---
title: "The Hunger Games"
year: 2012
kind: "film"
canonical: "https://film.one/film/the-hunger-games"
fi1m_id: "the-hunger-games"
imdb_id: "tt1392170"
tmdb_id: 70160
wikidata_id: "Q212965"
fi1m_score: 70
critics_score: 72
critics_reviews: 19
published: "2026-09-22T21:24:08.906656+00:00"
updated: "2026-09-22T21:24:20.459263+00:00"
region: "FR"
licence: "© Fi1m Ltd. Written by AI under a human editor; checked against sources before publication. Quote with attribution and a link to the canonical URL."
---

# The Hunger Games (2012)

Directed by Gary Ross · 2h 22m · CNC 12 · Science Fiction, Adventure, Action, Thriller

## Identity

The Hunger Games

- **Canonical:** https://film.one/film/the-hunger-games
- **Type:** Film
- **Fi1m ID:** the-hunger-games
- **IMDb ID:** tt1392170
- **TMDB ID:** 70160
- **Wikidata ID:** Q212965
- **Same entity:** https://www.imdb.com/title/tt1392170/, https://www.themoviedb.org/movie/70160, https://www.wikidata.org/wiki/Q212965

**Fi1m score: 70** · Critics 72 from 19 reviews

*In a sentence:* Stanley Tucci grins through a child massacre like a man selling timeshares, and he is the best thing in it

> Gary Ross’s adaptation of Suzanne Collins’s novel is best before the arena: a coal-town reaping played in silence, a Capitol of dyed beards, and Jennifer Lawrence, who never asks to be liked. Once the fighting starts, the camera shakes and the horror slips through.

## Synopsis

Panem punishes its twelve districts once a year with the Hunger Games: a boy and a girl from each, aged twelve to eighteen, are put into an arena and televised until one is left alive. In District 12, a coal town, Katniss Everdeen (Jennifer Lawrence) hunts illegally in the woods with Gale Hawthorne (Liam Hemsworth) to feed her family. At the reaping, Effie Trinket (Elizabeth Banks) draws her younger sister’s name, and Katniss volunteers in her place. She is sent to the Capitol with the baker’s son Peeta Mellark (Josh Hutcherson), a drunk mentor in Haymitch Abernathy (Woody Harrelson) and a stylist, Cinna (Lenny Kravitz), to be dressed, trained and interviewed by the television host Caesar Flickerman (Stanley Tucci) before the seventy-fourth Games begin.

## Review

Suzanne Collins’s novel imagines a nation, Panem, that punishes its twelve districts every year by taking a boy and a girl from each, putting the twenty-four of them in an arena and televising what happens until one is left. Gary Ross, who shares the script with Collins and Billy Ray, had to bring that to the screen for millions of readers who know every line, under a certificate that permits almost none of it. He has made a good film. Its first hour, before anyone reaches the arena, is as well made as this kind of blockbuster gets; the arena itself is the part it handles worst.

District 12 is the reason to trust it. Philip Messina builds a coal town of clapboard, slate and washing lines, and Tom Stern shoots it handheld with the colour wrung out. Katniss Everdeen (Jennifer Lawrence) hunts in the woods with Gale Hawthorne (Liam Hemsworth). Then the reaping. Children in pressed Sunday clothes stand in roped squares while Effie Trinket (Elizabeth Banks), in fuchsia and a powdered face, reads a name off a slip of paper. James Newton Howard keeps his score almost entirely out of it, and the quiet does the work.

We had read the book and knew who would be called and what Katniss would do about it, and our throat tightened anyway. What did it was the crowd: a square full of people who raise three fingers instead of applauding, and a girl who has to be pulled off her sister by guards. Ross plays it without a single swelling note. It is the most honest minute in the film, and the film never quite gets back there.

