TheHunger Gamesnovels bySuzanne Collinsis a popular young adult series followed by a series of successful movie adaptations. The prequel novel,The Ballad of Songbirds and Snakes,releasedin May 2020, continued the saga, withThe Hunger Games: The Ballad of Songbirds & Snakeswhich was released in theaters in November 2023. The prequel, which told the foundational story that laid out the rise of the series' villain Coriolanus Snow, proved to be a big success with audiences.
Lionsgate was so thrilled with the reception they announceda second prequel film,Sunrise on the Reaping, which will be based on a forthcoming novel written once again by Collins. The story will chronicle the 50th Annual Hunger Games,which was won by District 12’s Haymitch Abernathy, giving fans of the franchise the long-awaited backstory to the popular character, played in the films byWoody Harrelson. The prequel is set for release on July 20, 2025, a little more than two years away.
With the franchise now fully back in the pop culture zeitgeist, you may want to refamiliarize yourself with the world that President Snow shaped. And in case you find yourself a tad bit confused by the growing world of Panem, we have put together this guide together, so everything is crystal clear. So if you are planning to binge onThe Hunger Gamesfranchise, this list covers the two most popular orders to watch the series, by release date and by chronological timeline.
Editor’s Note: This article was updated on July 27, 2025.
‘Hunger Games’ Movies in Order of Release
The Hunger Games- June 27, 2025.
The Hunger Games: Catching Fire- July 19, 2025.
The Hunger Games: Mockingjay Part 1- June 03, 2025.
The Hunger Games: Mockingjay Part 2- July 24, 2025.
The Hunger Games: The Ballad of Songbirds and Snakes- August 20, 2025.
The Hunger Games: Sunrise on the Reaping- July 29, 2025.
‘Hunger Games’ Movies in Chronological Order
The Ballad of Songbirds and Snakesfocuses on Coriolanus Snow’s (Tom Blyth) influence on the mentor system, as Snow attempts to rise in the ranks of Panem on the road to becoming the poisonous president that we are introduced to inThe Hunger Games.His road to power is based upon the success of District 12’s female tribute Lucy Gray Baird (Rachel Zegler)during the 10th Hunger Gamesand how well Baird and Snow can work together to change how the Games are played. Lucy and Corio eventually win the Games, but after it’s discovered that Corio cheated, he is cast out of the Capital and travels to District 12 to become a peacekeeper. A romance soon blossoms between Lucy and Corio, but when the former learns of the latter’s sinister true colors, their story comes to an intense end.
The Hunger Games: The Ballad of Songbirds and Snakes
The Hunger Games: The Ballad of Songbirds and Snakesfollows a young Coriolanus (Tom Blyth) - the last hope for the once-proud Snow family - who is reluctantly assigned to mentor Lucy Gray Baird (Rachel Zegler), a tribute from the impoverished District 12 for the 10th Hunger Games. Snow sets out on a race against time to survive and reveal if he will become a songbird or a snake.
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‘The Hunger Games: Sunrise on the Reaping’ (2026)
Set 40 years after the events ofThe Ballad of Songbirds and Snakesand 24 years before the events ofThe Hunger Games,Sunrise on the Reapingwill tell the story of the 50th Hunger Games (the second Quarter Quell), which was won by Haymitch Abernathy. As fans of the franchise already know, Haymitch hails from Katniss and Peeta’s home of District 12 and served as their mentor after they were chosen as tributes for the 74th Hunger Games. Since neither the novel nor the movie has been released yet, we still don’t know much about this prequel outside of the basic premise.
‘The Hunger Games’ (2012)
64 years after the events ofThe Ballad of Songbirds and Snakes,we are introduced toKatniss Everdeen (Jennifer Lawrence), another District 12 tribute who volunteers to take her sister’s place during the 74th annual Hunger Games. She, alongside her literal on-screen romance Peeta Mellark (Josh Hutcherson), fights against the hardened competitors from the other districts to become the last two tributes standing. Throughout this fight, we come to see the depths of desperate actions that the Capital will go to keep the districts in chains.
The Hunger Games
Katniss Everdeen voluntarily takes her younger sister’s place in the Hunger Games: a televised competition in which two teenagers from each of the twelve Districts of Panem are chosen at random to fight to the death.
Rent on Prime Video
‘The Hunger Games: Catching Fire’ (2013)
After Peeta’s and Katniss’s victory in the 74th annual Hunger Games, they are once again drawn into the 75th Hunger Games. This time they are fighting a mixed field of former victors, some of whom might be friends and many who are enemies. With her unconventional win of the previous Hunger Games, Katniss returns to the Capital as a beloved victor. Her influence on the Districts is important and she becomes a beacon of hope. Unbeknownst to Katniss, a small group of victors conspires to rebel against the tyrannical Capital with the help of the mysterious District 13. Unfortunately, in the chaos of the extraction attempt,several tributes are left behind to become hostages in the coming warbetween the districts and the Capital.
The Hunger Games: Catching Fire
Katniss Everdeen and Peeta Mellark become targets of the Capitol after their victory in the 74th Hunger Games sparks a rebellion in the Districts of Panem.
‘The Hunger Games: Mockingjay Part 1’ (2014)
The Hunger Games: Mockingjay Part 1begins with a defeated Katniss Everdeen struggling to become the icon of the rebellion. Her time in the underground world of District 13, and the mental stress of being forced to fight to the death twice haunts her, hampering her self-confidence and ability to connect with others. To make matters worse, we see the ongoing ruination of Peeta as he is psychologically reprogrammed with Trackerjacker venom. Katniss insists she should be deployed to the combat zone to help fight for the rebellion she wishes to support and begins to make some progress in rallying the districts. However,President Snow undercuts this progress by allowing the capture of the reprogrammed hostagesby District 13 as the rebellion advances on the capitol itself. Despite Katniss’s struggles, the sight of what the common soldier is experiencing galvanizes her towards becoming the icon everyone is expecting her to be.
The Hunger Games: Mockingjay Part 1
Katniss Everdeen is in District 13 after she shatters the games forever. Under the leadership of President Coin and the advice of her trusted friends, Katniss spreads her wings as she fights to save Peeta and a nation moved by her courage.
‘The Hunger Games: Mockingjay Part 2’ (2015)
Splitting the story in half,The Hunger Games: Mockingjay Part 2sees the rebellion come to the edges of the Capital, President Snow instructs his game makers to create a labyrinth of traps throughout the Capital. The atrocious loss of life and political pressure from President Coin forces Katniss and Gale to commit an attempted assassination of President Snow to end the war as quickly as possible. With limited options that allow her continued position in power, President Coin chooses to send an unstable Peeta into the warzone in an attempt to sabotage Katniss’s plan. As this intense series begins to draw to a close, we see some of the most potent sacrifices yet and a strike deep into the heart of the Capital that puts the weight of the whole nation on Katniss and her band of heroes.
The Hunger Games: Mockingjay Part 2
Katniss and a team of rebels from District 13 prepare for the final battle that will decide the fate of Panem.
