SummaryEvery year in the ruins of what was once North America, the evil Capitol of the nation of Panem forces each of its twelve districts to send a teenage boy and girl to compete in the Hunger Games. A twisted punishment for a past uprising and an ongoing government intimidation tactic, The Hunger Games are a nationally televised event in which "Tribu... Read More
Directed By:Gary Ross
Written By:Gary Ross, Suzanne Collins, Billy Ray
The Hunger Games
Metascore
Generally Favorable
68
User score
Generally Favorable
7.1
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Top Cast
Metascore
Generally Favorable
80% Positive
39 Reviews
39 Reviews
16% Mixed
8 Reviews
8 Reviews
4% Negative
2 Reviews
2 Reviews
Nov 20, 2015
100
Despite its well-worn ideas and themes, Gary Ross’s provocative, pulse-surgingly tense adaptation couldn’t feel fresher, or timelier.
Nov 20, 2015
83
Ultimately, Ross hasn’t just successfully mounted an adaptation of a hot literary property, or even launched a film series that earns the right to be a franchise. He’s produced an engaging, thoughtful, populist piece of entertainment that transcends gender, genre or source material.
User score
Generally Favorable
70% Positive
1473 Ratings
1473 Ratings
20% Mixed
420 Ratings
420 Ratings
10% Negative
206 Ratings
206 Ratings
Oct 15, 2025
10
Maybe as book adaptation isn't so great but it's truly amazing for people who haven't read the books and may want to read them after the movie. Good introduction before the books.
Oct 11, 2025
10
What a movie! Amazing story amazing characters! I had not watched this movie yet nor read the book and it’s 2025. Heard a lot of good things about it. So I decided to watch it and really understand the dialogue and the story. It’s so good! If you like dystopian stories like 1984 this movie will resonate with you. Even if you haven’t read the book the future of mankind is starting to take a path to civil war or world war which is pretty close to the lore of the story. Im not going to give away much but it’s a much watch. It shows raw human emotion in the face of certain death, what we do as humans to survive. Love, romance, heart break, happiness. All the emotions are here and raw. To the point. They make you, the viewer, vulnerable just like the characters. You feel the tension. There are some scenes when there is absolutely no sound and the scene plays out simple using the picture only to evoke emotion. This movie is very simple in the cinematography sometimes and it shines through pure emotion the audience can feel directly. This makes you double down on your care for the characters and immerses you in the story. I see the audience score and I can’t help not to imagine that it’s not as faithful to the book exactly but I’m not sure. I will definitely be reading the books. However they say to watch the first movie first then read the books as to not introduce spoilers or something to that affect. Anyways if your looking for a series to grab you and take you for a ride watch this movie it’s a undiscovered treasure that you will enjoy.
Mar 16, 2012
80
As thrilling and smart as it is terrifying. There have been a number of big-gun literary series brought to screen over the past decade. This slays them all.
Mar 21, 2012
75
What The Hunger Games does have is a game cast, a large budget well spent, Collins on board as co-writer, and Lawrence as Katniss.
Mar 15, 2012
70
As she did in her breakthrough film Winter's Bone, Jennifer Lawrence anchors this futuristic and politicized elaboration of The Most Dangerous Game with impressive gravity and presence, while director Gary Ross gets enough of what matters in the book up on the screen to satisfy its legions of fans worldwide.
Mar 22, 2012
60
Again and again Katniss rescues herself with resourcefulness, guts and true aim, a combination that makes her insistently watchable, despite Mr. Ross's soft touch and Ms. Lawrence's bland performance.
Mar 22, 2012
30
In The Hunger Games it's both a feast of cheesy spectacle and a famine of genuine feeling, except for the powerful - and touchingly vulnerable - presence of Jennifer Lawrence.
Oct 2, 2022
10
First chapter of the saga, a beautiful children's film structured like a video game. Film in its own way inspiring and that manages to lay a good foundation for the whole saga.
Aug 11, 2025
6
A captivating introduction to the world of The Hunger Games. Lawrence's performance is great, but not so much from her counterpart, Hutcherson. While the world looks spectacular, some of the visual effects just don't hit and stand out as bad. Overall, a good starting point for the franchise.
Sep 9, 2024
6
Surprisingly grim, gray and bleak considering the target audience, The Hunger Games is as close to dystopian as PG-13 gets. An inordinate amount of time is invested in world building and scene setting here, which makes for some great, functional locales, but also relegates the plot to secondary status. Jennifer Lawrence is well cast as the brooding, bow-wielding introvert Katniss, but the rest of the cast underperforms. Especially so for Woody Harrelson, in a role he was seemingly perfect for, as the hero's pathetic, booze-drenched advisor Haymitch. Readers with a fresh memory of the novels will get the most out of this interpretation, which assumes its audience knows most of the finer points of what's going on and summarily neglects any form of deeper explanation. It's gorgeous, though occasionally a bit too eccentric (some scenes in the capital look like they were ripped right out of a Final Fantasy cut scene), and non-fanatics will probably find it too narrow and fluffy.
Aug 3, 2018
3
The movie does contain a small amount of excitement and admittedly terrific performances, but the movie is too slow, too boring and the action is too badly shot most of the time to really give a **** about anything.
Production Company:
- Lionsgate
- Color Force
Release Date:Mar 23, 2012
Duration:2 h 22 m
Rating:PG-13
Tagline:The World Will Be Watching
Awards
Golden Globes, USA
• 1 Nomination
Golden Trailer Awards
• 5 Wins & 14 Nominations
Teen Choice Awards
• 7 Wins & 9 Nominations
