The Hunger Games arrived in 2012 with a tagline that promised spectacle: “The world will be watching.” Gary Ross directs a film that takes that promise literally, turning a dystopian punishment into must-watch television. It is a science fiction adventure with action and thriller bones, and it runs 142 minutes.
Trailer, via Lionsgate Movies.
Katniss Everdeen Volunteers in District 12
The setup is stark. Panem is a post-apocalyptic nation of twelve districts ruled by the Capitol. As punishment for a failed rebellion 74 years earlier, each district sends two tributes, one boy and one girl between 12 and 18, to fight to the death until one survivor remains. The event is televised nationwide.
Jennifer Lawrence plays Katniss Everdeen, who lives in District 12 with her sister Primrose and her mother. When Primrose is selected for the 74th Hunger Games, Katniss volunteers to take her place. Josh Hutcherson plays Peeta Mellark, her fellow tribute.
Haymitch Abernathy and the Sponsor Problem
Woody Harrelson plays Haymitch Abernathy, the only living victor from District 12. He stresses that sponsors matter, because they can send resources into the arena. That single mechanic does more work than any set piece.
Peeta confesses on a televised interview that he loves Katniss. She reads it as a play for sponsors. She later learns his feelings are genuine.
The Cornucopia and the Career Tributes
The Games open at the Cornucopia, a central structure ringed with supplies. Half the tributes die in the first brawl.
- Katniss grabs a small utility bag and a knife thrown at her, then runs for the forest.
- The career tributes — Marvel, Glimmer, Cato and Clove — track her down.
- Katniss climbs a tree to evade them.
Peeta appears allied with the Careers and suggests waiting her out. Rue, the District 11 girl hiding in the next tree, points out a nest of venomous tracker jackers above. Katniss cuts the branch. The nest drops on the sleeping Careers. Glimmer is killed, but the others escape. Katniss takes Glimmer’s bow and arrows.
Jennifer Lawrence and the Casting Fight
Ross has said the casting of Katniss, Peeta and Gale Hawthorne was “honestly easy”. Lionsgate confirmed in March 2011 that about 30 actresses read for Katniss, including Hailee Steinfeld, Abigail Breslin, Emma Roberts, Saoirse Ronan and Chloë Grace Moretz. Lawrence landed the role on March 16, 2011.
Ross described her audition plainly: “I’d never seen an audition like that before in my life.”
Suzanne Collins backed the choice. She said the role demanded “a certain maturity and power” and that Lawrence was the “only one who truly captured the character I wrote in the book”.
A Production Schedule Built in North Carolina
| Phase | Timing |
|---|---|
| Lionsgate–Color Force agreement | March 2009 |
| Ross confirmed as director | November 2010 |
| Main cast rounded out | May 2011 |
| Principal photography | May–September 2011 |
| Nokia Theatre premiere, Los Angeles | March 12, 2012 |
| U.S. release | March 23, 2012 |
Filming took place primarily in North Carolina. The novel’s first-person point of view meant the screenplay had to build out ancillary characters and locations.
What the Film Gets Right
The film drew generally positive reviews, with praise for its themes, Lawrence’s performance and its faithfulness to the book. Some critics attacked Lawrence’s casting instead, arguing her weight did not fit a character who had starved. Manohla Dargis wrote in The New York Times that her “seductive, womanly figure makes a bad fit”. Todd McCarthy of The Hollywood Reporter cited “lingering baby fat”. Those remarks drew rebukes for pushing unrealistic body expectations.
The film’s real subject is the audience. The Capitol watches children die and calls it entertainment, and Ross keeps the camera on the watchers. The body criticism aimed at Lawrence missed that the movie was already making the argument against it.
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