The Hunger Games

Synopsis: In a dystopian future, the totalitarian nation of Panem is divided into 12 districts and the Capitol. Each year two young representatives from each district are selected by lottery to participate in The Hunger Games. Part entertainment, rutal retribution for a past rebellion, the televised games are broadcast throughout Panem. The 24 participants are forced to eliminate their competitors while the citizens of Panem are required to watch. When 16-year-old Katniss' young sister, Prim, is selected as District 12's female representative, Katniss volunteers to take her place. She and her male counterpart, Peeta, are pitted against bigger, stronger representatives, some of whom have trained for this their whole lives.
Director(s): Gary Ross
Production: Lionsgate
  Nominated for 1 Golden Globe. Another 33 wins & 47 nominations.
 
IMDB:
7.2
Metacritic:
68
Rotten Tomatoes:
84%
PG-13
Year:
2012
142 min
$407,981,652
Website
69,778 Views


OPENING:

KATNISS:

(V.O.)

Winning means fame and fortune.

Losing means certain death. I guess

I wouldn’t mind dying, but dying

means losing the ones I love.

INT. Cinna’s workroom.- DAY.

The lights flicker on. KATNISS bats her eyes at the sudden

light, trying to adjust her eyes to the bright lights,

slightly startled. She is naked, except for a bra,

underwear, and a tank top. CINNA circles her, examining her

body like a piece of work.

DISTRICT 12

DAYS EARLIER:

INT. Everdeen household- DAY.

Katniss stretches on her bed from the effects of just waking

up. She finds the other side of her bed empty. She props

herself on one elbow, finding PRIM curled up by her MOTHER

on another bed, both asleep. BUTTERCUP, the cat, sits at the

feet of Prim. Katniss gets up to get ready to hunt. Once

ready, she takes goat cheese from the table. Katniss goes to

Prim and kisses her on the forehead.

KATNISS:

(whispered)

Thanks, Prim.

Katniss puts the cheese in her pocket as she steps outside.

She proceeds to walk towards the edge of Seam. She leans

towards the fence and listens. It’s silent. She slips

underneath the fence. She picks up her archery set and

equips herself. She looks at a kid trying to retrieve an

apple from a tree.

KATNISS:

District Twelve. Where you can

starve to death in safety.

She climbs hills to join GALE. She sits beside him.

GALE:

Hey, Catnip. Look what I shot.

(CONTINUED)

CONTINUED:
2.

He holds up a loaf of bread with an arrow stuck through it

for Katniss to see. She laughs. Katniss then takes the bread

from Gale’s hands and pulls out the arrow.

KATNISS:

Still warm. What did it cost you?

GALE:

Just a squirrel. Think the old man

was feeling sentimental this

morning. Even wished me luck.

KATNISS:

Well, we all feel a little closer

today, don’t we? Prim left us a

cheese.

Katniss takes the cheese out from her pocket.

GALE:

Thank you, Prim. We’ll have a real

feast.

He rips a piece of the bread off.

GALE:

I almost forgot.

(capitol accent)

Happy Hunger Games! And may the

odds-

She finishes the phrase in a similar imitation.

KATNISS:

(capitol accent)

-Be ever in your favor!

They laugh. They settle down and eat.

GALE:

We could do it, you know.

KATNISS:

Do what?

GALE:

Leave the district. Run off. Live

in the woods. You and I, we could

make it... if we didn’t have so

many kids around to take care of.

(CONTINUED)

CONTINUED:
3.

KATNISS:

I never want to have kids. Prim and

my Mother are enough. How about

you?

GALE:

I might, if I didn’t live here.

KATNISS:

But you do.

GALE:

Forget it.

Beat.

KATNISS:

What do you want to do? I was

thinking hunting, or fishing. Maybe

gathering too.

GALE:

Let’s fish at the lake. We can

leave out poles and gather in the

woods. Get something nice for

tonight.

They leave.

CUT TO:

TRADING:

EXT. Lake, Forest at border of Seam- DAY.

Gale fishes. Katniss gathers. Gale glances at her.

GALE:

Having fun there, Catnip?

Katniss smiles at Gale and they go back to work. He casts

his line.

CUT TO:

They enter the Hob with seven fish, 4 salt water filled

bottles, vegetables, a dozen strawberries, and a butchered

paraffin.

EXT. The Hob, Seam- DAY.

They walk to GREASY SAE’S stall.

(CONTINUED)

CONTINUED:
4.

GALE:

So, we got six fish, two salt water

bottles, 4 strawberries, and a few

chunks of paraffin to spare. Wanna

trade?

GREASY SAE:

Whatever tickles your fancy. I’ll

give you twenty five for it.

GALE:

Done.

They hand Greasy Sae the food. Greasy Sae gives them a stack

of money.

