The Hunger Games began as a best-selling book trilogy written by Suzanne Collins leading to corresponding film adaptations. The stories are set in the dystopian society of Panem, which has been divided up into 12 districts that each contribute to a different sector of economic production. The games themselves were a response to the districts' rebellion against the Capitol. Every year, two tributes — one male, one female — are selected from each district via The Reaping ceremony where their names are drawn from a bowl. The pair of tributes then go to the Capitol to compete against those from other districts in a brutal fight to the death shaped by a technologically enhanced arena.

The first book in Collins’ original trilogy watches Katniss Everdeen and Peeta Mellark get drafted as the tributes from District 12 to participate in the 74th annual Hunger Games. Katniss volunteers to replace her younger sister Primrose, and she and Peeta come out victorious by threatening to both eat poisonous berries and die before one sole victor of their games can be named. Catching Fire centers around the 75th games, or Quarter Quell, which introduces an extra wrinkle in the rules that makes the games even more barbaric to remind the districts of who is in control. Katniss gets drafted again because the rule is that tributes will get reaped from each district’s existing pool of victors. Mockingjay, which was split into two parts for the film franchise, reveals the existence of a long-dormant District 13 where the seeds of rebellion contribute to an uprising over the Capitol.

Jennifer Lawrence played Katniss Everdeen in the first four Hunger Games films alongside Josh Hutcherson as Peeta and Liam Hemsworth as Gale Hawthorn, who was Katniss’ other love interest before the games. Woody Harrelson played Haymitch Abernathy, District 12’s only other victor and mentor to Katniss and Peeta. Other cast members included Stanley Tucci as games commentator Caesar Flickerman, Willow Shields as Primrose Everdeen and Elizabeth Banks as Effie Trinket. Taylor Swift contributed two songs for the first film — “Safe and Sound” and “Eyes Open.” The first film grossed about $695 million worldwide, and Catching Fire grossed $865 million. Mockingjay Part 1 drew in $759 million, and Part 2 $661 million. Worldwide, The Ballad of Songbirds and Snakes prequel grossed $337 million.

Collins released the prequel novel The Ballad of Songbirds and Snakes in 2020, which was also adapted into a film that came out in 2023. The story follows Lucy Gray Baird (Rachel Zeigler) and young Coriolanus Snow (Tom Blythe), who is President of the Capitol during Katniss’ time. Coriolanus is assigned to mentor Lucy Gray, the female tribute for District 12 in the 10th Hunger Games. They share a romantic entanglement as Snow helps Baird survive the games, but their fallout influences who he becomes later on. Olivia Rodrigo contributed “Can’t Catch Me Now” as an original song to the 2023 film, which also starred Viola Davis as Dr. Volumnia Gaul and Peter Dinklage as the creator of the games, Casca Highbottom.

The Hunger Games: The Sunrise on the Reaping marks the latest installment — both literary and cinematic — to the world created by Collins. The book, announced in June 2024, is set to be published in 2025, and the corresponding movie adaptation will be released in theaters November 20, 2026. The story will focus on the 50th annual Hunger Games, or second Quarter Quell, in which Haymitch Abernathy participated, and Collins cited David Hume as inspiration.