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March 20, 2023

New ‘Hunger Games’ Movie Spurs Streaming Gains for New Olivia Rodrigo Song and Classic James Newton Howard Folk Ballad

“Can’t Catch Me Now” and “The Hanging Tree” are both way up in streams after the Friday (Nov. 17) premiere of The Hunger Games: The Ballad of Songbirds & Snakes.

The Streams Are Ever in Their Favor: ‘Hunger Games’ Songs Surge Following Prequel Release

Welcome to Billboard Pro’s Trending Up column, where we take a closer look at the songs, artists, curiosities and trends that have caught the music industry’s attention. Some have come out of nowhere, others have taken months to catch on, and all of them could become ubiquitous in the blink of a TikTok clip.

This week: A new release in the Hunger Games franchise leads to gains for soundtrack hits old and new, while a new TikTok challenge gives a not-that-old JID hit a second crack at the charts, Drake fans celebrate a deep cut’s title day and more.

Last weekend, The Hunger Games: The Ballad of Songbirds & Snakes topped the box office with a $100 million international gross following its Nov. 17 bow in multiplexes. The arrival of the prequel film, which is set 64 years before the events of the original Hunger Games, had fans turning back toward songs old and new that have been associated with the franchise, and volunteering as tribute as they pressed play on streaming platforms.

“Can’t Catch Me Now,” the Olivia Rodrigo soundtrack single released on Nov. 3, may have dropped 25 spots to No. 81 in its second week on the Billboard Hot 100 this week, but early streaming returns for this week suggest a rebound in conjunction with the film release. “Catch” earned 4.26 million official on-demand U.S. streams in the first four days of the Songbirds & Snakes theatrical run (Nov. 17-20) — a 43% increase from its streaming total from the previous Friday-to-Monday tracking period, according to Luminate.

Meanwhile, “The Hanging Tree,” the James Newton Howard song that was performed by Jennifer Lawrence in 2014’s The Hunger Games: Mockingjay, Part 1 — and is revived in Songbirds & Snakes as “Lucy Gray’s Version,” as performed by Rachel Zegler — also experienced a streaming resurgence. “The Hanging Tree” earned 344,000 streams over the first four days of the film’s run, up 58% from 217,000 streams from the prior Friday-to-Monday tracking period. – JASON LIPSHUTZ

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