The Hunger Games series by Suzanne Collins ushered in new era of YA fiction and caused a wave of dystopian sci-fi work to crash into the mainstream imagination, including the Maze Runner series and the Divergent series. With its searing critique of capitalism and corruption, The Hunger Games pose questions to modern societies, though it’s set in the future in the fictional nation of Panem, built from the ashes of North America.
Thanks to its popularity among readers, Color Force and Lionsgate picked up the series, turning the bestseller into a blockbuster that would help secure Jennifer Lawrence’s place in the spotlight.
As with all adaptations, there are many discrepancies between the source material and the movies. Some are necessary changes to suit the different medium and some enhance the original themes. That said, other changes arguably diminish the quality of the adaptation by introducing bloated subplots and omitting crucial information.
This list includes changes from all three books in TheHunger Games trilogy as well as all four movies. As a result, there are spoilers ahead from both mediums! If you’ve been planning on catching up with the books or finally checking out the adaptation, proceed with caution.
Keep in mind, of course, that opinions vary from person to person, and this is by no means a definitive list of all changes or critique. In fact, feel free to share your opinions with us!
Here are, in no particular order, 12 Movie Changes That Hurt The Hunger Games (And 8 That Saved It).
Hurt: Splitting Mockingjay
Groans followed the announcement that the third book would be split into two movies, and while that might have been a hasty judgment, the end result does seem to justify it.
Mockingjay isn’t a particularly long book, making it hard to argue that releasing the movie in two parts was a purely creative decision.
What resulted was two questionably paced films with a lot of extra air to pad the run times. Splitting the book into two movies could have offered an opportunity for audiences to get more information, especially with so many characters involved.
Yet many details were still cut, including a major part of Finnick Odair’s backstory that would have provided even more insight into the cruelties of the Capitol.
Saved: Gale’s Whipping
In the book, Gale is caught trying to sell a poached turkey, resulting in him getting tied to a post and brutally whipped by the new Head Peacekeeper Romulus Thread. However, in the movie, he’s seen intervening in the Peacemakers’ destructions of the Hob, the black market of District 12. He tackles Thread to prevent him from beating someone up.
By changing the circumstances around Gale’s punishment, the movie sets him up for his eventual radicalism in the last two movies. Gale is willing to go to extreme lengths to protect his own, as demonstrated by this change, and that desire grows to the point that he’s willing to harm the innocent people in the Nut as long as he’s able to advance the Rebellion.
Hurt: Peeta’s Amputation
During the 74th Hunger Games, Peeta gets blood poisoning from an injury to his leg. Katinss uses a tourniquet to help Peeta survive, and it takes her a while to get the medicine from a backpack at the Cornucopia. As a result, even though Peeta left the arena with his life, he ends up needing an amputation and a prosthetic.
The movie completely erases Peeta’s disability, taking away some much needed disability representation.
It’s even more disheartening since Peeta’s arc in the book doesn’t revolve around his amputation, even though it’s mentioned a few times. Plus, he’s deeply compassionate and kind, whereas oftentimes characters with disabilities are portrayed as broken and twisted.
Even Katniss’s temporary deafness is omitted from the movie
Saved: Haymitch and Effie’s Romance
Elizabeth Banks is a true Hunger Games superfan and that love really enhanced her portrayal of Effie Trinket. Her chemistry with Woody Harrelson’s Haymitch Abernathy was definitely not present in the book but shines through on screen.
In Mockingjay Part 2, Haymitch and Effie are saying their good-byes and Haymitch impulsively kisses Effie. It wasn’t in the script - Banks and Harrelson thought it up themselves.
This unexpected romantic addition enriches both characters’ arcs, giving the impression that they will find happiness after all the fighting is over.
It’s a subtle undercurrent that never overwhelms the rest of the story, but adds a bit of sweetness.
Hurt: Panem’s Technology
In the books, the Everdeens receive Capitol announcements and watch the Hunger Games on an old TV set. However, in the movie it’s been swapped out with a futuristic projector. The change does highlight the setting of the story— a dystopian future— but it isn’t necessary given the other technological advances the audience sees in the Capitol.
In fact, keeping the old TV set would have underlined the severe wealth gap between the districts and the Capitol. Not only are the poorest citizens of Panem starving, but the Capitol doesn’t even bother investing in its massive propaganda machine by updating the technology used to spread it. It really shows how little regard the rich have for the poor.
Saved: More Finnick
Toward the end of the book Catching Fire, Katniss faces down Enobaria, one of the District 2 Tributes. Katniss is debating whether or not to attack her when she remembers Haymitch’s advice to “remember who the enemy is.” Remembering that the true enemy is the Capitol, she aims her bow at the sky and shatters the force field.
However, the movie replaces Enobaria with Finnick, a Tribute who viewers are more acquainted with and more invested in over the course of the film. The decision to swap the characters out raises the stakes as a result. Plus, by then the viewer isn’t 100% sure of Finnick’s true motives, hiking up the tension even more.