The Capitol is the other good idea. Messina makes it a city of marble and sherbet colours, and Judianna Makovsky dresses its citizens in dyed beards, gold eyelids and hats shaped like pastries. Stanley Tucci, as the host Caesar Flickerman, has blue hair, a wall of teeth and a laugh he switches on like a lamp, and he is the best thing in the film: a man who believes he is being kind. Woody Harrelson plays Haymitch Abernathy, the drunk mentor, with a lazy ease that is funnier than the lines. Donald Sutherland’s President Snow prunes roses and speaks softly to Wes Bentley’s head gamemaker, Seneca Crane, whose beard is a piece of topiary in its own right. Lenny Kravitz is quiet and decent as the stylist Cinna.

Lawrence holds the middle without once asking to be liked. Her Katniss is stiff in interviews, bad at smiling and watchful on the train, and Lawrence lets her be all of those things rather than nudging us towards affection. Josh Hutcherson gives Peeta Mellark a soft, apologetic decency the film needs. Hemsworth is given a look of longing and little else.

Then the arena, and the trouble. Stephen Mirrione, Juliette Welfling and Christopher S. Capp cut the opening fight into shards, none held longer than it takes to see a blade, and Stern’s camera shakes so hard that we could not have told you who was standing over whom. This keeps the 12A. It also means a child dying registers as noise rather than as loss, which is the one thing this story cannot afford. The film knows the arena is hard to follow, so it keeps cutting away to Tucci and Toby Jones’s Claudius Templesmith in a studio to explain the rules, and to Bentley’s control room, where men in white move clouds about on a table. It is useful, and it is also a way of leaving the arena whenever it gets difficult. At 142 minutes there is a long stretch of waiting in trees.

[*Battle Royale*](https://film.one/film/battle-royale) (2000) did the same premise with less money and more nerve, and never let its audience look away. Ross has something that film did not: a heroine who understands she is on television and starts to act for the cameras, and the scenes where Katniss learns to perform are the smartest in the film. The second half takes turns we will not describe. Some land; the last lands softly.

See it for the first hour, for Tucci, and for Lawrence, who was about to become a star and behaves in every scene as if nobody had told her. At home the arena is easier on the eye and the Capitol loses nothing. Bring someone who has read the book to tell you what you missed in the blur.

*Fi1m score 70, published 22 September 2026.*

## What the critics say

Most critics come away satisfied, and nearly all of them, positive or not, land on the same virtue: Jennifer Lawrence, whose Katniss is described again and again as the film’s anchor. Beyond her, the praise gathers around the design of Panem and its divided districts, the staging of the televised games, and Gary Ross’s handheld, unshowy direction, which several reviews credit with making a faithful adaptation work as a film rather than a transcript.

The reservations gather around the certificate. Several critics feel the violence has been softened for a young audience, blunting the story’s brutality; The New York Times finds Ross’s genial style at odds with the material. Others think the film sticks so closely to the novel that it leaves no room for its world, and that the first hour drags. The spread is narrow, with one outright dissent from Eye for Film, which finds it flat and unconvincing throughout.

## Straight answers

**Is The Hunger Games worth watching?**

*The Hunger Games* is worth watching, and we scored it 70: a good film whose first hour, before anyone reaches the arena, is as well made as this kind of blockbuster gets. Stanley Tucci's grinning television host and Jennifer Lawrence's unsmiling Katniss are the reasons to see it. The arena fighting is cut so fast and shaken so hard that it is difficult to follow.

**How long is The Hunger Games, and what is it rated?**

*The Hunger Games* runs 2h 22m and is rated 12 by the CNC in France. It is a science fiction and adventure film.

**Where can I watch The Hunger Games in France?**

*The Hunger Games* is streaming on Amazon Prime Video in France, and it is also available to rent from Amazon Prime Video and Apple TV from €3.99. Availability is checked daily; the links above go straight to each service.

**How violent or frightening is The Hunger Games, and is it suitable for children?**

*The Hunger Games* is a 12A about children killing children, and the certificate is kept by cutting the violence into shards and shaking the camera until nobody can see who is standing over whom. There is little blood on screen, but the premise is bleak and the reaping scene is quietly upsetting. We would not take a young child; teenagers will be fine.

