The Hunger Games movies returned to theaters this fall before the premiere of the fifth movie of the franchise, The Hunger Games: The Ballad of Songbirds and Snakes, which premiered on Nov. 17, 2023. With five movies in the series, we ranked all four of The Hunger Games movies from worst to best.
The Hunger Games movies are based on Suzanne Collins’ bestselling trilogy of the same name. I’m a huge fan of The Hunger Games trilogy. Collins does an incredible job telling Katniss’s story and bringing the world of Panem to life. I’m less of a fan of the movies, of which there are now five. I have some thoughts about that to share, but I’ll save it for now.
In the movie series, Jennifer Lawrence stars as Katniss Everdeen, a young woman from Panem’s District 12, who volunteers to take her sister’s place in a fight to the death known as The Hunger Games against other young people in Panem for the Capitol’s entertainment. Katniss’s sacrifice and spirit is uplifting to the people of Panem, who grow more at odds with the Capitol over the course of the series. Lawrence is joined by
Before we start the ranking, you can also find the list of The Hunger Games movies in order along with where you can stream them.
- The Hunger Games (2012)
- The Hunger Games: Catching Fire (2013)
- The Hunger Games: Mockingjay, Part 1 (2014)
- The Hunger Games: Mockingjay, Part 2 (2015)
- The Hunger Games: The Ballad of Songbirds and Snakes (Nov. 17, 2023)
Earlier this year, all four of The Hunger Games movies were available to stream on Netflix, but that’s not the case anymore. Unfortunately, The Hunger Games movies are not available to stream on any subscription streaming service in September 2023. You can rent or buy The Hunger Games, Catching Fire, Mockinghay Part 1, and Mockingjay Part 2 on SVOD services, including Amazon Video, AppleTV, and more.
The Ballad of Songbirds and Snakes premiered in theaters on Nov. 17, 2023. It’s still in theaters around the world to end 2023. Eventually, The Ballad of Songbirds and Snakes will be on Peacock.
5. The Hunger Games: Mockingjay, Part 1
Cast: Jennifer Lawrence, Josh Hutcherson, Liam Hemsworth, Woody Harrelson, Elizabeth Banks, Julianne Moore, Sam Claflin, Jena Malone, Mahershala Ali, Elden Henson, Philip Seymour Hoffman, Jeffrey Wright, Stanley Tucci, and Donald Sutherland, Willow Shields, and Natalie Dormer
The Hunger Games: Mockingjay, Part 1 tells the story of the third book of the trilogy, Mockingjay. It premiered in theaters on Nov. 21, 2014. The film picks up immediately after the events of the second movie, The Hunger Games: Catching Fire.
After Katniss’s arrow breaks open the arena, the rebel forces are able to swoop in and save a number of Victors, but they are not able to save some others. Peeta, Annie (who was not in the arena), and Johanna are taken to the Capitol, while Katniss, Finnick, Plutarch Heavensby, and others are taken to District 13 to continue the war between District 13 and the Capitol.
The film then revolves around Katniss’s role in the revolution while the team also tries to find a way to save Peeta and the others who have been taken prisoner by President Snow.
Personally, I think they needed to work a little movie magic to make Mockingjay one movie. It could skip some plot points, speed things along, and do something to move this story forward. Splitting the book and story into two movies did neither movie any favors. There are some boring moments in both of those movies, and it was a disservice to the story to waste so much time. The format was changing after two movies set in the arena during Hunger Games competitions, and slowing everything down was a mistake.
Let’s keep it moving to The Hunger Games: Mockingjay, Part 2.
4. The Hunger Games: Mockingjay, Part 2
Cast: Jennifer Lawrence, Josh Hutcherson, Liam Hemsworth, Woody Harrelson, Elizabeth Banks, Julianne Moore, Sam Claflin, Jena Malone, Mahershala Ali, Elden Henson, Philip Seymour Hoffman, Jeffrey Wright, Stanley Tucci, and Donald Sutherland, Willow Shields, Natalie Dormer, and Wes Chatham
It all comes to an end in The Hunger Games: Mockingjay, Part 2. The film premiered one year after Mockingjay Part 1 in November 2015, and it’s the third-best movie of The Hunger Games franchise.
The Hunger Games: Mockingjay, Part 2 begins after Peeta returns from the Capitol. It follows the Star Squad featuring Katniss, Peeta, Finnick, Gale, and others as they film propaganda videos during District 13’s assault on the Capitol.
There are lots of twists and turns in Mockingjay Part 2. The biggest is Prim’s sad fate and the revelation that Coin was actually behind the attack that killed Prim. Katniss takes things into her own hands and kills Coin instead of President Snow. That is one of the best moments of the whole franchise, and it’s well executed, too.
