New Hunger Games Movie Comes Out The Day After GTA 6, But Is The Director Scared?

GTA 6 launches on November 19, and one day later, the new Hunger Games movie, Sunrise on the Reaping, comes to theaters. GTA 6 is expected to be an unprecedented hit that captures people’s time and attention, especially right at launch. Will this impact Sunrise on the Reaping? That remains to be seen, but director Francis Lawrence hopes people can find time for both.

“Unfortunately, I think it comes out right around the same time our movie does. Hopefully, people find time for both. Play GTA, go see our movie, play more GTA,” he joked to IGN.

Other movies releasing on November 20 include the wide releases of Paper Tiger and I Play Rocky.

GTA 6 is the only mainstream game set to release on November 19, with no other big releases set to debut within five days on either side. Publishers are intentionally scheduling releases to avoid GTA 6’s blast zone.

Circana’s Mat Piscatella told GamesBeat that “everyone’s just scared” of releasing near GTA 6, but the data doesn’t necessarily back this up.

“I guess I get it, but I just think it’s completely overblown. A lot of these moves and shifting away just seems more irrational than rational,” he said.

New data from Circana showed that nearly 1 in 3 US console and PC gamers plan to buy GTA 6, and that’s the highest purchase intent ever recorded by Circana.

Also in the interview, Lawrence listed off some of his favorite video games, including Metal Gear Solid, BioShock, Call of Duty, and the original GTA.

Lawrence singling out BioShock is no surprise, as he’s attached to direct the upcoming BioShock movie for Netflix … if it ever gets made.