**How does The Hunger Games compare to Battle Royale?**

*The Hunger Games* shares its premise with [*Battle Royale*](https://film.one/film/battle-royale), but the Japanese film is cheaper, far crueller and never lets its audience look away, while Ross's version cuts away from the arena whenever it gets hard. Ross has the smarter idea in a heroine who performs for the cameras. Choose *Battle Royale* for nerve and *The Hunger Games* for its coal town and Capitol.

**Is The Hunger Games based on a true story or a book?**

*The Hunger Games* is based on the novel by Suzanne Collins, not on a true story, and Collins shares the screenplay credit with Gary Ross and Billy Ray. The film stays close enough that readers will know each turn before it comes; the reaping still tightened our throat. You need not have read the book, though it helps in the blur of the arena.

**What should I watch after The Hunger Games?**

After *The Hunger Games*, try [*Battle Royale*](https://film.one/film/battle-royale) (2000, Fi1m 83): The same premise, Japanese, cheaper and far crueller; it never looks away. Then [*Winter's Bone*](https://film.one/film/winters-bone) (2010, Fi1m 85): Lawrence hunting squirrels in the Ozarks, two years before anyone gave her a bow.

### Reviews we read (19)

- **Empire**, Olly Richards (85/100, inferred): The adaptation succeeds as a film in its own right rather than just a book transfer, with an intelligent and immersive take on the story. Jennifer Lawrence is perfect as Katniss and the handling of violence and themes is smart and effective. [Read](https://www.empireonline.com/movies/reviews/hunger-games-review/)
- **Radio Times**, Alan Jones (4/5): An impressive action thriller that faithfully adapts the book, keeping sci-fi themes vivid and relevant with jittery camerawork and thrilling action despite derivative elements. Lawrence's magnetic performance is bolstered by strong supporting turns and inspired dystopian design. [Read](https://www.radiotimes.com/movie-guide/b-u6lwqm/the-hunger-games/)
- **Slant Magazine**, Richard Scott Larson (80/100, inferred): The review praises how the film succeeds by evoking the experience of watching reality television while allowing viewers to feel smart about the underlying rebellion. It singles out the immersive yet critically distanced portrayal of the televised games and Katniss’s calculated performance. [Read](https://www.slantmagazine.com/film/reality-hunger-gary-rosss-the-hunger-games/)
- **The Guardian**, Peter Bradshaw (80/100, inferred): The critic finds The Hunger Games an enjoyable futurist adventure with a tang of satire that outruns Twilight comparisons. He singles out the beady-eyed intensity of the presentation and Jennifer Lawrence's performance for praise while noting concerns about future sequels diluting the impact. [Read](https://www.theguardian.com/film/2012/mar/22/the-hunger-games-review)
- **Total Film**, Matthew Leyland (80/100, inferred): It is a faithful adaptation that gets the spirit right, with strong performances especially from Jennifer Lawrence and solid handling of action and emotion. The film avoids cheese and offers fresh survival-as-sport entertainment. [Read](https://www.gamesradar.com/the-hunger-games-review/)
- **The New Yorker**, Richard Brody (78/100, inferred): Gary Ross employs an impressionistic handheld style that creates intimacy and visual energy, turning the film into a distinctive cinematic experience rather than a straightforward adaptation. The first half excels as a sociological portrait of Panem's divided society. [Read](https://www.newyorker.com/culture/richard-brody/keeping-the-hunger-games-kid-stuff)
- **The AV Club**, Scott Tobias (B): Scott Tobias finds it a skillful abridgment that delivers the franchise more effectively than the first Harry Potter but lacks imagination beyond fidelity to the source. He singles out the sturdy professionalism in the early setup scenes and the suspenseful, dread-soaked games sequences. [Read](http://www.avclub.com/articles/the-hunger-games,71293/)
- **The Hollywood Reporter**, Todd McCarthy (77/100, inferred): Todd McCarthy calls it an amply faithful adaptation of the best-seller that satisfies its legions of fans but feels slightly shortchanged on visual spectacle and intensity due to PG-13 constraints. He singles out Jennifer Lawrence’s stellar performance with impressive gravity and presence as the film’s anchor. [Read](https://www.hollywoodreporter.com/movies/movie-reviews/hunger-games-film-review-300825/)
