Hunger Games Movies in Order: Release Order, Story Order and Where Sunrise on the Reaping Fits

Watch the Hunger Games films in release order: The Hunger Games (2012), Catching Fire (2013), Mockingjay – Part 1 (2014), Mockingjay – Part 2 (2015), The Ballad of Songbirds & Snakes (2023), then Sunrise on the Reaping, which Lionsgate lists for November 20, 2026. If you want the timeline order instead, start with Ballad, move to Sunrise, then watch the original four.

Both orders work, and none of the six films is a reboot. The two prequels cast younger versions of people you meet in the first four, which is why the release order is the easier first watch. The rest of this guide gives the dates, runtimes and what each film covers, without spoilers.

Hunger Games movies in release order

Dates and runtimes come from Wikipedia’s film pages and series page, with runtimes cross-checked against The Movie Database. Sunrise on the Reaping has not opened yet, so its date is the scheduled one, and Wikipedia credits its running time to the Irish Film Classification Office. Gary Ross directed the first film. Francis Lawrence directed every film after it.

Watching all six back to back takes about 14 hours and 23 minutes. The first five alone come to 11 hours and 45 minutes.

Hunger Games movies in story order

Story order suits a rewatch. For a first watch, release order keeps the original discoveries intact, because the prequels show how some characters began.

What each film is about

These premises stay spoiler-free.

• The Hunger Games (2012): In the dystopian nation of Panem, teenagers are chosen each year to fight to the death in a televised competition. Katniss Everdeen volunteers to take her younger sister’s place. Jennifer Lawrence plays Katniss, with Josh Hutcherson as Peeta Mellark and Liam Hemsworth as Gale Hawthorne.
• Catching Fire (2013): Katniss and Peeta, having won their Games, become targets of the Capitol after their victory inspires uprisings across Panem. It introduces characters including Finnick Odair, Johanna Mason and Plutarch Heavensbee.
• Mockingjay – Part 1 (2014): After escaping the arena, Katniss goes to District 13, an underground rebel stronghold, and is pressed to become a symbol for a rebellion against the Capitol. Lionsgate announced in July 2012 that Suzanne Collins’s final novel would be split into two films.
• Mockingjay – Part 2 (2015): Katniss leads a rebel team into the Capitol to overthrow President Snow and free Panem. It is the final installment of the original four.
• The Ballad of Songbirds & Snakes (2023): In a war-torn Panem, a young Coriolanus Snow is made a mentor for a tribute in the 10th Hunger Games. He hopes the reward will help restore his family’s fortunes. Tom Blyth plays Snow and Rachel Zegler plays Lucy Gray Baird, with Peter Dinklage, Viola Davis and Hunter Schafer in the cast.
• Sunrise on the Reaping (2026): Set 24 years before the first film, 16-year-old Haymitch Abernathy is selected for the 50th Hunger Games, which Wikipedia says requires each district to send twice the usual number of tributes. Joseph Zada plays Haymitch.

Mockingjay was split in two, so the series is four films from the original three novels. That is why the book order and the film order do not line up one to one.

Sunrise on the Reaping: what to know before November 20

Lionsgate’s official US ticket site lists November 20, 2026 for the release. The BBFC lists the same date for the UK and gives a running time of about 158 minutes, with content advice for “moderate violence, injury detail, threat, upsetting scenes.” Other countries follow their own distributor schedules, so check local listings for dates and ratings.

The film is based on Suzanne Collins’s 2025 novel of the same name, published by Scholastic on March 18, 2025. Francis Lawrence directs a screenplay credited to Billy Ray and Michael Lesslie. Wikipedia’s current cast list includes:

Wikipedia also says Jennifer Lawrence and Josh Hutcherson are set to reprise Katniss and Peeta, citing a December 2025 Hollywood Reporter report, and it describes Lawrence’s own comments as ambiguous. Neither actor appears in the page’s cast list. Treat that as reported, not confirmed here. Our first-reactions report covers what was said after the October 28 London premiere, and the trailer breakdown covers the footage.

How critics rated the first five films

Rotten Tomatoes percentages below are the figures cited on each film’s Wikipedia page on October 31, 2026. They shift over time. Sunrise on the Reaping has no full reviews yet. Critics’ reactions so far are first impressions only.

Box-office totals are left out on purpose. Wikipedia’s series page and the individual film pages give slightly different worldwide figures for several of these films.

The books, in publication order

The novels are by Suzanne Collins and were published by Scholastic.

Publication order mirrors the release order of the films. Wikipedia lists Sunrise on the Reaping as the second prequel novel, following Ballad, and as preceding The Hunger Games in story order.

What to watch if you are short on time

If you have one evening, watch The Hunger Games (2012) for the premise. If you want the character story behind the newest film, add The Ballad of Songbirds & Snakes, because Sunrise on the Reaping features an older Coriolanus Snow, played by Ralph Fiennes. For other franchise guides built the same way, see our Avengers: Doomsday watch order and the Jumanji movies in order. Everything on this series lives on the Hunger Games franchise page.

FAQ

What order should I watch the Hunger Games movies in?

Release order is the simplest: The Hunger Games, Catching Fire, Mockingjay – Part 1, Mockingjay – Part 2, The Ballad of Songbirds & Snakes, then Sunrise on the Reaping. Story order puts Ballad first, Sunrise second, and the original four after.

Do I need to watch the first four films before Sunrise on the Reaping?

No film is a required prerequisite. Sunrise on the Reaping is set 24 years before the first film and follows Haymitch Abernathy as a teenager. But it features younger versions of characters from the original four, so watching them first makes those appearances easier to recognize.

Do I need to watch The Ballad of Songbirds & Snakes first?

No. The two prequels have different leads and are set in different Games. Ballad gives background on Coriolanus Snow, who is played by Ralph Fiennes in Sunrise.

When is Sunrise on the Reaping released?

Lionsgate’s official US site lists November 20, 2026. The BBFC lists the same date for the UK. Other countries have their own schedules.

How long is Sunrise on the Reaping?

About 158 minutes, according to the BBFC listing, which gives the 2D IMAX version as 157 minutes 59 seconds and the 3D version as 158 minutes 5 seconds.

Why are there two Mockingjay movies?

Lionsgate split Suzanne Collins’s final novel into two films, announced in July 2012. Part 1 came out in 2014 and Part 2 in 2015.

Is Sunrise on the Reaping based on a book?

Yes. It adapts Collins’s 2025 novel of the same name, published by Scholastic on March 18, 2025.

Image credit and context: the hero is an authentic frame from Lionsgate’s official second trailer for The Hunger Games: Sunrise on the Reaping, reused from our earlier coverage of the film. It is used here for editorial identification of the film; no Creative Commons or public-domain licence is claimed. Original source: Lionsgate Movies on YouTube.