. Joseph Zada plays a young Haymitch Abernathy in the 50th Hunger Games, and Francis Lawrence directs.
Watch the official trailer
The fifth Hunger Games movie adapts Suzanne Collins’ 2025 novel and goes back 24 years before the original story, to the Games that made Haymitch the bitter mentor we met in the first film. Here is everything we know.
Release date
Lionsgate releases Sunrise on the Reaping exclusively in theaters on Friday, November 20, 2026. Like previous Hunger Games films, it should come to digital rental a few weeks after its theatrical run, then to streaming later; no date has been announced yet.
What is Sunrise on the Reaping about?
The story takes place during the Second Quarter Quell, the 50th Hunger Games, when twice as many tributes are sent into the arena. A 16-year-old Haymitch Abernathy from District 12 is reaped, and the film follows how he survives the Games and what it costs him.
Sunrise on the Reaping cast
| Actor | Role |
|---|---|
| Joseph Zada | Haymitch Abernathy |
| Whitney Peak | Lenore Dove Baird |
| Ralph Fiennes | President Coriolanus Snow |
| Elle Fanning | Effie Trinket |
| Jesse Plemons | Plutarch Heavensbee |
| McKenna Grace | Maysilee Donner |
| Maya Hawke | Wiress |
| Kieran Culkin | Caesar Flickerman |
| Glenn Close | Drusilla |
Jennifer Lawrence and Josh Hutcherson are also reported to return as Katniss and Peeta.
Director and writers
Francis Lawrence, who directed Catching Fire, both Mockingjay films and The Ballad of Songbirds & Snakes, is back behind the camera. The screenplay is by Billy Ray, who co-wrote the first Hunger Games film.
Do you need to see the other movies first?
Not strictly: it is a prequel set long before Katniss. But watching the original Hunger Games and Catching Fire makes Haymitch’s story far more powerful, since you know who he becomes.
See every other release in our November 2026 release calendar.
FAQ
When does Sunrise on the Reaping come out?
November 20, 2026, in theaters.
Who plays young Haymitch?
Joseph Zada plays Haymitch Abernathy in The Hunger Games: Sunrise on the Reaping.
Will Sunrise on the Reaping be on streaming?
Yes, eventually, but it opens exclusively in theaters on November 20, 2026. No streaming date has been announced.
Sources: Rotten Tomatoes, TV Insider, TechRadar.