Why Hunger Games Could Become A Complete Disaster For Rachel Zegler

The Hunger Games franchise has certainly earned its spot in film history. Globally, they have earned over $3 billion. If you consider that they only had three movies, that number becomes even more impressive. The franchise catapulted both Liam Hemsworth and Jennifer Lawrence into stardom, with Mockingjay ending on a relatively good note. That, however, was 13 years ago, and since Hollywood has run out of ideas, we are back again with another movie. Now, will give them credit for not simply remaking the old movies. Instead, they opted for the classic prequel, which comes down to the same concept.

The Hunger Games: The Ballad of Songbirds and Snakes will play 64 years before the Jennifer Lawrence story. The new star of these prequels will be none other than Snow White herself, Rachel Zegler. This is where the controversy starts. I remain strong in my commentary that Zegler is a talented actress and singer. If you do not believe me, go and look up her Wicked Broadway covers and tell me with a straight face that she is not talented. This, however, does not change the fact that she is also controversial. While it is easy to dismiss all the criticism she has received as hate, a lot of it is also warranted.

A lot of people have compared her to Brie Larson, and that comparison is not far off. There are moments that I feel bad for the levels of hate that both women receive, but then I also remember why they are disliked. If you ask journalists and Twitter why Rachel Zegler is subjected to this much hate, they will respond with the classic Sexist excuse. However, things are much more complicated than that.

Rachel Zegler Vs. Hunger Games

There is a simple rule in the entertainment world. In fact, this rule is true for anyone looking to sell a product. Do not go after your fan base. They are always right even when they are wrong. When you bash the piece of entertainment you were hired to bring to life, fans will always revolt. With all the online criticism against Zegler all eyes are naturally on the new Hunger Games movie. While it is one thing to dislike someone, voting with your wallet is another thing. We sometimes see people receiving backlash only for their product to still go great.

In the case of Rachel Zegler many wondered if there would be any consequences for her comments. This brings us to the current Hunger Games box office numbers. To date, Hunger Games 2023 has made $54 million. In addition, they have also made $44 million in North America. This means that they have made about $100 million in total. This might sound like a low number, but they are about on par with expectations. The Lionsgate Vice Chairman Adam Fogelson said in a statement, “We were a little lighter than projections domestically and a little over projections internationally, so we’re thrilled with the result,”

it is worth pointing out that while they fall far short of the original trilogy, prequels rarely live up to their predecessors. In total, the movie had a budget of $130 million. This means they must bring in at least double that to break even. Considering the movie was only released over the weekend, they will likely end up with a small profit. I predict they will end up with about $350 million. Maybe they will reach half a billion, but that might be a stretch too far.

Did Rachel Zegler Sink The Hunger Games?

With all these numbers taken into consideration, we now need to ask the obvious question. Was Hunger Games a Box Office Disaster? More importantly, is Rachel Zegler a Box Office Drag. While it is easy to simply make that statement because you do not like her, the numbers prove otherwise. Despite everything, Zegler did not sink into this movie, at least. However, the negativity could still come around in her next project. Brie Larson was largely disliked and still brought in $1 billion with Captain Marvel. The sequel, however, cannot say the same.

Many people have fond memories of this series. Thus it is natural that they would want to go back and watch a new installment. Now that the hype is over, though, we might see these numbers sink as they push out more movies. Sometimes, timing can make or break a movie. In this case, the timing might have been on their side. Next time, though, they will no longer have those member berries. Only time will tell what the future will bring in for Rachel Zegler and her box office numbers. There are many factors to consider when looking at these types of things.

The Hunger Games is already established. After a long layoff where people thought it was over, to have another movie will bring fans in. We saw a similar reception all those years back with the Star Wars Prequels. Then we saw the same thing happen with the Hobbit Series. Now, they are a little different because each movie still ended up making almost a billion dollars each, but the reception did start to fade after a while. A better example might be the Harry Potter prequels.

A Hunger Game Review

When it comes to the reviews for this latest Hunger Games movie, I am slightly surprised. Usually, the audience will give something a low score, while the critics cannot get enough of it. This time around, it is actually the critics who are harsher on the film. While Rotton Tomatoes should never be used as a metric on whether something is good or not, it does at least give you a guide. The closest you will get to a real measurement is the comment section and the ratio of a YouTube trailer. At least there are millions of people watching and voicing their opinions. Nonetheless, critics gave this film a 64%.

The audience, on the other hand, has the film at 90%. It is worth pointing out that there are only 500 reviews, which is low. Usually, user reviews are in the thousands, but it is worth pointing out that rotten tomatoes have become extremely strict. They no longer allow for anyone to voice their opinion. If you cannot prove that you watched the movie, you cannot review it. This complicates things a bit, as a number of people who watched the movie cannot prove it. However, it does least help a bit with review bombing. Or so they claim.

Many think this is just another way to protect movies. However you might feel, the audience does enjoy the movie. Critics seem to think the film does not deliver well on its main plot. The story centers around the origin of the villain. This is similar to how Star Wars focused on the origin of Darth Vader. However, for many, they fail to deliver on this plot point. The audience obviously does not look that deeply into things. Thus, they like the film more.

Conclusion

Overall, despite negative perceptions towards Zegler, most people are indifferent towards her. As long as the story is good, people will look past controversy. For Hunger Games, it is hard to say if the story was good or not. In the end, each person will have to decide for themselves.

FAQ

Table Of Information