The Hunger Games: Mockingjay – Part 1

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The Hunger Games: Mockingjay – Part 1 is a 2014 American dystopian action movie directed by Francis Lawrence. It is the first half of the final chapter in The Hunger Games film series, based on Suzanne Collins’s 2010 novel Mockingjay. Jennifer Lawrence stars as Katniss Everdeen, with a large ensemble cast including Josh Hutcherson, Liam Hemsworth, Woody Harrelson, Elizabeth Banks, Julianne Moore, Philip Seymour Hoffman, Jeffrey Wright, Stanley Tucci, Donald Sutherland, and Sam Claflin.

Plot in simple terms
After Katniss destroys the arena in a previous movie, she joins the underground rebel government in District 13, led by President Alma Coin. She becomes the “Mockingjay,” a symbol to unite the districts against the Capitol. The film follows her work to rally people through propaganda, rescue fellow survivors, and plan attacks on the Capitol. Peeta has been captured and brainwashed by the Capitol, making the rebellion even more complicated. The story ends with Katniss realizing the Capitol will hurt her loved ones to stop the rebellion and setting up the next phase of the war in Part 2.

Production and release
The movie was shot from 2013 to 2014 in multiple cities including Boston, Atlanta, Los Angeles, Paris, and Berlin. During production, actor Philip Seymour Hoffman died, and the film was dedicated to him in the closing credits. Mockingjay – Part 1 was filmed back-to-back with Part 2, and Part 2 was released the following year. The film runs 123 minutes.

Release dates and reception
Mockingjay – Part 1 premiered in London on November 10, 2014, and opened in the United States on November 21, 2014, distributed by Lionsgate. The film had a big international rollout and became the biggest release of 2014 for Lionsgate, eventually earning about $755 million worldwide against a production budget of roughly $125–140 million.

Critics generally liked the performances, the music, and the political subtext, but some felt the pacing was slow and that splitting the final book into two movies was unnecessary. On Rotten Tomatoes it holds about a 70% approval rating, and on Metacritic it scores around 64, indicating generally favorable reviews. Audiences gave it an A− grade on CinemaScore.

Legacy
Mockingjay – Part 1 was followed by The Hunger Games: Mockingjay – Part 2 in November 2015 to complete the story. In a 2023 interview, director Francis Lawrence said he regretted splitting Mockingjay into two parts, noting it frustrated fans and viewers. He later chose not to split The Hunger Games: The Ballad of Songbirds & Snakes.