The Hunger Games films, ranked worst to best (including the new prequel)

3) The Hunger Games: The Ballad of Songbirds and Snakes

The latest addition to The Hunger Games franchise is a prequel about a young Coriolanus Snow, who was a mentor to a tribute in the 10th Hunger Games. This story explains how somebody goes from being a poor boy in the Capitol to the monster we know and fear as President Snow from the original movies. This film also highlights exactly why Mockingjay being split in two was an unnecessary decision.

The Ballad of Songbirds and Snakes is a long story that covers three key periods of time: the lead up to the Games, the Games themselves, and a period of time afterwards, when Snow is sent to District 12 as a Peace Keeper. This may make the film sound bloated, but actually, having scenes set in all three time periods is crucially important to the overall story. And unlike Mockingjay, this film is unafraid to weave all the different emotional and narrative threads into one continuous story, which makes for a more cohesive and more engaging narrative.

It isn’t strictly necessary to watch this film (and if you do then it should be watched after the original films, not before, even though it is a prequel), but it absolutely adds to The Hunger Games world in a positive way.