The Hunger Games: Mockingjay – Part 2
The Hunger Games: Mockingjay – Part 2 is a 2015 American dystopian action film directed by Francis Lawrence from a screenplay by Peter Craig and Danny Strong, based on the 2010 novel Mockingjay by Suzanne Collins. The sequel to The Hunger Games: Mockingjay – Part 1 (2014), it is the fourth installment in The Hunger Games film series. It stars Jennifer Lawrence, Josh Hutcherson, Liam Hemsworth, Woody Harrelson, Elizabeth Banks, Julianne Moore, Jeffrey Wright, Stanley Tucci, Donald Sutherland and in his final film, Philip Seymour Hoffman. In the film, Katniss Everdeen (Lawrence) leads a team of rebels to Panem to liberate it from the tyrannical leadership of Coriolanus Snow (Sutherland). This marks Hoffman’s final film appearance prior to his death.
The Hunger Games: Mockingjay – Part 2
Mockingjay
by Suzanne Collins
- Alan Edward Bell
- Mark Yoshikawa
Lionsgate
- November 4, 2015 (Sony Center)
- November 20, 2015 (United States)
United States
English
$160 million[3]
$661.4 million[4]
Together with its predecessor, principal photography began in September 2013 and lasted until June 2014, taking place back-to-back, with filming locations including Boston, Atlanta, Paris, Berlin, and Los Angeles. Hoffman, who died in February 2014, completed the majority of his scenes, although his death caused others to be rewritten.
The Hunger Games: Mockingjay – Part 2 premiered at the Sony Center in Berlin on November 4, 2015, and was released in the United States on November 20, by Lionsgate, in 2D, 3D, and IMAX. The film received generally positive reviews from critics, with praise for its performances (particularly Lawrence, Hutcherson and Sutherland's), screenplay, music, and action sequences; it was deemed a fitting end to the series, although some were divided on the decision to split the novel into two films. It grossed over $653 million, making it the ninth-highest-grossing film of 2015.[4]
Among its accolades, the film was nominated for Best Fantasy Film at the 42nd Saturn Awards. It received three nominations at the 21st Empire Awards for Best Sci-Fi/Fantasy, Best Actress (Lawrence) and Best Production Design, while Lawrence was nominated for Best Actress in an Action Movie at the 21st Critics' Choice Awards.
A prequel film, The Hunger Games: The Ballad of Songbirds & Snakes, was released on November 17, 2023.
Plot[edit]
After being attacked by a brainwashed Peeta Mellark,[a] Katniss Everdeen recovers from her injuries in District 13. President Alma Coin refuses to let Katniss go to the Capitol until they first secure District 2, the last district under Capitol control. Katniss is sent to join the assault on the Capitol's armory in District 2, hoping to rally the rebels and convince District 2 to join their cause.
Johanna covers for Katniss while she sneaks on board a helicopter on its way to the Capitol. Katniss is recruited into the Star Squad, a specialized military unit which includes Gale and Finnick. They are given suicide pills in the case of capture. Peeta, though still not fully recovered, later joins the team to appear in propaganda videos shot amidst the city's ruins. Under the leadership of Boggs, the squad makes its way to the Capitol, avoiding deadly "pods" planted by the Capitol using Boggs' holographic map. However, Boggs is mortally wounded by one of the pods and entrusts the map to Katniss while warning her about President Coin's ulterior motives.
During their journey, the squad becomes trapped by Peacekeepers in a building. Two members, the Leeg sisters, stay behind as a distraction while the rest escape. The Peacekeepers destroy the building, and the Capitol announces Katniss's death, only to be interrupted by Coin, who delivers a eulogy to inspire the rebels.
The group moves through the sewers beneath the Capitol, but Snow becomes aware of their presence and deploys genetically engineered "mutts" to attack them. Finnick and others are killed, but Katniss uses the holographic map to trigger an explosion, eliminating the mutts. The survivors take refuge in a house owned by Tigris, a former Hunger Games stylist and Snow's cousin.
As Snow invites Capitol citizens into his mansion to form a human shield, Katniss and Gale join the crowd in disguise, intending to infiltrate the mansion. Chaos ensues as the rebels finally arrive in the Capitol and engage the Peacekeepers. Gale is taken away by the Peacekeepers. Bombs are dropped into the crowd, resulting in the death of Katniss's sister, Prim, and Katniss herself is knocked unconscious.
