The Hunger Games (novel) difficult parts of the book to write, but that she had accepted that passages such as these were necessary to the story. She considered the moments where Katniss reflects on happier moments in her past to be more enjoyable. "The Hunger Games" takes place in a nation known as Panem, established in North America after the destruction of the continent's civilization by an unknown apocalyptic event. The nation consists of the wealthy Capitol and twelve surrounding, poorer districts under the Capitol's dictatorial control. The Capitol exploits the districts for their natural resources and cheap labour. District 12 is in the
The Hunger Games (film) debuted at No. 1 on the Billboard Top 200 chart, having sold 175,000 copies in its first week. It is one of just 16 soundtracks to grace the top slot in the history of the Top 200 and the first since "Michael Jackson's This Is It" to debut at #1. Lionsgate originally announced that Danny Elfman and T-Bone Burnett would score "The Hunger Games", with Burnett also acting as the film's executive music producer to produce songs for the soundtrack. Due to scheduling conflicts, Elfman was replaced by James Newton Howard. The score album was released on March 26, 2012.