News / Published 2026-11-03

Sunrise on the Reaping Gets a 3D Release Built With Meta

Meta and Lionsgate partnered to convert The Hunger Games: Sunrise on the Reaping to 3D before its 20 November release, which Variety calls Meta's first studio conversion. The 3D version will also be available on Meta's $1,299 VR glasses when they launch, which Variety puts in the spring and IndieWire dates to spring 2027.

(See the reader poll and source context below).

Lionsgate and Meta converted the new Hunger Games film to 3D before its 20 November opening, and the version will also run on Meta's VR glasses next spring, the two companies said.

Flat vector illustration of a dark cinema with one large blank glowing screen and a row of seat silhouettes along the bottom, with the caption “Arena in three dimensions” in the lower-left corner.
Conceptual editorial illustration; not a photograph of the people or event described.

What do the sources establish?

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Platform / SourceCore Stance / QuoteEngagement MetricTimestamp
Meta to Help Bring 'The Hunger Games: Sunrise on the Reaping' to 3D Screens — and Its $1,299 VR Glasses — VarietyReported context: [object Object] [object Object] [object Object] [object Object] [object Object] [object Object] [object Object] [object Object]Not recorded
'The Hunger Games: Sunrise on the Reaping' Will Be in 3D in Theaters — and on Meta's New VR Glasses — IndieWireReported context: [object Object] [object Object] [object Object] [object Object] [object Object] [object Object]Not recorded

THE SHORT VERSION

  • Meta and Lionsgate partnered to convert The Hunger Games: Sunrise on the Reaping to 3D before its 20 November release, which Variety calls Meta's first studio conversion.
  • The 3D version will also be available on Meta's $1,299 VR glasses when they launch, which Variety puts in the spring and IndieWire dates to spring 2027.
  • IndieWire reports that DNEG and its Stereo unit did the conversion, that the film is the sixth in the series, and that the 2023 prequel took $363 million worldwide.

Meta's first studio 3D conversion

Meta is helping bring The Hunger Games: Sunrise on the Reaping to 3D screens and to its own VR glasses, Variety reported, and the conversion was finished before the film's 20 November release. Variety describes the work as Meta's first time partnering with a studio on a 3D conversion. IndieWire reported the same partnership and added one detail Variety leaves out: the conversion ran through DNEG's internal 3D branch, Stereo.

Both outlets quote Lionsgate's chief revenue officer. Jim Packer called the collaboration a "compelling example of how technology can transform existing formats to create fresh, new experiences", in statements printed by both papers. Variety calls the deal a first for Meta; IndieWire calls the 3D conversion a new and unlikely source for a studio release, and reports that the partnership will not stop with this title: other Lionsgate films will get the same treatment, with titles to be announced later.

DNEG did the conversion

Variety names the vendor and its credits. It reports that the process was done in collaboration with DNEG, which has converted films including Dune: Part One, Godzilla x Kong: The New Empire and Venom from 2D to 3D. IndieWire's account identifies the unit inside DNEG, describing the work as a joint effort between the visual effects company and its internal conversion branch Stereo, and says director Francis Lawrence worked on adapting the film for 3D.

Neither report explains what the conversion involved, how long it took or what it cost. Neither compares the 3D version with the 2D one, and nobody from DNEG is quoted in either piece. The technical account therefore rests on the two companies' own descriptions, delivered through trade press releases rather than independent testing, and neither page says who proposed the partnership first. IndieWire's piece says a 3D release on its own would not be news, and treats the source of the conversion as the story.

The glasses, the price and the spring date

Variety carries the hardware details, reporting that the 3D version will be available on Meta's new $1,299 VR glasses when they release in the spring. It reports that Meta showed the glasses at its Meta Connect event in September, promising immersive versions of Avengers: Infinity War and Star Wars: A New Hope plus 3D versions of The Avengers, Black Panther and select Lionsgate titles. Sarah Malkin, Meta's head of entertainment at Reality Labs, said the film was "the kind of cinematic experience that will be phenomenal in theaters". IndieWire dates the hardware to spring 2027.

The two outlets also differ on how the glasses are described. IndieWire, which tried a demo, calls them "lighter and less obtrusive than other VR headsets" and compares them to slightly larger sunglasses rather than a bulky wraparound headset. Variety does not describe the hardware beyond price and release window. Neither report says how many cinemas will show the 3D version, or what a 3D ticket will cost.

Lawrence on the 3D version

Both pages quote the director. Variety reports that Lawrence said the 3D adaptation gave the team another way to let audiences experience the journey of Joseph Zada's Haymitch Abernathy, a younger version of the character originated by Woody Harrelson, whom audiences follow through the 50th edition of the Hunger Games. IndieWire carries the same statement at greater length, and both pages present it as a statement rather than an interview.

In that statement Lawrence said the film was meant to "feel visceral and immersive, pulling audiences deep into Haymitch's experience". Both outlets print the line. IndieWire's version adds that adapting the film for 3D gave the filmmakers another creative tool to bring audiences closer to his perspective. Neither report says whether Lawrence had wanted 3D from the start or added it late, and neither describes a single 3D shot.

The sixth Hunger Games film

IndieWire places the film in the series. It reports that Sunrise on the Reaping is the sixth Hunger Games film and the second prequel after The Ballad of Songbirds and Snakes from 2023, which brought in $363 million at the worldwide box office. It lists the cast: Joseph Zada as a teenage Haymitch Abernathy, McKenna Grace, Ralph Fiennes as President Snow, Jesse Plemons, Glenn Close, Kieran Culkin, Elle Fanning, Maya Hawke, Whitney Peak, Kelvin Harrison Jr. and Ben Wang.

Variety's piece names fewer performers. It mentions Zada's Haymitch and the character's origin with Woody Harrelson, and otherwise stays with the deal. IndieWire's list runs to eleven names, Variety's to Zada's alone. Neither outlet gives a running time, a rating or a review, and neither says whether the film will be shown in 3D in every market where it opens. The box office comparison with the 2023 prequel comes only from IndieWire, which is also alone in naming Fiennes as Snow.

What the two reports leave open

IndieWire's demo account is the only first-hand reporting in either piece. It says the demo included a snippet of the Billie Eilish concert documentary co-directed by James Cameron and a clip from Avengers: Endgame that added an expanded screen effect, and reads the deal as Meta's push into entertainment against YouTube and Google. Variety does not mention the demo at all.

What remains open is the commercial shape of the release: the number of 3D screens, ticket pricing, the glasses' exact launch date beyond spring, and whether the 3D version will stream on Netflix at all. Neither outlet says. Settled facts are the 20 November opening, the Meta partnership, DNEG's involvement and the planned glasses release. Related coverage on this site includes the theatrical run of Social Reckoning, The Invite's HBO Max release, The Diplomat's fifth season and reviews of The Mosquito Bowl.

Sources & reporting limits

  1. Meta to Help Bring 'The Hunger Games: Sunrise on the Reaping' to 3D Screens — and Its $1,299 VR Glasses — Variety
  2. 'The Hunger Games: Sunrise on the Reaping' Will Be in 3D in Theaters — and on Meta's New VR Glasses — IndieWire
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