The prequel film The Hunger Games: Reaping Sunrise is reportedly 2 hours and 38 minutes long. If this figure is accurate, the film will be 8 minutes longer than The Hunger Games: The Ballad of Songbirds and Snakes, making it the longest film in The Hunger Games series.
The film recounts Haymitch Abernathy's past participation in the Hunger Games. Previous entries in the series have established that after winning the Games, he became the mentor for Katniss and Peeta.
Haymitch participated in the Second Quarter Quell, competing against nearly 50 other tributes. In the original novels, his story did not end with the arena games; his post-Games experiences also occupy a significant portion of the narrative. The larger number of participants and the storyline extending beyond the Games may be reasons why the film requires a longer runtime, but it remains uncertain which details from the source material the movie will present.
Regarding how the film might portray Haymitch's ordeal, some analyses suggest it could become one of the most brutal entries in the series. The film is scheduled for release on November 20.