There is now another avenue to easily watch The Hunger Games, ahead of the franchise returning to cinemas next year. The Hunger Games took the world by storm in the early 2010s, first as a bestselling YA dystopian book trilogy but reaching new heights when it was adapted into a blockbuster franchise consisting of four movies. The series stars now-Oscar-winner Jennifer Lawrence as Katniss Everdeen, a 16-year-old living under the dictatorship of Panem, who is forced to participate in the Hunger Games, an annual fight to the death among 24 children from Panem's 12 districts.
The movies made Lawrence, as well as her primary co-stars Josh Hutcherson and Liam Hemsworth (as Peeta and Gale), all household names while featuring some amazing A-listers as Katniss' mentors and enemies. The Hunger Games fell into moderate obscurity as the YA dystopia craze sputtered out by the mid-2010s, but the franchise was undeniably a box office titan and still produced a relatively successful prequel in the 2020s. Now, with the advent of another prequel and a new streaming placement, audiences old and new have reason to revisit The Hunger Games.
All Four Hunger Games Movies Are Now On HBO Max
The Hunger Games Started Streaming On Max In June 2025
As of June 1, 2025, the four main Hunger Games movies are all available to stream via Max. This quartet covers Katniss' story, wherein she volunteers to take her sister Prim's (Willow Shields) place in the Hunger Games, inadvertently inspires a revolution, and sees the districts overthrow the Capitol. However, the prequel movie The Ballad of Songbirds & Snakes is not on Max; it can be streamed via Starz or rented on Amazon Prime. This installment depicts the events of the primitive 10th Hunger Games and the beginnings of the tyrannical President Snow (Donald Sutherland/Tom Blyth).
How Do Jennifer Lawrence's Hunger Games Movies Hold Up & Which Is The Best?
Catching Fire Is Generally Regarded As The Best Movie
Overall, the 2010s Hunger Games movies are serviceable at their worst and stellar at their best as adaptations. They faithfully depict the plot and themes of the groundbreaking books, while showcasing strong performances across the board. Jennifer Lawrence is a cornerstone as Katniss, but Woody Harrelson as her mentor Haymitch, Elizabeth Banks as her escort Effie, Donald Sutherland as President Snow, Philip Seymour Hoffman as double Agent Plutarch Heavensbee, and Stanley Tucci as Hunger Games emcee Caesar Flickerman are all absolute powerhouses. With high production quality, brilliant acting, and a compelling story, the movies are everything we could have wanted and hold up fairly well.
The exception is the two-part Mockingjay chapter, as the book didn't really have enough material to justify being split into two movies, and the experience drags on, resulting in the lackluster reception to The Hunger Games' finale. Generally, people consider the second installment, Catching Fire, to be the best Hunger Games movie. This movie's release was at least when the franchise was at its peak in popularity. I would say that the first movie has a tighter storyline, but the second certainly benefits from the more developed and well-acted supporting cast of previous Hunger Games victors.
This Is Some Additional Promotion For Haymitch's Prequel
Big franchises becoming available on streaming often result in a resurgence, but in this case, it is coupled with the news as of late about the cast for Sunrise on the Reaping. The new prequel novel, released in March 2025, depicts the Games won by Haymitch when he was 16 years old and includes many new revelations that arguably improved the original series. The Sunrise on the Reaping movie is shaping up to be a bigger event than the previous prequel, with a great cast on board, including Jesse Plemons, Ralph Fiennes, and Elle Fanning in the recast roles of Plutarch, Snow, and Effie.
Will Jennifer Lawrence Ever Return As Katniss?
She Could Appear In Sunrise On The Reaping's Epilogue
In addition to Sunrise on the Reaping being a surprisingly strong addition to The Hunger Games' story, it opens the door for Jennifer Lawrence to return to the big screen as Katniss. Making a Hunger Games sequel about Katniss wouldn't work for many reasons, but Sunrise on the Reaping includes an epilogue about Haymitch's later life in which she features. While there is no confirmation, it is very possible that Lawrence could reprise her most iconic role in 2026 to wrap up Katniss' story in a different way than before.
