The Hunger Games: Sunrise on the Reaping will open in 3D after Lionsgate made a stereo version of the film with Meta, and it will move to Meta’s new VR Glasses after its cinema run, the two companies announced on 2 November. It is the first time Meta has worked with a Hollywood studio to convert a feature film into 3D for a theatrical release. The prequel opens in US cinemas on 20 November, and advance tickets for the 3D version are on sale. Meta’s VR Glasses go on sale in spring 2027.
Key facts
- Film: The Hunger Games: Sunrise on the Reaping, directed by Francis Lawrence, opens in US cinemas on 20 November, in 2D and 3D
- Conversion: by DNEG’s Stereo team with Lawrence; Meta’s first 3D conversion with a Hollywood studio
- After cinemas: the 3D version plays on Meta VR Glasses, launching in spring 2027 at $1,299, according to Variety
- More Lionsgate titles for the glasses will be announced later
- Not disclosed: the deal’s terms, the gap between cinemas and the glasses, and the price to watch
The deal ties a Meta device that is not yet on sale to one of Lionsgate’s biggest franchises before the film opens. Meta worked on the 3D version that plays in cinemas, and the same version moves to its glasses later. The terms were not disclosed. The film opens three weeks after the US Halloween weekend took about $62.2m, the third-lowest weekend total of 2026.
How the conversion was done
Lawrence, who has directed the last five Hunger Games films, adapted the film for 3D. The conversion was made with DNEG, the Oscar-winning visual effects and animation studio, whose Stereo team has worked on 3D conversion for more than 15 years, the companies said. Variety notes that DNEG has helped convert Dune: Part One, Godzilla x Kong: The New Empire and Venom.
Lawrence said that from the beginning the team wanted the film “to feel visceral and immersive, pulling audiences deep into Haymitch’s experience”. “Adapting the film for 3D gave us another creative tool to bring audiences even closer to his perspective,” he added.
The film follows a young Haymitch Abernathy, played by Joseph Zada, through the 50th Hunger Games. Woody Harrelson played the character in the original series. The Hollywood Reporter describes it as a direct sequel to The Hunger Games: The Ballad of Songbirds & Snakes (2023); both are prequels to the four films Lionsgate released from 2012 to 2015.
What Meta gets
Meta showed the VR Glasses at its Meta Connect 2026 event in September. The companies say the glasses have a 5K display, Dolby Vision, Dolby Atmos spatial audio and IMAX Enhanced, and weigh about 100 grams. The Hollywood Reporter describes them as separate from Meta’s heavier VR headset.
At Connect, Meta promised immersive versions of Avengers: Infinity War and Star Wars: A New Hope and 3D versions of The Avengers, Black Panther and some Lionsgate titles, according to Variety. The Hollywood Reporter says Meta worked with James Cameron on his 3D film with Billie Eilish, Hit Me Hard and Soft: The Tour, which is available to rent or buy only on Meta’s VR devices. It also says Disney offers 3D films on Meta’s devices through Disney+. Sunrise on the Reaping is different: Meta worked on the conversion before the cinema release, so the same 3D version plays in cinemas first.
“Lionsgate is an ideal partner because of the artistic strength and global appeal of its franchises,” said Sarah Malkin, head of entertainment at Meta’s Reality Labs. Jim Packer, Lionsgate’s chief revenue officer, called it “a first-of-its-kind collaboration” and “a compelling example of how technology can transform existing formats to create fresh, new experiences”.
What it means for Lionsgate
The Hunger Games has grossed more than $3.3bn worldwide across five films, the companies said, and the franchise includes a stage production in London and a theme-park attraction in Dubai, which The Hollywood Reporter describes as planned. Deadline reports that Sunrise on the Reaping is expected to open with $60m–$70m in North America, an estimate rather than a result.
Large-format screens are already part of the release plan. IMAX lists Sunrise on the Reaping in its Filmed For IMAX programme, and IndieWire reported last week that Regal and Cinemark were likely to keep their IMAX screens for its second weekend rather than show Netflix’s The Further Mis-Adventures of Cliff Booth.
Deadline also points to Lionsgate’s earlier tech deals. Two years ago Lionsgate partnered with AI company Runway, which built a model to generate video from the studio’s films, and in June it took an equity stake in Runway, with plans for an AI-generated short-form series drawn from its library, according to Deadline. The Meta deal involves no AI, Deadline notes. In the US courts, Hollywood unions, CAA and Cate Blanchett have asked the judge in an OpenAI copyright case to hear that AI training can be licensed.
What is not known
Neither company has said what Meta paid or how revenue from the glasses is shared. They have also not said when the film reaches the glasses, whether it can be rented or bought there, or at what price, or how many 3D screens will carry it. Malkin spoke of bringing the film in 3D to “audiences around the world”, but no international 3D screen counts have been given. The other Lionsgate films for the glasses will be named later.
Our reading
Until now, Meta’s films for its devices were either finished titles, such as the 3D films Disney offers through Disney+, or projects it made itself, such as the Eilish concert film. Here it worked on a studio film’s 3D version before the cinema release, and the same version moves to its $1,299 glasses afterwards. Lionsgate says more of its titles will follow. The open questions are the window and the money: neither company has said how long the film stays in cinemas before it reaches the glasses, or how revenue from the glasses is shared.
Sources
- Lionsgate and Meta joint announcement, 2 November 2026, as published in full by Vital Thrills
- Variety, “Meta to Help Bring ‘The Hunger Games: Sunrise on the Reaping’ to 3D Screens — and Its $1,299 VR Glasses”, 2 November 2026
- Deadline, “‘Hunger Games: Sunrise On The Reaping’ To Play On Meta VR Glasses Post-Theatrical”, 2 November 2026
- The Hollywood Reporter, “Lionsgate Inks Deal With Meta to Bring New ‘Hunger Games’ Movie to VR Glasses”, 2 November 2026
- IndieWire, “‘The Hunger Games: Sunrise on the Reaping’ Will Be in 3D in Theaters — and on Meta’s New VR Glasses”, 2 November 2026
- TheWrap, “‘The Hunger Games: Sunrise on the Reaping’ to Screen in 3D Through Lionsgate, Meta Partnership”, 2 November 2026