In the heart of District 12, we are introduced to Katniss Everdeen, portrayed by Jennifer Lawrence in the film adaptations. She is a resilient young woman, shaped by her father’s tragic death in a mining accident and her own illegal hunting endeavors to keep her family fed. Katniss’ tenacity and relatability make her an ideal lead for the compelling narrative that follows.

Initially centered on Katniss, the “Hunger Games” series has since expanded, with Suzanne Collins enriching this universe by exploring the stories of other characters encountered in the trilogy. As we delve into ranking the “Hunger Games” films, it’s worth noting we’ve previously assessed the books. So, which movies truly stand out?

A heads-up: major spoilers are ahead!

Cast: Jennifer Lawrence, Josh Hutcherson, Liam Hemsworth
Director: Francis Lawrence
Rating: PG-13
Runtime: 137 minutes
Where to watch: VOD

Cast: Jennifer Lawrence, Josh Hutcherson, Liam Hemsworth
Director: Francis Lawrence
Rating: PG-13
Runtime: 137 minutes
Where to watch: VOD

Unfortunately, the last entry in the original “Hunger Games” “trilogy” is also its worst — and that’s probably because the powers that be saw fit to divide it into two parts, a release tactic that was all the rage at the time. This film picks up right where the first part leaves off, as Katniss, trying to help the District 13 resistance stage a final victorious battle against the Capitol, finds herself struggling as she sees a deeply traumatized Peeta returned to her side from the Capitol’s clutches. Despite Peeta’s torture and brainwashing, he joins a team that sets out to infiltrate the Capitol and, eventually, the mansion of the evil, oppressive President Coriolanus Snow (Donald Sutherland).

To say there’s a ton of carnage in “Mockingjay — Part 2” is a humongous understatement. Finnick Odair, a character introduced in “Catching Fire” and a former Hunger Games victor from District 4 played by Sam Claflin, dies at the hands of “muttations” during a high-octane chase through the Capitol’s sewer system, and when Katniss’s beloved sister Primrose (Willow Shields) rushes into an active war zone to help people after a bombing — only to be killed by a second bomb — it’s as gutting as it is shocking, especially when you consider that Prim was the only reason Katniss ended up in the Games in the first place. “Mockingjay — Part 2” is mostly last on this list because it’s just a huge freakin’ bummer (which is saying something considering how dark this franchise is), but it’s also here because of the happy-go-lucky epilogue that just rings false after all the bloodshed.

Cast: Jennifer Lawrence, Woody Harrelson, Julianne Moore
Director: Francis Lawrence
Rating: PG-13
Runtime: 123 minutes
Where to watch: VOD

We genuinely can’t be any clearer about this: splitting “Mockingjay” into two movies didn’t do either half any favor, which is why “Mockingjay — Part 1” also lands at the bottom of this list. (Frankly, neither “Mockingjay” movie is good because they feel like two halves of a whole instead of real and independent movies.) After the events of “Catching Fire” (and we’ll obviously circle back to those later on), Katniss finds herself in District 13, a place she didn’t realized even existed … and working alongside the smart but somewhat craven resistance leader President Alma Coin (Julianne Moore) to win the war against President Snow and the Capitol.

One big problem: when Katniss, Peeta, Finnick, and other tributes from the 75th annual Games — including Johanna Mason (Jena Malone) and Beetee Latier (Jeffrey Wright) — leave the arena, Johanna and Peeta are captured by the Capitol, leaving Beetee, Finnick, and Katniss to figure out how to rescue them while also learning the strict rules within District 13. Again, it’s not an unwatchable movie, but it’s … half of a movie.

Cast: Tom Blyth, Rachel Zegler, Peter Dinklage, Viola Davis
Director: Francis Lawrence
Rating: PG-13
Runtime: 157 minutes
Where to watch: Peacock

The first official prequel to the original “Hunger Games” trilogy, titled “The Ballad of Songbirds and Snakes,” released as a novel in 2020 before it got the big-screen treatment in the fall of 2023 (if you’re curious about the delay, it was entirely because of a little thing called the COVID-19 pandemic). This prequel gives us some insight into the mind of a younger Coriolanus Snow — played in this story by Tom Blyth — who’s desperate to earn acclaim and riches for the ailing Snow family despite their reputation being in complete disrepair. To achieve this, he jumps at the chance to be a major part of the 10th-ever Hunger Games and mentor a tribute. Unfortunately for Coriolanus, whose cousin and close friend Tigress (Hunter Schafer) lovingly calls him “Corio,” his father’s former rival Casca Highbottom (Peter Dinklage), now the dean of the Academy that Corio attends, gives him the assignment of District 12, an impoverished District that never wins.