Overall, the story isn’t all that exciting aside from a few big moments. The only difference for me between the final two movies is that Mockingjay Part 2 brings a lot of resolution while Part 1 ended in a very open way that felt kind of cheap.
Again, The Hunger Games: Mockingjay should have been one movie. It would have been much more exciting, and the story would have been so much tighter and fluid.
3. The Hunger Games: The Ballad of Songbirds and Snakes
Cast: Tom Blyth, Rachel Zegler, Peter Dinklage, Jason Schwartzman, Hunter Schafer, Josh Andrés Rivera, Viola Davis, and more
Directed by Francis Lawrence, The Hunger Games: The Ballad of Songbirds and Snakes is based on Suzanne Collins’ bestselling prequel to The Hunger Games trilogy, The Ballad of Songbirds and Snakes, which was published in 2020. It’s early, but so far, the movie seems like a huge hit, especially among Hunger Games fans!
The Ballad of Songbirds and Snakes delves deeper into the story of Coriolanus Snow (Tom Blyth), the man who would become known as the villain of The Hunger Games trilogy, President Snow, but it’s so much more than that. It explores the origins of Panem, and what the landscape, political and otherwise, looked like around the time of the 10th Annual Hunger Games. Rachel Zegler steals the show as Lucy Gray Baird, a tribute from District 12. Hmmm, sounds familiar, right?
It’s interesting because I enjoyed The Ballad of Songbirds and Snakes, the book, the least of the four Hunger Games books, but I enjoyed the movie much more than both Mockingjay movies. Overall, there’s no doubt that The Ballad of Songbirds and Snakes is the third-best of the Hunger Games movies so far. It will be very interesting to see where the story goes from here. Collins has many directions that this story could go, and there seems to be quite the appetite to revisit Panem. In terms of story, though, the first two Hunger Games movies are better. I don’t think that’s much of a debate.
Up next is the first film of The Hunger Games franchise.
2. The Hunger Games
Cast: Jennifer Lawrence, Josh Hutcherson, Liam Hemsworth, Woody Harrelson, Elizabeth Banks, Lenny Kravitz, Stanley Tucci, and Donald Sutherland
The Hunger Games premiered in theaters in 2012 and introduced the world to Katniss Everdeen, Pita Mellark, Gale Hawthorne, Haymith Abernathy, Effie Trinket, and the rest of these great characters. In the film, Katniss volunteers as tribute for District 12 to the 74th Annual Hunger Games, a nationally televised fight to the death with other kids to maintain order in Panem. Katniss and Peeta survive the battle together as star-crossed lovers and leave the arena as Victors, much to the chagrin of President Snow.
There’s a lot to like about the first Hunger Games movie. The film does an incredible job of world-building and getting viewers invested in Katniss, Peeta, and the rest of the District 12 team. Overall, though, it’s just not quite as exciting as the second movie. It’s not slow or anything, but there are far more charismatic characters and intriguing storylines in the second movie. The first movie was all about staying alive and the pressure and anxiety that came along with that goal as we watched Katniss and Peeta fight to stay alive.
I really liked the first Hunger Games, but it’s still No. 2 behind the sequel, Catching Fire. Let’s get into why Catching Fire is the best of the Hunger Games movie.
1. The Hunger Games: Catching Fire
Cast: Jennifer Lawrence, Josh Hutcherson, Liam Hemsworth, Woody Harrelson, Elizabeth Banks, Lenny Kravitz, Philip Seymour Hoffman, Jeffrey Wright, Stanley Tucci, Donald Sutherland, Sam Claflin, and Jena Malone
After winning the Hunger Games, Peter and Katniss embark on the Victor’s Tour through Panem before they are summoned back to the arena in the Quarter Quell, which pits winners of previous games against each other. Only one can win, or so we are led to believe. Things get spicy when the revolution and rebellion finds its way into the 75th Annual Hunger Games.
There’s no doubt The Hunger Games: Catching Fire is the best movie of the franchise. It’s not really that close of a discussion. Sure, The Hunger Games does a good job of introducing the main characters and love triangle, Panem and how things worked, and the overall setting and tone. But, the twists don’t really begin until Catching Fire. That’s how the world expands, and it brings in a whole cast of character much more memorable than the first movie. I love the battle royale aspect, and then turning that on its head with the twists we see in Catching Fire is — chef’s kiss — brilliant.
It’s the same with the books, too. Catching Fire is a much more exciting book than the first, and it’s more complete than the third. So, there you have it. Catching Fire is the best of The Hunger Games movies. It might be the best of