- **Screen Daily** (70/100, inferred): The adaptation ambitiously blends dystopian sci-fi, action-thriller, teen romance and social commentary, mostly succeeding thanks to Jennifer Lawrence's strong central performance. It struggles to integrate its different tones and agendas into a wholly original vision. [Read](https://www.screendaily.com/the-hunger-games/5039350.article)
- **Variety**, Justin Chang (67/100, inferred): The proficient and faithful adaptation centers on Jennifer Lawrence's strong performance but lacks artistic risk or creative spark, settling for a watchable but safe PG-13 spectacle. The film irons out the source's edges, blunting its violence and emotional impact. [Read](https://variety.com/2012/film/reviews/the-hunger-games-1117947254/)
- **Sight and Sound**, Anton Bitel (60/100, inferred): The film compromises by building around spectacle but sanitising the violence for a young audience, resulting in a triumph of restraint that lets viewers off the hook morally. Jennifer Lawrence brings intense conviction to Katniss, though changes soften the character's complexity. [Read](http://old.bfi.org.uk/sightandsound/reviews/releases/hunger-games.php)
- **The Independent** (60/100, inferred): The central premise is potent but the film lacks the spirit of Battle Royale. It features a strong performance from Jennifer Lawrence as Katniss, though the first hour drags before becoming an action film. [Read](https://www.independent.co.uk/arts-entertainment/films/reviews/the-hunger-games-12-gary-ross-dvd-bluray-8095833.html)
- **Time Out**, Tom Huddleston (3/5): An absorbing but cluttered adaptation that sticks too closely to the novel's details, leaving insufficient time to explore the world or characters fully. It remains gripping and impressively mounted with strong action sequences and a fine lead performance from Jennifer Lawrence. [Read](https://www.timeout.com/movies/the-hunger-games)
- **The New York Times**, Manohla Dargis (59/100, inferred): The film is a dutiful but overly smoothed adaptation that fails to fully capture the raw intensity of its source material or heroine. Director Gary Ross's genial style undercuts the story's brutality, though Jennifer Lawrence's Katniss remains compelling. [Read](https://www.nytimes.com/2012/03/23/movies/the-hunger-games-movie-adapts-the-suzanne-collins-novel.html)
- **Den of Geek**, Sarah Dobbs (4/5): The film is a strong sci-fi movie, a strong teen film, and a strong piece of blockbuster entertainment that succeeds against the odds of adapting a popular book series. The critic singles out the world-building and the way the film opens up the story's political themes beyond the book's first-person perspective for particular praise. [Read](https://www.denofgeek.com/movies/the-hunger-games-review/)
- **Digital Spy**, Simon Reynolds (4/5): The adaptation translates the book's prescient story into a compelling and richly textured popcorn movie that is enthralling from beginning to end with depth and intelligence. The critic singles out Jennifer Lawrence's central performance as the beating heart of the tale for particular praise. [Read](https://www.digitalspy.com/movies/a372023/the-hunger-games-review/)
- **Collider**, Matt Goldberg (B): The critic finds the film an effective and memorable adaptation that is entertaining without typical blockbuster bombast, thanks to Gary Ross's subdued direction and strong performances, especially from Stanley Tucci and Josh Hutcherson. It is somewhat slavish to the book's weaker elements like the anti-climactic ending and lightweight social commentary. [Read](https://collider.com/the-hunger-games-review/)
- **The Wrap** (77/100, inferred): The film is a compelling but implausible popcorn movie that succeeds through verve and relentless forward motion despite borrowing heavily from other works. It singles out Jennifer Lawrence's portrayal of Katniss for conveying determination and making her a compelling female lead, along with strong cinematography distinguishing the districts and capitol. [Read](https://www.thewrap.com/hunger-games-review-compelling-implausible-american-idol-body-count-36390/)
- **Eye for Film**, Stephen Carty (1.5/5): The film is a flat, unremarkable adaptation that fails to feel convincing or tense despite its premise. It offers only surface-level satire and lacks excitement or memorability in its direction and execution. [Read](https://www.eyeforfilm.co.uk/review/the-hunger-games-film-review-by-stephen-carty)