Katniss awakens, and Haymitch informs her that the rebels have finally won the war. She confronts Snow, who claims Coin staged the bombing to turn his followers against him. When she doesn't believe him, he reminds Katniss of their promise never to lie to one another. Katniss realizes that Gale suggested a similar plan and questions him. Gale acknowledges his involvement in Prim's death and regrets failing to protect her family.
Coin, now the interim President, refuses to hold the promised democratic election and suggests a final, symbolic Hunger Games using Capitol leaders' children as revenge. Some of the tributes, including Peeta, are outraged, while others support the initiative. Katniss agrees to the plan but insists on executing Snow herself. At Snow's execution, as Katniss prepares to shoot Snow, she instead shoots Coin, killing her. Snow laughs before he is lynched by a mob. Katniss then tries to swallow her suicide pill, but Peeta stops her, and she is arrested. Haymitch brings Katniss a letter from Plutarch, assuring Katniss that she will be pardoned, the Hunger Games will cease to exist, and she will be able to return to District 12.
She returns home, grieving for Prim. Peeta, who has nearly recovered from his conditioning, joins her. They receive a letter from Annie, Finnick's wife, and learn about the changes in their friends' lives. Several years later, Katniss and Peeta are married and have two children. Katniss promises to her youngest child that she will inform them of her story and her time in the Games.
Production[edit]
Pre-production[edit]
On July 10, 2012, Lionsgate announced that the film adaptation of Mockingjay would be split into two parts; The Hunger Games: Mockingjay – Part 1, released on November 21, 2014, and The Hunger Games: Mockingjay – Part 2, released November 20, 2015.[6] On November 1, 2012, Francis Lawrence, director of The Hunger Games: Catching Fire, announced that he would return to direct both final films in the series.[7] Talking about direction for last two parts Francis explains, "I felt a different kind of pressure," he explains. "[On 'The Hunger Games: Catching Fire'], I had to prove myself a little bit as the new guy in the game. It was a relief that it was received well by the fans. Even though I was relieved, it was only momentary; it sort of set the bar higher for the next one!"[8]
On December 6, 2012, Danny Strong announced that he would write the third and fourth films.[9] On February 15, 2013, Lionsgate approved the script for Part 1 and gave Strong permission to write that of Part 2.[10] In August, Hemsworth confirmed that shooting of the film would begin the following month.[11]
The film's production began on September 16, 2013, in Boston, Atlanta, and Los Angeles.[12] Studio Babelsberg co-produced and oversaw production services for the film.[13] On November 13, 2013, producer Nina Jacobson revealed that Peter Craig was also hired to write the adaptations. The film carried a production budget of $160 million with a further $55 million spent on promotion and advertisements, and $13.9 million in television advertisements.[14]
Release[edit]
Marketing[edit]
Along with the film's first teaser poster,[51] Lionsgate released a teaser trailer on March 18, 2015, titled The Hunger Games Franchise Logo — Remember, featuring the transformation of the Mockingjay, along with notable quotes from the previous three movies, as well as a quote from the new film.[52] The teaser was also played at screenings of Lionsgate's The Divergent Series: Insurgent. Scott Mendelson of Forbes noted the similarity of the teaser with that of The Dark Knight's (2008) teaser, which also features just an animated logo of the film and select dialogue.[53] On June 1, a new teaser poster for the film, featuring a vandalised statue of President Snow, was revealed on the viral site TheCapitol.PN. On June 9, the teaser trailer for the film was released.[54] A series of different posters, featuring the main cast with red Mockingjays painted on their faces, was released in July by Lionsgate.
