The Hunger Games is considered one of the highest-grossing science-fiction film franchises ever. Suzzane Collins introduced us to the intriguing world of The Hunger Games through the novel series, and later, Lionsgate Studios blessed the industry with one of the best screen adaptations. The movie franchise went on to become one of the most watched with people eagerly waiting for iterations to arrive. Now, The Hunger Games is scheduled to release next year, and if you are planning to jog your memories, here is the correct order to watch The Hunger Games movies.
How Many The Hunger Games Movies Are There?
There are a total of five The Hunger Games movies that have been released already, while the sixth movie will be released next year. The first film was released in 2012, the second in 2013, and the third was divided into two parts, which were released in 2014 and 2015. Each one of these witnessed a massive success. That’s the reason the franchise continued expanding its legacy; we got the fifth film in 2023, and now the sixth film will be released on November 20, 2026. So, it’s evident that with so many The Hunger Games movies out there, fans are confused about the watch order. Well, here’s all the information that will sort things out for you.
The Hunger Games Movies in Chronological Order
The chronological watch order for The Hunger Games movies is quite confusing, so here’s the sequence you may follow for a hassle-free watch experience:
- The Hunger Games: The Ballad of Songbirds & Snakes (2023)
- The Hunger Games (2012)
- The Hunger Games: Catching Fire (2013)
- The Hunger Games: Mockingjay — Part 1 (2014)
- The Hunger Games: Mockingjay — Part 2 (2015)
1. The Hunger Games: The Ballad of Songbirds & Snakes (2023)
- Release Date: November 17, 2023
- IMDb/Rotten Tomatoes Ratings: 6.7/64%
- Director: Francis Lawrence
The Hunger Games: The Ballad of Songbirds & Snakes was the fifth film in the franchise, but the newcomers should watch it before heading towards the first film. That’s because it serves as the prequel to the first The Hunger Games novel. It allows us to learn the events that took place 64 years ahead of the first novel/film. The audience gets the chance to watch the 10th annual Hunger Games, which sees a young Coriolanus Snow (Blyth) as a mentor of a young woman named Lucy Gray Baird.
Following his father’s death, Coriolanus is determined to get back the reputation his family lost. He works hard to train his mentee to be the victor in the games.
2. The Hunger Games (2012)
- Release Date: March 23, 2012
- IMDb/Rotten Tomatoes Ratings: 7.2/84%
- Director: Gary Ross
Based on the first novel of The Hunger Games series, the film starred Jennifer Lawrence and Josh Hutcherson in the central roles. Lawrence portrays the role of Katniss Everdeen, whose younger sister Primrose gets chosen to participate in the televised game, where the participants fight until death. So, she volunteers to replace her sister in the game. The rule of the game suggests that each District must select two tributes, a boy and a girl. Katniss is joined by Peeta Mellark, and together, they fight harder to survive the game of death.
3. The Hunger Games: Catching Fire (2013)
- Release Date: November 22, 2013
- IMDb/Rotten Tomatoes Ratings: 7.5/90%
- Director: Francis Lawrence
Based on Collins’ 2009 Catching Fire novel, the film picks up where the first one left off. Following their co-victory in the 74th Hunger Games, Katniss Everdeen and Peeta struggle to get settled in their everyday lives. However, the former remains traumatized by what she went through during the games. Meanwhile, President Snow shows up and forces Katniss and Peeta to go to all the districts and convince everyone of their love.
Well, that was not it; the challenges come at the doorstep of our lead pair in the form of the twisted announcement of the 75th Hunger Games. Katniss unwittingly has to participate in the upcoming annual Hunger Games because the rule clearly states that the participants will be picked from the existing pool of the victors. While someone else was supposed to get paired with Katniss, Peeta jumped in and replaced him in the games.
4. The Hunger Games: Mockingjay – Part 1 (2014)
- Release Date: November 28, 2014
- IMDb/Rotten Tomatoes Ratings: 6.6/70%
- Director: Francis Lawrence
Catching Fire sees the arena getting destroyed, and Mockingjay Part 1 sees the aftermath of the 75th Hunger Games. Katniss and the other tributes get rescued and are taken to District 13 as President Snow bombs District 12. Katniss learns about the riots that have taken place in almost every District following the previous games. So, now she must be the symbol, Mockingjay, and accumulate a group of residents of District 13 in the fight against the Capitol.
5. The Hunger Games: Mockingjay — Part 2 (2015)
- Release Date: November 27, 2015
- IMDb/Rotten Tomatoes Ratings: 6.6/70%
- Director: Francis Lawrence
The second part of the third film arrives a year after the first part and picks up directly from the final moments of Mockingjay-Part 1. Katniss has to accomplish the most important mission, which is to eliminate the evil President Snow. However, this time, she also has to fight against his biggest supporter, Peeta, as he is manipulated by the enemy. President Alma Coin asked Katniss to help her secure District 2 so that she could ask the people of that District to join their cause.
This film finally sees Peeta and Katniss as a happy married couple and parents to two children following all the violence.
The Hunger Games Movies Release Date Order Explained
If you want to watch The Hunger Games movies in the order in which the creators wanted, you can follow the release date order as mentioned below.
- 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 & Snakes (2023)
- The Hunger Games: Sunrise on the Reaping (2026)
With that, we are concluding our list of The Hunger Games movies watch order. For now, we have five movies from the Sci-Fi franchise, and the sixth movie is all set to release on November 20, 2026. So, don’t forget to stay tuned with us as we will bring you every update regarding the upcoming film.
