How to watch

Based on Suzanne Collins' best-selling novels, The Hunger Games turned Panem's brutal televised death matches into a global phenomenon. The franchise spans Katniss Everdeen's rebellion across four films, plus a prequel that rewinds the clock to a young Coriolanus Snow. Whether you want to follow the story as it was released or in the order events actually unfold, here's how to watch every entry.

🕐 Release Order

Release order is how audiences first met Katniss and later learned Snow's origins, and it preserves the mystery the filmmakers intended.

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

The prequel arrived last but takes place first, so the chronological order flips the timeline on its head.

📖 Story Chronology

Story chronology puts the prequel about President Snow's youth decades before Katniss ever volunteers as tribute.

1. The Hunger Games: The Ballad of Songbirds & Snakes (2023) — set 64 years before the original
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)

Which Order Should You Choose?

For a first watch, stick with release order — starting with the 2012 original keeps Snow a menacing mystery and lets his backstory hit harder when you reach the prequel. If you're rewatching or love a chronological journey through Panem's history, begin with The Ballad of Songbirds & Snakes to see how the Games and Snow himself were shaped before Katniss's rebellion.

🔗 Related Guides

• Divergent Watch OrderGuide
• Twilight Watch OrderGuide
• Harry Potter Watch OrderGuide

Did we miss anything? Let us know and we'll keep this guide up to date!