Later in July 2015, Lionsgate released a motion and teaser poster and propaganda video, followed by the film's official trailer. In August, a poster was released stating "100 days until The Hunger Games: Mockingjay – Part 2". However, it was taken down shortly thereafter, as the text on the poster appeared to resemble a swear word due to layout.[55] However, another "bold and beautiful" poster was released depicting Katniss standing on the shoulder of a fallen President Snow statue.[56]
In October 2015, the first official clip and the final trailer were released,[57] followed by the film's theatrical posters.[58][59]
In certain parts of Israel, the poster which depicted the image of Katniss (Lawrence) aiming her bow and arrow was removed over concerns her image would offend ultra-conservative Jewish audiences. Instead, a fiery mockingjay in the poster's background replaced Lawrence in marketing materials in multiple locations in Israel including Bnei Brak and West Jerusalem. Lionsgate did not comment on the Israeli marketing campaign.[60] In Jerusalem, public posters with the image of a female are often torn down, while Bnei Brak does not allow posters with female images.[61]
Theatrical[edit]
The Hunger Games: Mockingjay – Part 2 premiered in Los Angeles, at the L.A. Live, complex on November 16, and in New York City on November 18. It premiered internationally in Berlin on November 4, in London November 5, in Paris November 9, in Madrid November 10, and in Beijing November 12.[62][63][64] Due to the terrorist attacks in Paris on November 13, Lionsgate scaled down its L.A. premiere, cancelling press interviews on the red carpet (which was scheduled to last two hours). The stars mostly greeted fans and took a few photos before heading into the screening in Downtown Los Angeles.[62] Mockingjay – Part 2 was released on November 20, 2015, in the United States and Canada.[65] The film was originally scheduled to be released in 2D, Digital 3D, RealD 3D, and IMAX 3D, which would have made it the only film of the series to be globally released in 3D formats; the previous film was released in 3D in China.[66] It is the third film in the franchise to be released in IMAX, following the first and the second film with the exception of the third film.[67] However, the decision to release the film in 3D and IMAX 3D in North America was revoked. Director Francis Lawrence discussed the decision, stating, "I love the 3D format and I know that Mockingjay Part 2 will play perfectly in 3D and 2D internationally – but I'm pleased that we're maintaining the 2D only (and IMAX) formats domestically. It is the best of all worlds!". It was nevertheless released in 3D formats in overseas markets, including China.[68] The film was also released in the Dolby Vision format in Dolby Cinemas, which is the first ever for Lionsgate.[69][70]
Internationally, it was released day-and-date across 87 countries, starting from November 18, in certain markets like Belgium, Brazil, France and the Netherlands and on November 19 in Australia, Germany, Russia, Italy, and the United Kingdom, followed by China, Mexico, Japan, the United States, Canada, and 19 other markets, on November 20, as part of the biggest movie rollout ever by Lionsgate.[71] The only big territories where the film did not open on the same weekend are Spain, Greece and India, which released the movie on November 27.[72]
Home media[edit]
The Hunger Games: Mockingjay – Part 2 was released on Digital HD on March 8, 2016, and was followed by a Blu-ray and DVD release on March 22, 2016.[73] It topped the home video sales chart for the week ending on March 27, 2016.[74] The film made a revenue of $49.1 million from home media sales with 2.9 million units sold, making it the ninth best-selling title of 2016.[75] The entire Hunger Games series was released on 4K UHD Blu-Ray on November 8, 2016.[76]
Reception[edit]
Box office[edit]
The Hunger Games: Mockingjay – Part 2 fell short of expectations at the box office.[77] It grossed a total of $281.7 million in the United States and Canada, and $379.7 million in other countries, for a worldwide total of $661.4 million.[4] Its worldwide opening of $247.2 million is the 27th-highest of all time.[78] It is the lowest-grossing film in The Hunger Games film series,[79] and the ninth-highest-grossing film of 2015,[80] Lionsgate's co-chairman Rob Friedman blamed the impact of the November 2015 Paris attacks as well as Star Wars: Episode VII – The Force Awakens for the film's underwhelming performance in certain European countries and in the U.S. and Canada, further blaming the latter for cutting the film's North American gross by as much as $50–100 million.[81] Deadline Hollywood, noted that Mockingjay – Part 2 had the lowest opening among the series and was already grossing behind Mockingjay – Part 1 by $32.7 million or 12% before The Force Awakens even opened.[82] Deadline also stated that the November attacks in Paris did not noticeably affect the European release of Mockingjay – Part 2.[83] In China the film notably grossed a disappointing $21.5 million, which the studio blamed on the competition with The Martian and Spectre, along with Taiwanese film Our Times.[81][84] Deadline Hollywood calculated the net profit of the film to be $134.3 million, when factoring together all expenses and revenues for the film.[85]
Future[edit]
Potential spin-offs[edit]
On August 8, 2017, Variety reported that Lionsgate CEO Jon Feltheimer has interest in having spin-offs made for The Hunger Games, and wants to create a writers room to explore the idea.[133] When asked about the idea of The Hunger Games spin-offs, Jennifer Lawrence said "I think it's too soon. They've got to let the body get cold, in my opinion."[134]