GREASY SAE:

There you are, folks. Twenty-five

for your families.

KATNISS:

Thanks, I’ll stop by for some soup

in a few days. Hey, what’s the meat

you put in there?

GREASY SAE:

Variations. But once it’s in the

soup it’s always beef.

Greasy Sae winks. Katniss raises her eyebrows. Gale yanks

her away.

CUT TO:

GALE’S EQUALITY

EXT. Mayor’s house, District 12- DAY.

They go to the mayor’s back door to sell half of the

strawberries to him. They knock on the door. After a few

moments, the mayor’s daughter, MADGE, opens the door.

GALE:

Pretty dress.

MADGE:

Well, if I end up going to the

Capitol, I want to look nice, don’t

I?

(CONTINUED)

CONTINUED:
5.

GALE:

You won’t be going to the Capitol.

He looks at the gold mockingjay pin she has on.

GALE:

(cont’d)

What can you have? Five entries? I

had six when I was just twelve

years old.

KATNISS:

Hey, Gale, that’s not her fault. Be

a little nicer.

GALE:

It’s just the way it is.

Madge hands money to Katniss.

MADGE:

Good luck, Katniss.

Katniss gives the berries to Madge and puts the money in her

pocket.

KATNISS:

You, too.

Madge steps inside and closes the door. They split the food

and money and carry their own rations home. Katniss and Gale

walk in silence.

GALE:

Katniss?

KATNISS:

What?

GALE:

This is stupid.

KATNISS:

What’s stupid?

GALE:

This Hunger Games thing. Why would

they kill people like this?

KATNISS:

I know. We all hate it. But we have

to face the truth that-

(CONTINUED)

CONTINUED:
6.

GALE:

What truth? Nothing is positive

about this. Nothing. They’re all

idiots! Why would they do this to

us? It’s like they think they’re

the only ones that live! What ever

happened to equality?

He mutters his curses at the capitol. Katniss rolls her eyes

at the sight of Gale pouting.

KATNISS:

See you in the square.

GALE:

Wear something pretty.

They part in different directions.

CUT TO:

REAPING:

INT. Everdeen household- DAY

Katniss enters her house to find that Prim and her Mother

are ready to go to the reaping, tidied up and neat. Prim

runs to Katniss, hugging her. She’s breaking down.

Rate this script:3.6 / 71 votes

Suzanne Collins

Suzanne Marie Collins (born August 10, 1962) is an American television writer and novelist, best known as the author of The New York Times best selling series The Underland Chronicles and The Hunger Games trilogy (which consists of The Hunger Games, Catching Fire, and Mockingjay). more…

All Suzanne Collins scripts | Suzanne Collins Scripts

2 fans

Submitted by acronimous on April 10, 2016

Discuss this script with the community:

2 Comments

Translation

Translate and read this script in other languages:

Select another language:

  • - Select -
  • 简体中文 (Chinese - Simplified)
  • 繁體中文 (Chinese - Traditional)
  • Español (Spanish)
  • Esperanto (Esperanto)
  • 日本語 (Japanese)
  • Português (Portuguese)
  • Deutsch (German)
  • العربية (Arabic)
  • Français (French)
  • Русский (Russian)
  • ಕನ್ನಡ (Kannada)
  • 한국어 (Korean)
  • עברית (Hebrew)
  • Gaeilge (Irish)
  • Українська (Ukrainian)
  • اردو (Urdu)
  • Magyar (Hungarian)
  • मानक हिन्दी (Hindi)
  • Indonesia (Indonesian)
  • Italiano (Italian)
  • தமிழ் (Tamil)
  • Türkçe (Turkish)
  • తెలుగు (Telugu)
  • ภาษาไทย (Thai)
  • Tiếng Việt (Vietnamese)
  • Čeština (Czech)
  • Polski (Polish)
  • Bahasa Indonesia (Indonesian)
  • Românește (Romanian)
  • Nederlands (Dutch)
  • Ελληνικά (Greek)
  • Latinum (Latin)
  • Svenska (Swedish)
  • Dansk (Danish)
  • Suomi (Finnish)
  • فارسی (Persian)
  • ייִדיש (Yiddish)
  • հայերեն (Armenian)
  • Norsk (Norwegian)
  • English (English)

Citation

Use the citation below to add this screenplay to your bibliography:

Style:MLAChicagoAPA

"The Hunger Games" Scripts.com. STANDS4 LLC, 2024. Web. 29 Mar. 2024. <https://www.scripts.com/script/the_hunger_games_106>.

We need you!

Help us build the largest writers community and scripts collection on the web!

Watch the movie trailer

The Hunger Games

Browse Scripts.com

The Studio:

ScreenWriting Tool

Write your screenplay and focus on the story with many helpful features.