The archive · 2026
Film hub: Sunrise on the Reaping — cast, stills, trailers and the Australian release record.
Community · Giveaway
We're giving away one of 350 copies of the Tim Palen Ultimate Edition
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
Why Cooper Hoffman isn't playing Plutarch in Sunrise on the Reaping
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
All five Hunger Games films return to cinemas in September
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
Who is Joseph Zada? The Sydney kid carrying the biggest franchise film of 2026
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
Where Sunrise on the Reaping was filmed — and why Panem has moved to Europe
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
Will you be able to see Sunrise on the Reaping in IMAX in Australia?
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
'Meet Haymitch': the first real look at Zada's Quarter Quell
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
Roadshow sets Sunrise on the Reaping for 19 November AU release
The prequel arrives a day ahead of its US bow, with Hoyts, Event and Palace already listing sessions.
Marketing
A Sunrise on the Reaping garden has appeared in Alexandria
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.
