Rachel Zegler's 'Hunger Games' Prequel Tops Box Office, Recoups Budget

Rachel Zegler has been a lightning rod of late -- but the fact her latest movie just came in at #1 says a lot ... including the fact people apparently want more 'Hunger Games.'

The actress plays the lead in the new prequel, "The Ballad of Songbirds and Snakes," which took the top spot at the box office this weekend with a $44 mil haul domestically ... and about $99 million worldwide. That's pretty good, considering the budget was a clean $100M.

Granted, it didn't perform as well as all of Jennifer Lawrence's previous installments -- but considering she ain't in this one, not to mention the stiff competition, this result isn't bad.

We'll see if Lionsgate wants to do more of these flicks -- while the new 'Hunger Games' film will probably land in the black, long haul, it remains to be seen if there's enough interest in the franchise at this point to warrant another entry or two.

In any case, the studio's putting a smile in the aftermath ... with Lionsgate Vice Chairman Adam Fogelson saying, "We were a little lighter domestically and a little over [projections] internationally, so we’re thrilled with the result. It’ll be a great business result for the studio."

Of course, this has also gotta be a good sign for Zegler herself ... who can apparently put asses in seats as the star of a major blockbuster. You know Disney's happy to hear that.

As we're sure you know by now, RZ has caught some flak of late over the forthcoming 'Snow White' reboot ... namely, for talking a lot of trash about the original story, etc.

Fortunately for her, she won't have to deal with that for another couple years ... it got kicked down the road for a 2025 opening -- and as they say, time (and success) heals all wounds.