Query: The Hunger Games are not a film trilogy.

Relevant passages:
Jennifer Lawrence <=SEP=> Jennifer Shrader Lawrence ( born August 15 , 1990 ) is an American actress . Since 2015 , Lawrence has been the highest-paid actress in the world , and her films have grossed over $ 5.5 billion worldwide . She appeared in Time 100 most influential people in the world in 2013 and Forbes Celebrity 100 the following year and in 2016 .   During her childhood , Lawrence performed in church plays and school musicals . When she was 14 , a talent scout spotted her in New York . She then moved to Los Angeles and began her acting career by playing guest roles in television shows . Her first major role came as a main cast member on the sitcom The Bill Engvall Show ( 2007 -- 2009 ) . Lawrence made her film debut with a supporting role in Garden Party ( 2008 ) , and had her breakthrough playing a poverty-stricken teenager in the independent drama Winter 's Bone ( 2010 ) . She achieved wider recognition for playing the mutant Mystique in X-Men : First Class ( 2011 ) , a role she reprised in later installments of the series .   Lawrence 's fame continued to grow with her starring role as Katniss Everdeen in the Hunger Games film series ( 2012 -- 2015 ) , which established her as the highest-grossing action heroine of all time . She went on to earn various accolades from her collaborations with director David O. Russell . Her performance as a depressed widow in the romance film Silver Linings Playbook ( 2012 ) received an Academy Award for Best Actress , making her the second youngest Best Actress Oscar winner . Lawrence subsequently won a BAFTA Award for Best Actress in a Supporting Role for playing a troubled wife in the black comedy American Hustle ( 2013 ) . She also received Golden Globe Awards for her roles in both of these films and for playing the eponymous inventor in the biopic Joy ( 2015 ) .   Lawrence is known in the media for being a vocal advocate of feminism and gender equality , and is the founder of the Jennifer Lawrence Foundation through which she supports various charitable organizations .

The Hunger Games (film series) <=SEP=> The Hunger Games film series consists of four science fiction dystopian adventure films based on The Hunger Games trilogy of novels , by the American author Suzanne Collins . Distributed by Lionsgate and produced by Nina Jacobson and Jon Kilik , it stars Jennifer Lawrence as Katniss Everdeen , Josh Hutcherson as Peeta Mellark , Woody Harrelson as Haymitch Abernathy , Elizabeth Banks as Effie Trinket , Philip Seymour Hoffman as Plutarch Heavensbee , Stanley Tucci as Caesar Flickerman , Donald Sutherland as President Snow and Liam Hemsworth as Gale Hawthorne . Gary Ross directed the first film , while Francis Lawrence directed the next three films .   The first three films set records at the box office . The Hunger Games ( 2012 ) set records for the opening day and the biggest opening weekend for a non-sequel film . The Hunger Games : Catching Fire ( 2013 ) set the record for biggest opening weekend in the month of November . The Hunger Games : Mockingjay -- Part 1 ( 2014 ) had the largest opening day and weekend of 2014 . The films , including The Hunger Games : Mockingjay -- Part 2 ( 2015 ) , received a positive reception from critics , with praise aimed at its themes and messages , as well as Jennifer Lawrence 's portrayal of the main protagonist , Katniss Everdeen .   The Hunger Games is the 16th highest-grossing film franchise of all time , having grossed over US$ 2.9 billion worldwide .

The Hunger Games (film) <=SEP=> The Hunger Games is a 2012 American dystopian science fiction adventure film directed by Gary Ross and based on the novel of the same name by Suzanne Collins . It is the first installment in The Hunger Games film series and was produced by Nina Jacobson and Jon Kilik , with a screenplay by Ross , Collins , and Billy Ray . The film stars Jennifer Lawrence , Josh Hutcherson , Liam Hemsworth , Woody Harrelson , Elizabeth Banks , Lenny Kravitz , Stanley Tucci , and Donald Sutherland . The story takes place in a dystopian post-apocalyptic future in the nation of Panem , where boys and girls between the ages of 12 and 18 must take part in the Hunger Games , a televised annual event in which the `` tributes '' are required to fight to the death until there is only one survivor . Katniss Everdeen ( Lawrence ) volunteers to take her younger sister 's place . Joined by her district 's male tribute , Peeta Mellark ( Hutcherson ) , Katniss travels to the Capitol to train for the Hunger Games under the guidance of former victor Haymitch Abernathy ( Harrelson ) .   Development of The Hunger Games began in March 2009 when Lions Gate Entertainment entered into a co-production agreement with Color Force , which had acquired the rights a few weeks earlier . Collins collaborated with Ray and Ross to write the screenplay . The screenplay expanded the character of Seneca Crane to allow several developments to be shown directly to the audience and Ross added several scenes between Crane and Coriolanus Snow . The main characters were cast between March and May 2011 . Principal photography began in May 2011 and ended in September 2011 , with filming taking place in North Carolina . The Hunger Games was shot entirely on film as opposed to digital .   The film was released on March 21 , 2012 , in some European countries and in the US on March 23 , 2012 , in both conventional theaters and digital IMAX theaters . Japan received it last , on September 28 . When the film released , it set records for opening day ( $ 67.3 million ) and opening weekend for a non-sequel . At the time of its release , the film 's opening weekend gross ( $ 152.5 million ) was the third-largest of any movie in North America . It is the first film since Avatar to remain in first place at the North American box office for four consecutive weekends . The film was a massive box-office success by grossing over $ 694 million worldwide against its budget of $ 78 million , making it the third-highest-grossing film in the United States and ninth-highest-grossing worldwide of 2012 . It was released on DVD and Blu-ray Disc on August 18 , 2012 . With 7,434,058 units sold , the DVD was the best-selling DVD of 2012 . A sequel , The Hunger Games : Catching Fire , was released on November 22 , 2013 , in the United States .   The Hunger Games received positive reviews from critics , with praise for its themes and messages , as well as Jennifer Lawrence 's portrayal of Katniss , though there was criticism of the film 's use of shaky cam in the action sequences . Like the novel , the film has been noted for its similarities to other works , such as Robert Sheckley 's short story `` Seventh Victim '' and its Italian film adaptation The 10th Victim , the Japanese novel Battle Royale and its film adaptation , and the Shirley Jackson short story `` The Lottery '' , with some criticizing The Hunger Games for being derivative of such works . Collins stated in an interview that her novel and screenplay drew on sources of inspiration such as the myth of Theseus , Roman gladiatorial games , reality television , and the desensitization of viewers to media coverage of real-life tragedy and war , not to think as just an audience member , `` Because those are real people on the screen , and they 're not going away when the commercials start to roll . '' The song `` Safe & Sound '' won a Grammy Award and was nominated for a Golden Globe Award for Best Original Song . For her performance , Lawrence won the Saturn Award for Best Actress , the Broadcast Film Critics Association Award for Best Actress in an Action Movie , the Empire Award for Best Actress and was also nominated for the New York Film Critics Circle Award for Best Actress .