Sunrise on the Reapingis flying off bookstore shelves. The new Suzanne Collins book is the fifth novel in theHunger Gamesseries and the second prequel to follow the original trilogy. The book was announced at the same time as the development of theupcomingThe Hunger Games: Sunrise on the Reapingmovie, with both following the 50th Hunger Games and the victory of Haymitch Abernathy, the future mentor to the trilogy’s main character Katniss Everdeen. Haymitch was portrayed by Woody Harrelson in the four movies adapting the original trilogy, through 2015’sThe Hunger Games: Mockingjay – Part 2.
PerThe Hollywood Reporter,Sunrise on the Reapinghas sold 1.5 million English-language copiesacross print books, ebooks, and audiobooks during its first week on the market in the U.S., Canada, the U.K., Ireland, Australia, and New Zealand. 1.2 million of that total have been sold in the United States alone, making domestic sales twice those of the 2020 prequelThe Ballad of Songbirds and Snakesand triple those of the 2010 trilogy-capperMockingjayduring the first weeks of their respective publications.
Publisher’s Weeklyalso reports that, in the United States, the book is the second-biggest debut of the year behindOnyx Stormby Rebecca Yarros and the third-biggest bestseller overall behindThe Let Them Theoryby Mel Robbins. Below,read the official announcement from the book’s publisher, Scholastic, as well as a statement from Scholastic’s Executive Vice President and President, Trade Publishing Ellie Berger:
Scholastic:With more than 1.2 million copies sold in the U.S. alone, Sunrise on the Reaping has sold twice as many copies its first week on sale domestically as The Ballad of Songbirds and Snakes in 2019 and three times as many copies as Mockingjay in 2010.
Ellie Berger:After nearly a year of anticipation, sales for Sunrise on the Reaping have exceeded all expectations, as has the overwhelmingly positive critical and fan response to the book across the world.
What This Means For Sunrise On The Reaping
The Movie Could Become A Major Hit
This successful debut for the newHunger Gamesbookcomes during a time when the franchise has hit something of a lull. Most recently, the 2023 adaptation ofThe Ballad of Songbirds and Snakes, which starred Tom Blyth and Rachel Zegler, grossed $349 million against its $100 million budget. While this was most likely more than enough to put the movie in the black,it fell far behind the lowest-grossing adaptation of a novel from the original trilogy, which wasMockingjay - Part 2($646.2 million).
The Ballad of Songbirds and Snakesfollows the origin story of the trilogy’s main villain President Coriolanus Snow.
The performance ofBallad of Songbirds and Snakesproves that the box office of theHunger Gamesmoviesis not necessarily influenced by book sales, as the 2020 novel also outsoldMockingjay. However, because the new book is the highest-selling installment in more than 15 years,it still seems likely that its 2026 adaptation will outperformBallad. In fact, if the movie outgrossesBalladat the same level as the book, relative to the 2015 movie, it could gross more than $500 million worldwide, cementing the property as a viable cinematic franchise even after the conclusion of Katniss' story.
Our Take On The Sunrise On The Reaping Sales
The Franchise Could Keep Moving Forward
One thing that makes theSunrise on the Reapingsales even more impressive is the fact that it is a standalone story in theHunger Gamesfranchise.Mockingjayconcluded a tightly plotted continuing story, so it had many factors working in its favor to make it a much bigger hit than the Haymitch prequel. This likelyspells good news for the continuation of the franchise. Because Collins has explored further stories from the universe outside of the original trilogy, it seems possible that she could have interest in exploring even more soon, both on the page and on the screen.
