With the Sunrise on the Reaping movie adaptation around the corner, we should reflect on how we got here. Suzanne Collins didn’t just write about revolutions when the first trilogy came out—she started one. To this day, the first three books (The Hunger Games, Catching Fire, and Mockingjay) are consistently on the frontlist and are still bestsellers. In 2012, when the first movie came out, a door opened for the world of Panem and the life of Katniss Everdeen. The first movie made approximately $408 million and was well-received by fans, who felt the movie did the book justice. And over the next four years, three more movies would grace the screen, each one with a higher budget and a higher revenue.
Following the success of The Ballad of Songbirds and Snakes, book and movie, it is now expected that when a new prequel comes out, a new movie will closely follow. I hope everyone has read Sunrise on the Reaping or has it on their to-be-read (TBR) list, because the movie is set to hold the coveted November 20th release date in 2026—the fastest turnaround for any of the adaptations.
Not only does Lionsgate pour money into these movies, but there is a pivotal truth about The Hunger Games that sets it apart from other adaptations: Suzanne Collins is at the forefront of the projects. She is a screenwriter and executive producer for all the movies. Any changes were approved by her. This gives fans peace of mind because we know that the greatest advocate for the work is the one who created it. It also means that the plot doesn’t get lost because there are too many cooks in the kitchen. Suzanne Collins—head chef—keeps us on track.
I won’t spend a lot of time talking about The Summer I Turned Pretty (we all know it’s great), but I do want to point out a few key things. I recommend reading Emersen Cooper’s blog “Why The Summer I Turned Pretty is Such a Great TV Adaptation,” because she hits the nail on the head!
For starters, this show blew up the internet, Prime Video, and every household with a girl aged 18-34. The final season aired last summer, and the show hit 25 million viewers. It was a success, which, like The Hunger Games, can be attributed to two things: author involvement and budget.
Jenny Han is known as the biggest fan of TSITP. She is the biggest advocate for her characters, and with her guidance, the actors and characters reached their fullest potential on screen. So often, fans are disappointed because something gets cut from their favorite books. Jenny made sure they had the best of the best in the show while adding valuable plotlines. In the end, it ensured more was added than was missing, making fans happy all around.
Even though Prime Video hasn’t officially released the show’s budget, we can get a rough idea from the quality. The guess is around $12 million per episode, a large investment that clearly paid off.
If you are going to do something, do it right or don’t do it at all. This is the mentality of every book fan when it comes to adaptations. Cautious optimism is our starting point, and often, we are disappointed because our favorite scene isn’t in the movie, the characters’ eyes just aren’t the right color, or the writers, producers, and directors just don’t get the point. All of these failures center on the facts of money and the level of the author’s input.
Take the Shadow and Bone adaptation on Netflix. While Leigh Bardugo had a lot of input in the show, things were also drastically changed so they could combine Six of Crows and Shadow and Bone. This confused the fans, but they were even more disappointed because the show struggled to grasp the world it was trying to emulate (nothing like making the Grishaverse more confusing). Nevertheless, the show did well and attracted new fans, even if it didn’t keep the old ones. It eventually got cancelled because of budget problems—Netflix couldn’t sustain the high-budget fantasy show it had become.
Netflix also released an adaptation of A Good Girl’s Guide to Murder (AGGGTM) by Holly Jackson. This adaptation disappointed so many fans. People who hadn’t read the books loved it, but those of us who love the books could immediately see that Holly Jackson had little to do with the adaptation. She had input, but not final say, which is so important.
Unfortunately, according to Holly Jackson, the big changes between the show and the book were due to budget constraints. There were too many factors, and so things ended up getting cut. And the fans felt it. The good news is that for season two, Holly Jackson is on the writing team, so we can hope for an uphill climb with AGGGTM.
I hear so many fans talk about adaptations with the mentality of, “If I hadn’t read the book, it would be good—but I know what it should be, so I can’t condone that adaptation.” As readers, we have such high expectations, and without the proper budget or author input, we are left disappointed.
I love what Holly Jackson has to say about this: “The thing is, with a book I can do whatever I want, there’s no budget.” Our expectations are large because the author’s imagination is larger. On screen, that just isn’t the case.
The Hunger Games and The Summer I Turned Pretty are phenomena of adaptations because they set the standard. They advocate for author input, first and foremost. Furthermore, Lionsgate and Prime Video know that doing something right costs money. And if we aren’t going to do it right, why do it at all?
Hayley Bigelow, Pines Reads Review Writer