Ahead of a movie adaptation in 2026, the latest Hunger Games book has proven that there’s still plenty of appetite for stories set in this universe. Sunrise on the Reaping, a prequel to the original trilogy, sold more than 1.5 million English copies in the week since it was first released. That includes print books, e-books, and audiobooks.
“With more than 1.2 million copies sold in the U.S. alone, Sunrise on the Reaping has sold twice as many copies its first week on sale domestically as The Ballad of Songbirds and Snakes in 2020 and three times as many copies as Mockingjay in 2010,” Scholastic announced.
The novel is the fifth book set in the world of The Hunger Games, and the second prequel from author Suzanne Collins. The book is set 24 years before the events of the original Hunger Games and follows Haymitch Abernathy, a District 12 tribute who wins the 50th Hunger Games, also known as the Second Quarter Quell. Abernathy is, of course, a familiar character for fans of the original trilogy, as he served as Katniss Everdeen and Peeta Mellark’s mentor during their games.
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“With Sunrise on the Reaping, I was inspired by David Hume’s idea of implicit submission and, in his words, ‘the easiness with which the many are governed by the few.’ The story also lent itself to a deeper dive into the use of propaganda and the power of those who control the narrative. The question ‘Real or not real?’ seems more pressing to me every day,” Collins explained of her desire to return to the trilogy.
The book, which was released on March 18, follows The Ballad of Songbirds and Snakes, which was released in 2020. According to Publisher’s Weekly, Sunrise on the Reaping is already the year’s third best-selling book.