The Hunger Games Movies in Order: Katniss and the Prequels

Where should you start?

Release order is our recommendation for first-time viewers: The Hunger Games, Catching Fire, Mockingjay - Part 1, Mockingjay - Part 2, then The Ballad of Songbirds & Snakes. You discover Panem alongside Katniss before going back to an earlier period.

The four film cards above are a deliberately pinned selection of Katniss’s complete film story, not every film set in Panem. There are five released features across that story and the released prequel as of September 13, 2026. Sunrise on the Reaping is still upcoming.

The four Katniss films in order

1. The Hunger Games (2012) — begin here to meet Katniss and understand the Games through her experience.
2. The Hunger Games: Catching Fire (2013) — continues the consequences of the first film; avoid its synopsis until you have finished that film.
3. The Hunger Games: Mockingjay - Part 1 (2014) — the story broadens beyond the arena and changes pace.
4. The Hunger Games: Mockingjay - Part 2 (2015) — the second half of the final adaptation, best watched soon after Part 1.

Release order and the main story’s chronological order agree for these four films. Mockingjay is one novel adapted into two films; Part 2 is not an optional extra or a new standalone adventure.

Where does The Ballad of Songbirds & Snakes fit?

The Hunger Games: The Ballad of Songbirds & Snakes (2023) takes place before Katniss’s story and follows a young Coriolanus Snow. It is a separate entry, rather than a fifth Katniss film. Watching it after the original four lets you recognize the earlier versions of institutions you already know.

You can start with it if the prequel premise interests you most, but that changes the introduction to Panem. It is not necessary homework for understanding The Hunger Games (2012).

Chronological order of the released films

1. The Hunger Games: The Ballad of Songbirds & Snakes (2023)
2. The Hunger Games (2012)
3. The Hunger Games: Catching Fire (2013)
4. The Hunger Games: Mockingjay - Part 1 (2014)
5. The Hunger Games: Mockingjay - Part 2 (2015)

The years in brackets are release years, not dates within Panem. This is a useful rewatch order if you want to compare how the Games change over time. It does not turn the prequel into a continuation of Mockingjay.

What about Sunrise on the Reaping?

Lionsgate has announced The Hunger Games: Sunrise on the Reaping for November 20, 2026 in US theaters. That is a scheduled release, not a film already available to include in a completed marathon. Regional release dates may differ.

Its setting is 24 years before the first Hunger Games story, placing it between Ballad and Katniss in the fictional timeline. Keep it in an upcoming list until release. The five-film released list above will need another review then; we have not added an unreleased film to the cards or described it as watched content.

Our take on the collection

Moviebase editorial

The strongest thread is the tension between personal survival and being turned into a public symbol. The series gradually shifts from an arena thriller to political conflict. Viewers expecting every chapter to repeat the first film’s contest may find the later structure slower and less contained. That change is easier to appreciate if you treat the four Katniss films as one developing story, rather than four variations on the same competition.

Planning your watchlist

Keep the two Mockingjay films close together. Separate the four-film Katniss list, the released prequel and upcoming releases so that your progress reflects the scope you actually chose. To find another adaptation series, see The Maze Runner in order. Download Moviebase to organize those lists in the app; the link takes you to the download page.

Sources

Card identities use TMDB collection 131635; the prequel has its own TMDB film record. The prequel setting is described in Lionsgate’s official Ballad trailer. The scheduled US release and 24-year setting come from Lionsgate’s Sunrise announcement. Editorial and source review: September 13, 2026. Film data and artwork come from TMDB. This product uses the TMDB API but is not endorsed or certified by TMDB.