The Hunger Games Movie Franchise Box Office Rankings

There aren't many movie franchises in Hollywood bigger than The Hunger Games, as evidenced by its worldwide box office intake. Based on the novel series by Suzanne Collins, the mainline stories center on Katniss Everdeen, who competes in the titular games and ultimately leads a revolution to overthrow a cruel and ruthless government.

After the four movies covered the original three novels, the franchise seemed done. However, Collins has released two more books set at different periods in her universe, meaning another movie was released, with a sixth on the way. Looking at the box office numbers for each entry paints a picture of where the series' popularity was at that point.

The Hunger Games: The Ballad Of Songbirds & Snakes (2023) - $361.7M

Eight years after the fourth and seemingly final Hunger Games film was released, another entry arrived. The Hunger Games: The Ballad of Songbirds and Snakes is Collins' first spin-off novel that goes all the way back to the early days of the titular games.

The tale takes place during the 10th Hunger Games and puts the focus on a young Coriolanus Snow. It was a bold move to tell the origin story of the franchise's biggest villain, yet it worked wonders. The novel was very well-received and, in the eyes of many, is the best book of the series.

Snow becomes the mentor to the District 12 tribute, Lucy Gray Baird (played by the talented Rachel Zegler), and the two ultimately fall in love. He helps her win her games and the story is incredibly engaging, though there's more focus on the romance than the action from the games themselves.

Alas, The Ballad of Songbirds and Snakes is the franchise's lowest-grossing entry. The $361 million intake on a budget of $100 million was solid, yet unspectacular. That number makes sense, given the series was dormant for a while, yet it was a sign that the franchise still had legs, which is why Sunrise on the Reaping is so anticipated.

The Hunger Games: Mockingjay - Part 2 (2015) - $664.9M

The Hunger Games: Mockingjay - Part 2 is the film that wraps up the initial story. It showcases the final encounter as Katniss leads her teams of rebels into the heart of the Capitol to liberate Panem from President Snow's tyrannical leadership.

Since the series was already so wildly popular, it's a bit surprising that the conclusion of the story grossed the least amount of money of the franchise to that point. That said, it's hard to be disappointed with a haul of $664.9 million, especially on a budget of around $160 million.

That said, part of what may have hurt the box office was the decision to split the final novel into two movies. That concept worked for Harry Potter, but book adaptations like Twilight and The Hunger Games didn't exactly have enough in those final books to make two great movies out of.

The criticisms of the first part involved poor pacing and some boring bits, which may have turned some fans off from seeing the final installment. That said, Mockingjay - Part 2 was still well-received and those who flocked to theaters to see it felt that it was a satisfying ending to the series.

The Hunger Games (2012) - $695.2M

When The Hunger Games hit theaters, it was something of a cultural phenomenon. Young adult adaptations were all the rage around that time, from Twilight to The Perks of Being a Wallflower to The Maze Runner to Divergent, but none felt bigger than The Hunger Games.

On top of the name value of the books themselves, the film was expertly cast. Jennifer Lawrence was the perfect rising star to play Katniss, fresh off an Oscar nomination (and just ahead of another) and an appearance in the X-Men prequel movie. Josh Hutcherson and Liam Hemsworth were also spirited choices.

Fans of the books appreciated this adaptation, as the characters were well cast, especially the likes of Haymitch Abernathy and Effie Trinket. They also did a good job of playing up the isolation that Katniss felt while competing in the games and making us care for characters like Rue.

The Hunger Games was the talk of Hollywood for a while, especially after grossing $695 million with a huge opening weekend for a non-sequel. It let the world know that this was a franchise that was going to be a major player for several years and it lived up to that level of hype.

The Hunger Games: Mockingjay - Part 1 (2014) - $758.8M

After two hugely successful entries, it was time to wrap up The Hunger Games. However, as noted, the filmmakers made the decision to split the final novel into two movies, which wasn't a great decision. Sure, it led to just about double the expected box office, but it also meant the first part would be a bit dull.

There wasn't a ton of story to split into two feature films, meaning one of them had to have some lulls. Mockingjay - Part 1 was that movie, though it still had a lot going for it. Fans were excited too, with it earning the largest opening day and weekend intake of any film in 2014.

Mockingjay - Part 1 was a bit of the "night is darkest just before the dawn," as the rebels start their plans toward the Capitol but struggle and run into some major obstacles. There were also great new additions to the cast, including Mahershala Ali and Natalie Dormer.

At the end of the day, Mockingjay - Part 1 grossed over $758 million worldwide, which shines a light on the series' popularity, putting it in the top five for the year. The sequel wasn't quite able to match that number, but that's a hugely impressive number.

The Hunger Games: Catching Fire (2013) - $865.0M

The success of the first film set the stage for the sequel to be a monster hit. Fans of the books were always going to flock to this film, but non-book readers had time to find the movie at home and get excited for the sequel themselves.

That led The Hunger Games: Catching Fire to gross an astounding $865 million at the box office. That ranked fifth in a loaded year worldwide and second in North America. It also set records for the biggest November opening weekend and biggest Thanksgiving period total.

Catching Fire is also the installment that had the smoothest adaptation to the big screen. Katniss works together with others in the games, including Peeta, meaning there's a constant stream of action and dialogue, which we didn't get with the first film, which works better as a novel.

Not only is Catching Fire the highest-grossing movie in the franchise, but it's also the entry that most people and critics seem to think is the best installment. Its 90% rating on Rotten Tomatoes tops the series, making this the very pinnacle of The Hunger Games as a franchise.