This 12 months’s Lucca Comics & Games (Nov. 1-5) is about to finish on a excessive observe with a particular fan screening of “The Hunger Games: The Ballad of Songbirds and Snakes,” probably the most anticipated launch occasions hosted by Europe’s largest popular culture meet.
The launch of the prequel to the enduring saga will likely be dealt with by Rome-based Notorious Pictures, which takes over distribution duties, beforehand dealt with by Warner Bros. and Universal Pictures.
The dystopian sci-fi film is about 64 years earlier than the occasions of the primary 2012 installment and follows young Coriolanus Snow’s rise to energy because the tyrannical chief of Panem, together with his relationship with tribute Lucy Gray Baird through the 12 months of the tenth Hunger Games. The solid is toplined by Tom Blyth (“Billy the Kid”) and Rachel Zegler (“West Side Story,” the upcoming “Snow White”), starring alongside Hunter Schafer, Peter Dinklage and Jason Schwartzman, amongst others. Francis Lawrence is once more on the helm.
“It’s a franchise whose popularity grew incredibly. [In Italy,] the first movie grossed €3 million ($3.2 million), and the last one over €8 million ($8.5 million). It’s now a cult [saga], with a large fan base that expanded over time. Being able to pick up this title has been of crucial importance to us,” Notorious Pictures head of theatrical distribution Alice Panada tells Variety forward of the Lucca launch.
The film is among the key initiatives of Notorious Pictures’ strong industrial slate. It will hit Italian theaters with round 450-500 copies. Distributed in cooperation with Medusa (which is accountable for many of the industrial duties), Notorious Pictures’ efforts on the undertaking primarily centered on its advertising and marketing marketing campaign.
“We kicked off the movie’s marketing campaign in March, and we released the first trailer. We published a lot of content, including three trailers as well as several clips and posters. Since March, we’ve been able to keep the fans hooked,” says Panada.
“The Hunger Games: The Ballad of Songbirds and Snakes”
Courtesy of Lionsgate
The Lucca fan screening will likely be preceded by a particular “Hunger Games”-themed set up in Piazza San Michele (the medieval city’s principal sq.) and a devoted flash mob “paying homage to the movie and the fans of the whole saga” on Nov. 4.
“We’re very happy about this [screening] since we know how Lucca deeply cares about this IP. Moreover, we are promoting a ‘rewatch’ of the first 2012 film, set to hit Italian theaters on Nov. 6,” Panada provides.
Owing to the SAG-AFTRA strike, nonetheless, no expertise will likely be in attendance in Lucca and, in the intervening time, video recorded messages to the followers aren’t deliberate.
Aiming to intercept a wider viewers, spanning older and younger generations, Notorious Pictures prepped a extra conventional TV ad-based marketing campaign, but in addition collaborated with a bunch of Italian creators lively on social media platforms corresponding to YouTube, Twitch, Instagram and TikTok. A partnership with Mondadori, the Italian writer accountable for Suzanne Collins’ e-book saga rights, has additionally been sealed, with some promotional actions set to take place on the Tuscan gathering and on-line.
“The interesting aspect of this new movie is that, although it displays many references to the previous movies, it can still be enjoyed by those who are not familiar with the saga or haven’t watched any of the ‘Hunger Games’ movies,” Panada says.
“The Hunger Games: The Ballad of Songbirds & Snakes” will likely be out in Italian cinemas on Nov. 15, with pre-sales opening on Oct. 30.
In Italy, Notorious Picture has just lately distributed the Johnny Depp-led “Jeanne du Barry” and Marc Forster’s “Wonder: White Bird,” which is slated for launch in January.
