The Hunger Games prequel novel is killing it.

As the Hunger Games novels and films have proven, child-killing, oppressive governments, and war sell pretty well. It was a trilogy that launched countless imitators and brought a brief period of dystopia to the world of young-adult fiction. That era has come and gone, but the legacy of The Hunger Games still remains with us. It is still a big name in the world of entertainment. As such, it was a big deal when it was revealed there would be a prequel novel called The Ballad of Songbirds and Snakes.

This novel features a young Coriolanus Snow as the protagonist. In the story, the would-be tyrant acts as a mentor during a particularly early Hunger Games, giving us a completely different perspective. Fan perception was a bit mixed upon its release, and it was difficult to tell just how well the thing had sold since its release last week. And then there was the little thing called COVID-19. Would book-lovers actually take the time to indulge in their favorite hobby?

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According to THR, it sounds like the book was a pretty solid success. The Ballad of Songbirds and Snakes sold over 500,000 copies in its first week. The figure includes ebooks, audiobooks, and of course, print copies. That sounds like an awful lot of books to us, but how does it compare to other books in the series?

Well, this debut for the Hunger Games prequel performed better than Mockingjay did back in 2010. That book sold 450,000 copies in its first week. Given the current state of the world we’re living in, this small increase is actually pretty solid. Not only is it solid given the COVID-19 pandemic, but this is a franchise that hasn’t had anything real hit shelves for a decade — and the movies have been done for half a decade.

An adaptation of the novel is already in the works from Lionsgate, though we don’t know what the timetable on that is just yet. 

Are you surprised how well the Hunger Games prequel did? Let us know your thoughts in the comments down below!

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SOURCE: THR