## Details

- **Director:** Gary Ross
- **Director:** Gary Ross
- **Screenplay:** Gary Ross, Billy Ray, Suzanne Collins
- **Novel:** Suzanne Collins
- **Cinematography:** Tom Stern
- **Editor:** Juliette Welfling, Stephen Mirrione, Christopher S. Capp
- **Music:** James Newton Howard
- **Production design:** Philip Messina
- **Costume design:** Judianna Makovsky
- **Producer:** Jon Kilik, Nina Jacobson
- **Cast:** Jennifer Lawrence as Katniss Everdeen; Josh Hutcherson as Peeta Mellark; Liam Hemsworth as Gale Hawthorne; Woody Harrelson as Haymitch Abernathy; Elizabeth Banks as Effie Trinket; Lenny Kravitz as Cinna; Stanley Tucci as Caesar Flickerman; Donald Sutherland as President Coriolanus Snow
- **Runtime:** 2h 22m
- **Certificate (CNC):** 12
- **Release (France):** 21 March 2012
- **Genres:** Science Fiction, Adventure, Action, Thriller
- **Part of:** [The Hunger Games](https://film.one/collections/the-hunger-games.md) · 1 of 1
- **Budget:** $75 million
- **Box office:** $694 million
- **Trailer:** https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=mfmrPu43DF8

## Where to watch in France

- Amazon Prime Video: streaming
- Amazon Prime Video: rent €3.99, hd
- Apple TV: rent €3.99, hd
- Amazon Prime Video: buy €4.99, hd
- Apple TV: buy €9.99, hd

*Checked 2026-09-22.*

Also available in: AE, AR, AT, AU, BE, BG, BR, CA, CH, CL, CO, CZ, DE, DK, ES, FI, FR, GB, HK, HU, ID, IE, IL, IN, IT, JP, MX, MY, NO, NZ, PA, PH, PT, RO, SE, SG, SK, TH, TR, US. Add `?region=XX` to this URL for another country.

## Awards

- Kids' Choice Award for Favorite Movie 2013: Kids' Choice Award for Favorite Movie (won)
- Saturn Awards 2013: Best Actress (won)
- BAFTA Film Awards 2012: BAFTA's Children & Young People Award - Feature Film (won)
- Teen Choice Award for Best Villain 2012: Teen Choice Award for Best Villain (won)

## If you liked this

- *Battle Royale* (2000), Fi1m 83: The same premise, Japanese, cheaper and far crueller; it never looks away. — [Fi1m page](https://film.one/film/battle-royale.md)
- *Winter's Bone* (2010), Fi1m 85: Lawrence hunting squirrels in the Ozarks, two years before anyone gave her a bow. — [Fi1m page](https://film.one/film/winters-bone.md)
- *Series 7: The Contenders* (2001): A televised kill-or-be-killed game played entirely as reality television, and bleakly funny.
- *Punishment Park* (1971): Peter Watkins’s fake documentary about dissidents hunted across a desert by the state.
- *The Hunger Games: Catching Fire* (2013): The sequel steadies the camera and lets the arena hurt; better than the first.

---
© Fi1m Ltd. Written by AI under a human editor; checked against sources before publication. Quote with attribution and a link to the canonical URL. Canonical: https://film.one/film/the-hunger-games