The change also nudges Finnick further into the spotlight, hinting at his crucial role in the rebellion.
Hurt: No Madge Undersee
The wealth gap between the Capitol and the poorest districts is apparent, but there’s also a class divide within each District.
The movie misses out on the chance to highlight the class divide by cutting Madge Undersee, the daughter of the mayor of District 12.
The Reaping system clearly favors the wealthier citizens. Everyone in the districts who reaches the age of twelve has their name entered once for the Reaping, twice the next year, and so on until they reach eighteen. However, if someone is poor and starving, they can enter their name multiple times in exchange for rations for each additional entry.
By sixteen, Katniss already has twenty entries, whereas Madge has never had to take out extra rations because she’s better off as the mayor’s daughter.
Saved: Foxface And The Nightlock
Although her real name isn’t ever mentioned, Foxface is perhaps one of the most notable Tributes in the 74th Hunger Games. Katniss gives her the nickname, observing the cleverness and slyness of the District 5 Tribute.
For example, Foxface figures out a safe path to the Careers’ supplies and steals some tools in small increments. Given how long she’s able to survive solely by hiding and scavenging in the book, it’s safe to say that she’s highly familiar with survival skills.
A scene is added into the movie in which Foxface quickly completes a test on plants in the training center, which puts an ominous twist on her passing. Showing her prowess in identifying wild plants suggests that Foxface eats the poisonous nightlock berries on purpose to escape the cruelty of the arena.
Hurt: The Discipline Of District 13
Another aspect that is absent from the movie adaptations is the strictly regulated daily life in District 13. Omitting the extreme discipline in the underground district glosses over the sacrifices needed to survive even with the peace pact the district has with the Capitol. Plus, it could have served as another nod towards the Rebellion’s growing extremism.
In the books, each citizen of District 13 (including refugees) receive a tattoo on their arm that dictates their schedule for the day.
The tattoo is temporary so that another one can replace it with an updated schedule for the next day. Mealtimes are restricted, as are rations. Once citizens reach fourteen, they receive military training in preparation for potential threats.
Saved: Quarter Quell Idea
The movie version of Catching Fire includes a scene in which Plutarch is plotting with Snow. A key element of that discussion is the idea for the third Quarter Quell. Plutarch suggests choosing the Tributes from the existing pool of victors in order to reinforce the Capitol’s authority over Panem.
In the books, though, Plutarch says that he never meant for Katniss to return to the Games, implying that he has nothing to do with the Quarter Quell idea.
By explicitly making Plutarch the mastermind of the idea, the movie adds to Plutarch’s moral ambiguity. Even after he’s revealed to be part of the rebellion, the audience still questions his true nature because of the immense cruelty of this decision.
Hurt: The Gamemakers’ Roles
In the first movie, Katniss gets close to the edge of the Hunger Games arena, so the gamemakers steer her away from the boundary by creating a fire. This seems unnecessary, since it’s revealed that the Capitol has the technology to create force fields that prevent Tributes from escaping.
The game makers do conjure fire in the book, but their motivations are far more sinister.
After the initial chaos at the Cornucopia, the action slows down, prompting the gamemakers to manufacture ways to get more casualties to keep the pace going and the audience entertained.
Changing the reason for the gamemakers’ fire obscures just how sadistic the Capitol and its citizens are.
Saved: Haymitch Calling Out Katniss
As soon as Snow announces the theme of the Quarter Quell, Katniss runs off, severely triggered by the idea that she has to return to the Games. It’s arguably a normal reaction to abnormal and traumatic circumstances, but in the movie, Haymitch chides her for it.
Having Haymitch call her out toes the line of shaming trauma survivors, but in this case, it serves to show how brutal even the “good guys” can be. She’s literally a teenager who’s lived under a sadistic regime her entire life, thrown into a violent battle for the elites’ entertainment. It’s perfectly understandable that she’d run into the woods when she finds out she’s to go back.
When Haymitch accuses her of being selfish, it’s another nod to how Katniss has been forced to become a symbol by her circumstances.
Hurt: Katniss And Gale’s Appearances
Most of the folks who live in the Seam share a similar heritage, including Katniss and Gale, who could be passed off as cousins.
Part of their physical similarity is their olive skin and dark hair, strongly implying that both of them are intended as people of color in the books.
However, both Jennifer Lawrence and Liam Hemsworth are white. As a result, the story now centers a white girl, like the vast majority of stories represented in the media.
Considering how Rue is the catalyst for Katniss’s change of heart, casting Lawrence also means that a white girl’s story arc is propelled by the death of a young black girl, a dynamic that is decidedly shaky at best.
Saved: Snow’s Granddaughter
In the books, Snow’s granddaughter isn’t mentioned until Mockingjay, when the surviving Tributes vote on whether or not to hold one final Hunger Games using the Capitol children. Johanna brings her up as a potential Tribute as revenge.
