The Ballad of Songbirds and Snakes

At the 10th Hunger Games, 18-year-old Coriolanus Snow, from a fallen rich family, is made mentor to Lucy Gray Baird, a singer from District 12. He needs the Plinth Prize to pay for university. Lucy Gray wins over the crowd, and Coriolanus cheats: he uses a handkerchief with her scent so Dr. Gaul's snakes won't strike her. She wins. Caught, he's shipped off to District 12 as a Peacekeeper, where the romance picks back up. His friend Sejanus Plinth joins the rebels, and Coriolanus turns him in: Sejanus is hanged. After two killings that could expose him, he runs off with Lucy Gray, then realizes she's the only one who can tie him to the crimes. She vanishes into the woods, and he fires blindly after her. Pardoned, he returns to the Capitol as Dr. Gaul's protégé.

1. ChangeClemensia doesn't turn snaky

   In the book, after the bite, Clemensia's skin peels into scales and her eyes turn yellow. The movie only says she's recovering.

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2. ChangeAn invented bloodbath

   The book's 10th Games have no bloodbath at the Cornucopia. The movie adds one right at the start, with several tributes killed.

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3. ChangeCoriolanus scouts the arena

   In the movie, Coriolanus sneaks into the arena before the Games and shows Lucy Gray where to hide. In the book, he only goes in to rescue Sejanus.

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4. ChangeShorter Games

   In the book, the Games run almost a week and the snake attack goes on until rain drowns them. The movie squeezes it all into a couple of days.

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5. ChangeLess of the Plinths

   In the book, Coriolanus gets food from Sejanus's mother and has a formal meeting with his father. In the movie, he barely talks to the Plinths.

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