Enter Lucy Gray Baird, a songstress from the coal district played by Rachel Zegler (a woman with one of the best singing voices anyone’s heard in recent memory). Through sheer charm and pluck, Lucy Gray charms the audiences who watch the Games and makes Corio look like a winner … and her victory in these Games is just the beginning of her story. Between some perfect casting, an ending that definitely explains a lot about the future trajectory of Coriolanus Snow, and a thrilling look at an early iteration of the Games, “The Ballad of Songbirds and Snakes” is pretty great, but not the best “Hunger Games” movie.

Cast: Jennifer Lawrence, Josh Hutcherson, Woody Harrelson
Director: Gary Ross
Rating: PG-13
Runtime: 142 minutes
Where to watch: VOD

The first cinematic entry into the “Hunger Games” canon is still, as of this writing, one of its very best outings. Released in 2012 — while the original books were making waves and flying off shelves all over the world — the film, which is the only one in the franchise not helmed by Francis Lawrence, introduced audiences to Jennifer Lawrence’s (no relation) take on their favorite arrow-toting heroine Katniss Everdeen. Right away, we learn that Katniss’s father died in an accident in the mines when she was young, leaving her to take care of her younger sister Prim and their mother. So how does she manage this when District 12 is intentionally kept impoverished by the Capitol? Katniss and her best friend Gale Hawthorne (Liam Hemsworth) illegally hunt outside of the district’s official boundaries, selling the meat on the black market and using what’s left to feed their respective families.

This all builds to the franchise’s first Reaping Day, where we watch as Prim’s name is chosen and Katniss volunteers as the female tribute, taking her place. After Peeta, the baker’s son, is chosen alongside her, they head to the Capitol and meet their mentor Haymitch Abernathy (Woody Harrelson), the only known District 12 victor in history. As Katniss makes her way through the prep and the Games themselves, she reluctantly learns to trust Peeta, finds an ally in the diminutive but brilliant District 11 tribute Rue (Amandla Stenberg), and nearly loses her life … and when she and Peeta break the system so they can win together, Katniss realizes that she’s still in danger even outside of the arena. “The Hunger Games” is tight, brilliant, and a great adaptation, but the best is yet to come.

Cast: Jennifer Lawrence, Josh Hutcherson, Sam Claflin, Philip Seymour Hoffman
Director: Francis Lawrence
Rating: PG-13
Runtime: 146 minutes
Where to watch: VOD

“Catching Fire” is the best book in the “Hunger Games” literary franchise, and it’s also the best installment in the film franchise by quite a long shot. After infuriating President Snow with her gambit at the end of the 74th annual Games — the one that allowed Katniss and Peeta to share their victory for District 12 — Snow and his cronies come up with a truly demented “treat” for the 75th Games, also known as the Second Quarter Quell. This time, only previous victors can be reaped; because Katniss is the only known female victor from District 12, she’s guaranteed to return to the arena, and Peeta takes Haymitch’s place to go with her.

During their journey into the arena itself, Katniss and Peeta meet future allies Finnick, Beetee, and Johanna … and Peeta, in a moment of pure brilliance, hijacks a nationally broadcast interview to falsely announce that he and Katniss are expecting a baby, turning the public against the Capitol. Then there’s the arena itself, which is a devilish, demented clock that provides new horrors in different sections every hour. Anyone who’s seen “Catching Fire” knows that it’s the best “Hunger Games” movie for a lot of reasons, but chief among them is the famous aspect ratio switch-up — as a shaken Katniss, having just witnessed her stylist Cinna (Lenny Kravitz) being murdered by Capitol goons, rises into the water-filled arena, the movie switches into a wide-screen format and zooms in on Lawrence’s terrified face. It’s a brilliant move that makes a good movie truly and undeniably great.