The Ultimate Guide to The Hunger Games Movies

With the Academy Awards® behind us (stream Oppenheimer only on Peacock), there may appear to be a lack of former Oscar winner and 2024 presenter Jennifer Lawrence on your screen. It’s painful, we know, but the simple truth is that a cure exists. We can stream the four original Hunger Games films on Peacock. Who’s stopping us? No one, that’s who.  

If it’s been a minute, or if you’ve never seen the movies (consider this your spoiler warning), here’s a primer to orient you before diving into the world of The Hunger Games.  

Based on the mega popular Hunger Games novels by Suzanne Collins, The Hunger Games films take place in a dystopian version of future North America called Panem. The regions of the United States as we know them today roughly correspond to what are known in Panem as “districts.” Every year, each district sends two young “tributes” to participate in a televised fight to the death called “The Hunger Games.” The spectacle is intended as a means of controlling the citizens through fear and is enforced by the sinister President Coriolanus Snow. For more background on Panem, read The Capitol’s Guide to a Cornucopia of Hunger Games Terms. 

Let’s get into it, shall we? 

What happens in The Hunger Games (2012)? 

Katniss (Jennifer Lawrence), a girl from District 12, volunteers as tribute to replace her sister in the 74th Annual Hunger Games. She joins Peeta (Josh Hutcherson), the other tribute from District 12, and leaves behind her mother, sister, and best friend, Gale (Liam Hemsworth). Against all odds, Katniss and Peeta both survive the games, planting the seeds of rebellion against the Capitol.  

Who’s in the cast? 

With an ensemble rounded out by Woody Harrelson, Elizabeth Banks, Stanley Tucci, Lenny Kravitz, and Donald Sutherland, the first installment in the franchise became a global hit and made household names of its three young stars. 

Watch The Hunger Games (2012) on Peacock

What happens in The Hunger Games: Catching Fire (2013)? 

While a rebellion — ahem — catches fire, President Snow forces Katniss and Peeta to portray themselves as deeply in love on a victory tour. When Katniss’ subtle acts of defiance fan the flames further, Snow aims to eliminate Katniss by sending her and Peeta into the 75th Hunger Games along with former winners from all the other districts. After teaming up with allies from their ranks, Katniss destroys the arena with an electrified arrow. She wakes to find that Peeta’s been captured by the Capitol, District 12 has been destroyed, the long-lost District 13 is the center of the rebellion, and her role in it is more vital than she ever imagined. 

Who’s in the cast? 

The returning cast is joined by Philip Seymour Hoffman, Sam Claflin, Julianne Moore, and Mahershala Ali. 

Watch The Hunger Games: Catching Fire (2013) on Peacock

What happens in The Hunger Games: Mockingjay Part 1 (2014)? 

Katniss reluctantly becomes the public face of the rebellion at the behest of District 13’s President Coin (Julianne Moore) and Gamemaker-turned-rebel Plutarch Heavensbee (Philip Seymour Hoffman). The rebels use Katniss to make propaganda films, which are responded to by Snow using a captive Peeta as a mouthpiece for propaganda of his own. As the violence intensifies, the rebels mount a rescue mission to get Peeta out of the Capitol.  

Watch The Hunger Games: Mockingjay Part 1 (2014) on Peacock

What happens in The Hunger Games: Mockingjay Part 2 (2015)? 

As the war intensifies, Katniss is deployed with a squad of rebels to continue making war films in support of the rebellion. Her plan, however, is to find her way to President Snow and assassinate him. Faced with countless death traps and enemies old and new, Katniss must survive one last set of battles in pursuit of peace in Panem. 

Watch The Hunger Games" Mockingjay Part 2 (2015) on Peacock

Stream the whole The Hunger Games franchise now* on Peacock. 

*Note: Content availability may vary over time.