The Hunger Games: The Ballad of Songbirds and Snakes

NZ release: 16 November 2023

Drug use & violence Rated on: 16 November 2023

Hunger Games Ballad of Songbirds and Snakes

What’s it about?

Before he became the tyrannical president of Panem, 18-year-old Coriolanus Snow is the last hope for his family’s fading lineage. To restore the Snows rightful place amongst the elite, Coriolanus is forced to become a mentor for the female tribute of District 12 during the 10th annual Hunger Games. With bleak odds, Snow has only one shot of achieving the impossible – win the Hunger Games.

The facts

  • Directed by Francis Lawrence (The Hunger Games Trilogy, I Am Legend)
  • English language
  • Runtime: 157 mins
  • Based on the novel of the same name, The Hunger Games: The Ballad of Songbirds and Snakes by Suzanne Collins
  • Starring Rachel Zegler, Tom Blyth, Peter Dinklage, Jason Schwartzman, Viola Davis, Hunter Schafer and Josh Andrés Rivera.
  • A spinoff of The Hunger Games series

Why did it get this rating?

This film was cross-rated by the Film and Video Labelling Body. You can find out more about cross-rating here.

Violence

Like other Hunger Games films, characters are seen using blades, guns, and objects to kill each other. In one scene, a character is stabbed through their abdomen with a trident – killing them. Their lifeless body falls from the tall pole and smacks on the ground. In another scene, a character stabs another person’s neck using a broken glass bottle.

Some characters are killed in cruel ways. We see executions such as characters being hanged. One of them are seen screaming and begging for forgiveness. In another scene, characters run away in fear as they are pursued by mutated snakes that swarm over and bite them.

Characters are often covered bloody in the aftermath of violence. The corpses of teenagers lie in a gladiatorial arena.

Cruelty

The tributes are treated inhumanly. For example, they are forced to reside in a zoo cage leading up to the games.

A character is hanged alive in the middle of the arena as punishment. They beg another tribute to end their misery.

Drug use

A character regularly uses morphine to cope.

Suicide references

A character briefly mentions they considered suicide.

Further information

Recent featured decisions

07 January 2025

Violence, offensive language and nudity

In 1970s Rio de Janeiro, during the Brazilian dictatorship, former deputy Rubens Paiva was taken by soldiers and never seen again. After 30 years of searching for answers, his wife Eunice begins showing signs of Alzheimer’s just as the truth emerges.

Read more

08 October 2024

Tinā

Tina

Violence, offensive language and suicide references

Mareta, grieving her daughter's death in the Christchurch quakes, becomes a substitute teacher at an elite school. Unexpectedly, she discovers students lacking guidance and care, prompting her to provide inspiration and support.

Read more