The Hunger Games Director Makes A Surprising Comment About Mockingjay
Following the success of the Gary Ross-directed "The Hunger Games," which debuted to fanfare and commercial success in 2012, Lionsgate immediately began to focus on the future of the franchise. Suzanne Collins, the scribe behind "The Hunger Games" novels, had already completed her trilogy of books, allowing the studio to effectively create a concrete roadmap for future films. When it came to "Mockingjay," the final project in the saga, Lionsgate made a controversial, albeit (mostly) financially prosperous decision — one that director Francis Lawrence regrets.
While Ross may have debuted "The Hunger Games" to the masses, it was Lawrence who perfected the franchise, directing Katniss' (Jennifer Lawrence) sophomore adventure "Catching Fire" and her hard-hitting finale(s): "Mockingjay – Part 1" and "Part 2." Shot back-to-back, "Part 1" and "Part 2" were released in late 2014 and 2015, respectively, and received a mixed-to-positive response from both critics and fans, thanks in part to the narrative being cut in half. "I totally regret it. I totally do. I'm not sure everybody does, but I definitely do," Lawrence told People about splitting "The Hunger Games" finale in two.
The decision to divide the final film into two parts was definitely a financially viable decision and one that was also rooted in trends – several teenage-centric films at the time like "Twilight" and "Harry Potter" boasted two-part finales. "What I realized in retrospect — and after hearing all the reactions and feeling the kind of wrath of fans, critics and people at the split — is that I realized it was frustrating," the director admitted, adding that he understood the negative sentiments.
Mockingjay Part 1 and 2 never reached Catching Fire's heights
Prior to "Mockingjay," "Catching Fire" was an absolute marvel at the box office, grossing over $860 million worldwide. Critically, it was a triumph and managed to nab a highly positive A on CinemaScore. With such positive momentum, it makes sense why Lionsgate decided to divide "Mockingjay" into two parts, allowing them to double dip in profits. Unfortunately, "Mockingjay" never reached the critical peak of "Catching Fire," with both "Part 1" and "2" boasting A- CinemaScore ratings and 70% critical scores on Rotten Tomatoes — the lowest for the franchise.
Francis Lawrence is right to acknowledge the frustration that fans had with the "Mockingjay" divide, but perhaps what's most telling is the diminishing box office returns. The first "Mockingjay" made a modest $766 million worldwide, failing to reach the franchise high of "Catching Fire." By the time "Mockingjay — Part 2" debuted in 2015, only hardcore fans stayed around, helping the film gross just shy of $647 million — a series low.
The director explained that frustration between fans and critics definitely manifested, which soured what could have been a solid, heartfelt finale. "In an episode of television, if you have a cliffhanger, you have to wait a week or you could just binge it and then you can see the next episode. But making people wait a year, I think, came across as disingenuous, even though it wasn't," Lawrence discussed.
While Lawrence definitely regrets the decision to split up the finale, he says he's learned his lesson.
Francis Lawrence won't repeat the Mockingjay mistake
Francis Lawrence is now on track to deliver "The Ballad of Songbirds & Snakes," a prequel to "The Hunger Games" saga. Based on Suzanne Collins' book of the same name, "The Ballad of Songbirds & Snakes" details the origins of President Snow, who is played by Tom Blyth in the picture. It's a severe undertaking for Lawrence, who now has to compel audiences to root for the young, still-idealistic Snow.
Continuing his chat with People, Lawrence opened up about how it was important that "The Ballad of Songbirds & Snakes" be just one picture — a decision that, in part, stemmed from the feedback the "Mockingjay" films got. "I would never let them split the book in two," the director revealed, adding that the creative team never even discussed multiple parts of the prequel. "It's a long book, but we got so much [expletive] for splitting 'Mockingjay' into two — from fans, from critics, from everybody — that I was like, 'No way. I'll just make a longer movie.'"
The upcoming prequel, which also stars Rachel Zegler, Peter Dinklage, and Viola Davis, is on track to be a whopping 156 minutes — the longest-ever runtime for the franchise.
"The Hunger Games: The Ballad of Songbirds & Snakes" debuts on November 17.