Snow’s granddaughter makes an appearance in the Catching Fire movie, an addition that helps drive home Katniss’s influence as the Mockingjay. She wears a side braid, and Snow asks her about her choice. She explains that everyone at school is sporting a braid like Katniss, as it is now a widespread trend in the Capitol.
Showing Snow’s granddaughter also puts a face to the girl mentioned by Johanna, thus driving home how some factions of the rebellion can also be terrifyingly ruthless.
Hurt: Sponsor Gifts
Sponsorship is a major advantage for Tributes in the Hunger Games. Sponsors give money to mentors, who then use the funds to procure the resources necessary to help the Tributes. Since many crucial plot points depend on these gifts, they aren’t cut from the movies.
That said, notes from mentors accompany the gifts in the movies, even though there isn’t any explicit communication between mentors and Tributes in the books.
Adding the notes takes away from the psychological stress the Tributes are under, since they’re almost completely isolated from the outside world.
Plus, Katniss relies on her wit to figure out the intentions behind each of Haymitch’s gifts, and the notes take away another chance for the audience to see her ingenuity. Besides, why not just write clear instructions rather than vague hints if he can send notes?
Hurt: Haymitch’s Hunger Games
Haymitch is a largely enigmatic character when he first appears in The Hunger Games, but much of his backstory is revealed in the book Catching Fire, focusing on his own Hunger Games.
The audience can make out the general outline of Haymitch’s trauma based on his behavior in the movies. It’s still a shame that the adaptation failed to incorporate more of his backstory.
Being a mentor to both Katniss and Peeta means that Haymitch has survived the Hunger Games himself. His experience in the Games show a parallel between him and Katniss, particularly in the way he stays with fellow District 12 Tribute Maysilee Donner until she draws her last breath.
Plus, Maysilee is the original owner of Katniss’s mockingjay pin, and including the detail would have added a nice touch to Haymitch’s arc.
Hurt: Katniss’s speech to District 11
After Rue passes in the movie, Katniss turns to a camera and directly acknowledges the citizens of District 11, Rue’s home district, using the three finger salute.
In the books, she only salutes Rue, and doesn’t address District 11 until they send her a loaf of their bread to thank her for paying tribute to Rue.
Though it’s a powerful move for Katniss to connect with District 11, having Katniss more willingly embrace the wider sociopolitics of Rue’s passing undercuts a major theme of the original series: young people are sometimes forced by their own allies to become reluctant leaders by their circumstances.
Having Katniss focus on Rue rather than the wider political implications also underscores how political movements often originate from personal incidents, and how the personal and the political aren’t as separate as many think.
Saved: Hanging Tree Sequence
The hanging tree sequence in Mockingjay, Part 2 has to be one of the most breathtaking and spinechilling scenes in the movie.
It’s a hard-hitting way to show the spread of the rebellion. What starts as Pollux asking Katniss to sing to pass the time becomes a sort of ominous anthem overlaid on a montage of citizen uprisings against the Capitol. The song is so depressing that Plutarch mentions having to change the lyrics from “necklace of rope” to “necklace of hope.” His comment serves as a reminder that just like the Capitol, the rebellion also relies on propaganda.
It also mirrors the way the three-finger salute, once a simple District 12 tradition of saying goodbye to loved ones, has morphed into a sign of rebellion.
Hurt: The Avoxes
The only named Avox character that appears in the movies is Pollux, a cameraman on Cressida’s propo team when they’re tasked with filming Katniss. That’s a shame, really, as the Avoxes play a small yet highly influential role through the books.
Avoxes are people who’ve been punished by the Capitol for disobedience or rebellion.
They’re hunted down by Peacekeepers and have their tongues removed, depriving them of speech. Once in captivity, they’re forced by the Capitol to essentially be slaves, working as domestic servants as well as doing gruelling maintenance work.
Two important Avox characters are Lavinia, who Katniss meets before and after her punishment, and Darius, a former Peacekeeper who is punished for trying to stop Gale’s whipping.
Hurt: Johanna’s Diminished Presence
Johanna Mason from District 7 is known as a gutsy (and at times difficult) girl who will fight for her freedom at any cost. Despite her hostility towards Katniss in Catching Fire, it turns out that she’s been protecting Katniss this entire time for the sake of the Rebellion.
Not only has Johanna been personally wronged by being Reaped, but she’s also lost her entire family. It’s no surprise then that even after being captured and violently interrogated by the Capitol, Johanna trains to fight in the Capitol with Katniss. However, she’s unable to join the fight on the frontlines because a training exercise triggers her PTSD.
Eliminating these events from the movie erases an important depiction of how trauma can so deeply affect even the fiercest fighters.
How do you feel about the way The Hunger Gameschanged from book to movie? Tell us in the comments!
