All 4 of The Hunger Games movies, ranked from worst to best

All of The Hunger Games movies are currently streaming on Netflix, meaning you can now watch The Hunger Games, Catching Fire, and Mockingjay parts 1 and 2 all in one place! Now is a great time to revisit the dystopian films since a prequel movie is being released later this year based on Suzanne Collins’s newest novel The Ballad of Songbirds and Snakes.

Whether you’re prepared to rewatch the entire film series from start to finish, or you’re only interested in watching one or two of the movies, you might be debating where to start. Since all of the films are streaming, now seemed like a great time to rank all four of The Hunger Games films from worst to best.

Which movie in the series is your favorite? Which one is your least favorite? Keep reading to see our official ranking below!

4. The Hunger Games: Mockingjay – Part 1

To be fair to the Mockingjay movies, the odds were stacked against them from the start. Mockingjay is easily the most divisive novel in the trilogy. No matter how good or bad the films were, they would always polarize audiences because of the plot and character decisions. There are also a lot of conflicting opinions on how the story ends, so again, Mockingjay had an arduous task ahead of it.

On top of that, the first Mockingjay film had to follow up Catching Fire, which was easily the most beloved film of the franchise. It had big shoes to fill and a tough act to follow, as fans had high expectations. The other thing working against these movies is that they were split into two parts, following a trend at the time started by Harry Potter and continuing with this film, the Divergent movies (although the fourth movie was later canceled), and even Twilight.

Mockingjay – Part 1 isn’t a bad movie, in my opinion, but it didn’t need to be its own film. Splitting Mockingjay in half wasn’t a great move by the execs, though they did it hoping to get more money out of the franchise, and I’m sure they succeeded. The problem is that it relegates most of the exciting stuff and action to the second part, making the first part a little dull in comparison. Mockingjay – Part 1 spends most of its time setting up for the final movie instead of telling a story.

That said, it’s not all bad, especially if you’ve always been intrigued by the political machinations of the series. Actors like Jennifer Lawrence and Josh Hutcherson get to do some of their best work in this movie, particularly Hutcherson. Plus, it was nice that we got to spend a little more time with Finnick Odair (Sam Claflin) considering what book fans knew would happen later.

Grade: C

3. The Hunger Games: Mockingjay – Part 2

Again, Mockingjay – Part 2 wasn’t a bad movie, but it suffered from being split into two parts. It exceeded the first film thanks to its focus on more action and emotional beats, delivering an ultimately satisfying conclusion to the franchise (although a divisive one, following in the book’s footsteps).

Several iconic scenes were brought to life in the fourth movie in the franchise, including the fighting sequences and the big moment at the end where Katniss (Jennifer Lawrence) takes a stand against the new President of Panem, Coin (Julianne Moore), shooting her dead before history can repeat itself.

A series like this one can never really end “happily,” given everything that characters like Katniss and Peeta (Josh Hutcherson) have experienced during their years spent fighting the Capitol. Honestly, you couldn’t help but cheer for Katniss as she got rid of Coin, who seemed to be nothing more than a different version of former President Coriolanus Snow (Donald Sutherland) at the end of the day, and watching a horde of citizens kill Snow once and for all was quite cathartic.

Ultimately, Mockingjay – Part 2 is a solid conclusion to this beloved film franchise. Still, you can’t help but wonder how much better it could have been had the final two movies not been split into two.

Grade: B-

2. The Hunger Games

Based on the first book of the series, The Hunger Games had the challenging task of setting up the world of Panem and introducing us to characters like protagonist Katniss Everdeen and her childhood best friend Gale Hawthorne (Liam Hemsworth), not to mention introducing colorful Capitol players like Effie Trinket (Elizabeth Banks).

It could have gone horribly wrong, but director Gary Ross did an admirable job of bringing The Hunger Games to life. If this movie had failed, we wouldn’t have the beloved franchise at all. The Hunger Games follows Katniss after her sister, Prim (Willow Shields), is chosen at the Reaping to participate in the 74th Hunger Games, a cutthroat competition that enlists one boy and one girl from each of Panem’s 12 districts to compete in a televised fight for the entertainment of the Capitol.

The second Prim’s name is drawn, Katniss volunteers as tribute in one of the franchise’s most iconic scenes. Katniss instead competes in the games where she meets fellow District 12 tribute Peeta. The Hunger Games is an excellent movie and could easily have been the number-one film on this ranking. The only reason it isn’t is that Catching Fire comes out afterward and surpasses even the highs of this film.

But who could forget the heartbreaking moment when Rue (Amandla Stenberg) dies or the climactic ending when Katniss and Peeta work together to outsmart President Snow to come out victorious, becoming the first-ever double winners? The Hunger Games is an ambitious film that tackles the complicated themes and nuances of its source material with surprising deft and helped launch the career of Oscar-winning actress Jennifer Lawrence.

And had The Hunger Games not expertly laid the groundwork for the series, we would never have gotten Catching Fire‘s brilliance.

Grade: B+

1. The Hunger Games: Catching Fire

It shouldn’t come as much of a surprise to see The Hunger Games: Catching Fire in the top spot in our ranking. Not only is this movie widely considered the best of the franchise, but many movie fans agree that Catching Fire is one of the best book-to-screen adaptations ever.

Following the events of Suzanne Collins’s second novel in her acclaimed trilogy, Catching Fire follows Katniss Everdeen and Peeta Mellark as they’re thrust into yet another Hunger Games. Considering the way Peeta and Katniss bent the rules to become the first double victors during the 74th Hunger Games, it was inevitable that President Snow would find a way to punish them. He implements a cruel rule change that will force all previous Hunger Games victors to re-enter the game arena to compete in the 75th Hunger Games.

Catching Fire significantly raised the stakes in every way, introducing us to more of the rebellion and beloved characters like Johanna Mason (Jena Malone) and Finnick Odair. It’s not just that Catching Fire delivered a compelling script and a great book adaptation, but the directing, production design and cinematography were all top-notch. In the 75th Hunger Games, the competitors entered a unique arena featuring 12 zones divvied up like a clock.

The first aerial view of the arena just seconds after Katniss witnessed the death of her beloved stylist and friend Cinna (Lenny Kravitz) was one of the franchise’s most pivotal moments. Jennifer Lawrence’s exceptional performance was a significant part of that as we watch Katniss process the horror of Cinna’s death, grieve, and then slowly accept that she has to do whatever it takes to save Peeta and get revenge on the Capitol once and for all.

One of the other high points of Catching Fire was the chance to see Katniss embraced by the other victors after a late-game plot twist reveals that Johanna, Finnick, and most of the others have a larger plan in the works, one that will finally take the fight to the Capitol.

Catching Fire is one of the best cinematic examples of the dystopian genre and the pinnacle of the YA dystopia trend we saw during the late 2000s and early 2010s. I’m not sure any other film from this specific genre could top it.

Grade: A+