The Hunger Games Movies Ranked: From Worst to Best

Last Updated on July 30, 2024

The Hunger Games: Ballad of Songbirds and Snakes is one of the most anticipated movies of the fall season for a lot of us. The series is especially significant to me because the first novel, written by Suzanne Collins, came out when I was in high school. Every crush I had, had one, in turn, on Jennifer Lawrence. Classic, right? We’ll see if Rachel Zegler (taking on the role of Lucy Gray) and Tom Blyth (as a younger version of future President Coriolanus Snow) can live up to the legacy of J. Law. The Hunger Games did a good job tackling multiple genres pretty successfully such as action, romance, adventure and sci-fi. It’s become a dystopian classic (although for my money the first Divergent film is as good or better than any Hunger Games film).

The young adult series has been wildly successful, with the first movie grossing 694.4 million dollars worldwide after its debut in 2012. It was the third highest grossing movie of the year after The Avengers and The Dark Knight Rises… so while the franchise hasn’t reached the levels of Harry Potter, it has still drawn in impressive numbers. Did you know that Gary Ross only directed the first film? Francis Lawrence directed the rest of them (he returns for Ballad of Songbirds and Snakes). So how do the movies stack up against each other? It’s time to rank the Hunger Games movies!

The Hunger Games: Mockingjay, Part 2

Okay, so one would think that director Francis Lawrence would end this franchise with a boom, right? Yeah… I think that was the problem. There was a lot of anticipation built in to wrapping up the storyline, but the movie felt SLOW. Also, there is nothing worse than rushing a “happily ever after” ending by doing so within the last 3 minutes of the film. Katniss and Peeta Mellark appear to have solved their whole relationship despite its many traumatic events and even have 2 children. Therapy better be somewhere in there. Given that the main themes of this film are war, violence, and rebellion, it is a pretty dark movie. I’m sure that even die-hard fans would have wanted little sparks of light to somehow create that nostalgia of when we first saw Katniss in that dark green forest in her first Hunger Games, but the color palette for this last part of Mockingjay, Part 2 was quite dark and dull; just as most people’s personalities and moods in the film. For what it’s worth, the director recently said that splitting the movies in two was a huge mistake. We agree.

The Hunger Games: Mockingjay, Part 1

This movie had a boring beginning, intriguing end, and in general, was a disappointment. Why was it so slow? The decision to finally join the rebellion against President Snow took forever, and didn’t feel necessary to have the film be over two hours long. The only time the movie really picked up was during the last twenty minutes, when Peeta strangles Katniss. What’s good about the movie? I guess the makeup and costumes, as it definitely fit the vibe check. Everything was gloomy and dark. But, with a Rotten Tomatoes rating of 70%, the movie still made around 755 million green ones, so I guess the studio isn’t complaining.

The Hunger Games

I’m not going to lie, the first movie of a series I watch is usually the one I tend to enjoy the most. This is simply because it’s when the foundations are first built and/or learnt, and is an introduction to the type of realm you’ll be in. There’s something special about revisiting the first film after having seen the entire trilogy. It’s thrilling to watch Katniss Everdeen learn how to fight and how to use her bow and arrow for the latest edition of the annual Hunger Games. Also, getting to understand the character and her family and friend dynamic and how close she was (so sad) to her sister was essential from the get-go. That’s why your heart breaks when sweet Primrose dies. Josh Hutcherson and Liam Hemsworth shouldn’t be ignored either, even if this is Law’s show.

The Hunger Games: Catching Fire

This is top of the list for The Hunger Games franchise for me. It’s action packed, has a lot of humour, and Francis Lawrence directs the heck out of it. The scenes where the players are all training to fight in the Quarter Quell games is the best part of the film. It makes the entire lead up to the fight that was so fun to watch compared to the other movies where the training just feels slow. There’s a lot to love about this movie, from stealth moment action scenes in the forest, to the morality of fighting against a tyrannical government and wanting freedom. I really enjoyed the relationship dynamics between the characters, the addition of Jena Malone to the cast, as well as the acting and perfect uses of humor. With a rating of 90% on Rotten Tomatoes, its clearly obvious this is the best movie of the franchise.

Do you agree with out Hunger Game movie rankings? Let us know in the comments.