The Hunger Games By the time the film adaptation of "The Hunger Games" was released in 2012, the publisher had reported over 26 million "Hunger Games" trilogy books in print, including movie tie-in books. "The Hunger Games" universe is a dystopia set in Panem, a country consisting of the wealthy Capitol and 12 districts in varying states of poverty. Every year, children from the districts are selected to participate in a compulsory televised battle royale death match called The Hunger Games. The novels were all well received. In August 2012, the series ranked second, exceeded only by the "Harry Potter" series in NPR's
The Hunger Games (film) reviews, and an average rating of 7.3/10. The site's consensus states, "Thrilling and superbly acted, "The Hunger Games" captures the dramatic violence, raw emotion, and ambitious scope of its source novel." On Metacritic, the film has a score of 68 out of 100 score, based on reviews from 49 critics, indicating "generally favorable reviews". Audiences polled by CinemaScore gave the film a grade A. Many critics praised Jennifer Lawrence for her portrayal as Katniss Everdeen, as well as most of the main cast. According to "The Hollywood Reporter", Lawrence embodies Katniss, "just as one might imagine her from the novel".