Over ten years ago, the first installment inThe Hunger Gamesfranchise was released to immediate success. Within a year, it turned a cult favorite book trilogy into a cultural phenomenon, made lead actress Jennifer Lawrence a household name, and introduced an entire generation of moviegoers to dystopian fiction. And all three other films in the series saw near or equal degrees of success.
A decade later,The Hunger Gameshas almost entirely vanished from the cultural conversation. Like manyYA novel adaptations, the buzz was considerable at the time of release but quickly died down following the film’s conclusion. Now, as the prequel film,The Ballad of Songbirds and Snakes, is about to release this weekend, will we see a resurgence in the franchise and perhaps the YA novel adaptation genre?
Some Fans Were Disappointed by the Final Two Movies
By and large, it’s agreed that the final two installments of the series didn’t live up to what came before. For one, the creative team decided to follow on the heels of other young-adult favorites,Harry PotterandTwilight, splitting the final book in the series,Mockingjay, into two films. But whereasDeathly Hallows, the finalPotterchapter, warranted a split due to the scope and dense plotting, there was always a sense thatMockingjaycould’ve easily functioned as a single film, somethingdirector Francis Lawrence agrees with.
Indeed, while both installments have their moments, they also feel padded and slow-moving, particularly in comparison to the tight, propulsive plotting ofThe Hunger GamesandCatching Fire. They could never entirely escape the overriding feeling that the split only existed to earn more money.
Every Movie in The Hunger Games Franchise, Ranked by Box Office Gross
The Hunger Games began a YA dystopian craze in the 2010s. Here’s a look at how each movie in the series performed at the box office.
Additionally, the consensus remains thatThe Hunger Games:Mockingjay - Part 2was a somewhat anticlimactic end to the series. While the performances and production values were praised once again, some feltthe resolution was rushedand overly grim without giving much of a satisfying answer for what was to come for Katniss Everdeen after her journey ended. Ironically, whilePart 1was criticized for too much setup and not enough action,Part 2was criticized for the opposite reasons.
More significantly, however, was that by 2015, the fictional dystopian world of Panem felt all too possible. UnlikeHarry Potter, which explored more universal themes about fear of death and the battle between good and evil,The Hunger Gameshad a very clear, timely target in its social commentary over wealth inequality and corrupt institutions. The release of the final films, purely by chance, coincided with the rise of fascism and authoritarian governments around the world, and to viewers, a satire that at one point seemed biting now looked tame compared to the real world.
A Young-Adult Dystopian Wasteland
The Hunger Games
The other significant part ofThe Hunger Games' legacy lies in its coinciding rise with, and subsequent impact on,the young adult dystopian genre. As hard as it is to believe now, the world of Panem felt outright unique back in 2012, when YA fiction was primarily associated with romance series. It’s not an accident thatThe Hunger Gamesrose in popularity as theTwilightbacklash hit its peak; tackling political commentary and including a more proactive female protagonist felt more substantial.
But evenThe Hunger Gamesfell into some of the traps many in the YA subgenre did. Easily the weakest aspect of the trilogy was its love triangle, where Katniss is torn between her feelings for Peeta Mellark, her fellow contestant in the titular Hunger Games, and Gale Hawthorne, her childhood best friend. This subplot felt like an obvious attempt to follow in the footsteps of the “Team Edward/Jacob” phenomenon, and it never felt necessary to the larger story, giving a sense that as subversive as the series wanted to be for the YA genre, it couldn’t fully escape its trappings.
Worse, the imitators that followed after its success were almost entirely uninteresting, seemingly copying all the surface-level details from the series without understanding why they worked.Franchises likeDivergentandThe Maze Runnerwere set in dystopic worlds for seemingly no reason other than they needed to be, and none of them took the time to explore their worlds' corruption and how it manifested the way thatThe Hunger Gamesdid. They felt like stories about revolution without understanding why there was a revolution at all.
Most significantly,none of these knock-offsdid anything new within the genre.The Hunger Gameswas never entirely original (it famously took plot inspiration fromBattle Royale), but it made the world of Panem feel lived in and spoke to contemporary American issues that made it feel fresh at the time. Its imitators did virtually nothing but recycle the same tropes and plot beats without adapting to the needs of their stories the way Suzanne Collins did. Within a decade, a subgenre that once was fresh and exciting now seemed ancient, and whileThe Hunger Gamesshouldn’t be inherently blamed for the lessons its followers took, to many, it too now felt like a relic.
How Did The Hunger Games Start?
The Hunger Games were not always such an elaborate event, but they were brutal and bloody. Here is how the deadly Games got their start.
The Hunger Games: The Ballad of Songbirds and Snakes
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Of course, this speculation could be inaccurate depending on how wellThe Ballad of Songbirds and Snakesperforms this weekend. But it seems safe to assume that its release will be a test of the longevity ofThe Hunger Games. And while it may end up a smash hit, it’s hard to escape the feeling that the world of Panem seems purely a product of its time and not as universal as we once believed.
