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) production in the summer of 2012. Gary Ross did not return for "Catching Fire", and instead Francis Lawrence directed the film. On May 6, 2012, it was reported that Michael Arndt was in talks to re-write the script for "Catching Fire". Arndt officially signed on as the new script writer on May 24, 2012. "The Hunger Games: Catching Fire" began filming September 10, 2012, and concluded December 21, 2012; it premiered in London on November 11, 2013, before premiering on November 22, 2013 in the US as was originally scheduled. In July 2012, release dates were confirmed for two films