The Hunger Games book to film differences

The following are noted differences between the originaI The Hunger Games book and the The Hunger Games movie. This page contains spoilers from both.

Please note: Changes are now organzied by section and are presented in close to chronological order.

Perspective

 * The book is written in the first-person perspective of Katniss Everdeen. Several changes are made to how the story is told, rather than using voice-overs or other conventions.
 * President Coriolanus Snow has more screen time than in the book. His speech to the tributes is heard, he is seen conversing with Seneca Crane twice, and is shown in the control room at the end of the film.
 * Seneca Crane is shown commanding the Gamemakers what to do to the arena. There are several cuts to the Gamemakers to show them controlling the arena, e.g, counting down to the start of the games, displaying the day's kills, trying to hit Katniss with fireballs, and releasing the muttations. We also learn the fire was designed because Katniss was heading to the edge of the arena.
 * More of the Cornucopia bloodbath is shown.
 * Caesar Flickerman joins Claudius Templesmith as a commentator on the Games. Most significantly, they explain tracker jackers and hint at the trap (land mines) in the Careers' camp. Unless it's new for these games, Caesar Flickerman doesn't act as an announcer in the book.
 * In the book, the cameras are implied to be ubiquitous throughout the arena but are not shown or encountered. In the film when she beds down in a tree on the first night, Katniss hears and notices a camera in a tree hole near her head focusing in on her.
 * In the film, the sponsor gifts come with notes from Haymitch Abernathy, arrive in protective cases, and emit a distinctive chime.
 * Clove kills a lizard with her throwing knives while keeping watch.
 * Odds on the tributes are publicly displayed on a leader board.
 * There are scenes of Primrose Everdeen, Gale Hawthorne and other characters watching the games.
 * The Everdeens have an old television in the book, but in the film they have a projector.
 * The riot in District 11 after Rue's death is not mentioned in the book as Katniss would not know it had occurred.
 * Further, after Katniss has shown up the Capitol with her actions after Rue's death, she briefly thinks (in the book) about how they won't show some of what she has done on TV, the film shows us a conversation between President Snow and Seneca Crane and, shortly thereafter, Haymitch convincing Seneca Crane not to kill her which leads to the rule change.
 * Seneca is shown being locked in a brilliant room with a bowl of nightlock to eat. It is implied at the beginning of the second book that he had been executed.
 * In the film, Haymitch explains to Katniss and Peeta the concept of getting sponsors in order to survive. However, in the book, both Katniss and Peeta are already familiar with the concept and understands its importance based on the previous Games that they have seen.

Clothing

 * Effie Trinket's reaping suit, described as spring green in the book, is magenta pink in the movie.
 * In the book, during the interview with Caesar Flickerman, Glimmer's outfit is described as being a provocative see-through gold gown. In the movie, she is wearing a shiny, pink cocktail dress.
 * In the book, Rue's interview dress is said to have gossamer wings, which are not seen in the movie.
 * In the book, Katniss's interview dress is supposed to be wearing a dress entirely covered in reflective precious gems, red and yellow and white with bits of blue that accent the tips of the flame design. In the film it is a simple red dress with more false fire (as seen in the opening ceremony) implanted in panels along the hem. The flame effects occur when Katniss twirls for the audience. In the book, it is tied to her raising her arms.
 * In the Training Center, Katniss and Peeta are the only ones with matching training outfits. In the film everyone wears the same outfit, the only difference being their district number on the sleeves.
 * When Katniss and Peeta are talking on the roof in the book, she is said to be wearing a "...thick, fleecy nightgown...". In the movie, she is wearing a light jacket and a skirt.
 * In the book Katniss is wearing a dress for the tribute parade, but in the film she is not.
 * In the book it states that each tribute wears a black jacket in the arena. In the film each pair of tributes wears a different colored jacket to represent their district.
 * Katniss' arena shirt is green in the book, but is black in the movie.

District 12

 * In the book, Peeta gives Katniss bread when they are around 11/12. In the film they appear to be approximately the same age as they are during the main story.
 * When Peeta gives Katniss the bread he only gives her one loaf, whilst in the book he rips some off but gives most of two loaves to Katniss.
 * In the opening scene of the film, Katniss was shown singing a lullaby to Prim. In the opening scene of the book, Katniss woke up seeing Prim curl up on her side and sleeping with their mother.
 * In the book, Buttercup is described as being a dirty, yellow color, a color that Prim insisted was an exact match of a buttercup flower, which was how he got his name. In the film, however, he is a black-and-white cat.
 * In a direct contradiction to the book, workers are seen going to the mine on the morning of the Reaping.
 * In the book, the hole in the fence where Katniss climbs under is behind the butcher. In the movie, it is in an open field. Also, she neither stops to listen for a hum nor does she struggle to sneak under the fence in the film as she is described to do in the book.
 * In the book, Prim leaves goat cheese for Katniss the morning of the reaping, which is eaten with the bread Gale provides. In the film, the bread is eaten alone.
 * In the book, Katniss meets with Gale at their usual spot and they share a meal. They fish and also gather strawberries and edible plants. In the film Katniss begins to hunt upon entering the woods and is about to shoot a deer when Gale startles it away. He then flushes some quail and Katniss shoots one. Gale does not bring any food with him and after they talk, both return to the district.
 * In the book, The Hunger Games were mandatory viewing for Panem. In the film, Gale and Katniss have a conversation about what would happen if everyone stopped watching, indicating that the viewing was not mandatory.
 * When Gale and Katniss are in the woods, the hovercraft arrives noisily and ominously. In the book, the hovercraft arrives soundlessly.
 * Madge Undersee, the mayor's daughter, is not in the film.
 * In the book both Gale and Katniss visit the Hob after fishing and gathering, but only Katniss does so in the film.
 * In the book, Haymitch Abernathy falls down on the stage in the reaping ceremony and throws up on the train. In the film, he is not present at the ceremony.
 * In the book, the older children who are more likely to be picked are at the front of the crowd. In the movie, the youngest children are at the front. As a result, Prim does not pass Katniss on the way to the stage; Katniss is way behind her in the film.
 * In the movie, Effie states that Katniss is the very first volunteer from District 12 which insinuates that she means first ever, not the first for the day, though it's somewhat ambiguous. The book is more specific as it says that volunteers from 12 are a rarity and there hadn't been one in decades.
 * Lady (Prim's goat) is not in the film but is mentioned.
 * Katniss refers to Gale having to take care of his brothers, indicating the exclusion of Posy Hawthorne.
 * In the book, as Gale is leaving when his time is up with saying goodbye, he says, "Katniss, remember I-". This doesn't happen in the movie. Instead, he says, "I'll see you when you get back."
 * In the book, Peeta's father gives Katniss cookies after the reaping. He is not seen in the movie but it is mentioned that Katniss sells squirrels to him.

Tribute token

 * In the book, the mockingjay pin was given to Katniss by Madge. In the film, Katniss is given the pin at The Hob and gives it to Prim. After the reaping, Prim returns the pin to Katniss to take with her for luck.
 * In the book, each tribute is allowed a tribute token to take with them into the Games. In the film, it is unclear if this has been changed as Cinna seemingly hides the mockingjay pin within Katniss' jacket and there being no mention of any other tokens for other tributes.
 * Only Rue's and Glimmer's tokens are described in the book. Glimmer's is a ring with a concealed, poisoned spike that was discovered and confiscated which left her as the only tribute without a token.

The train ride

 * Only in the book, Haymitch staggers in while Effie, Katniss and Peeta are watching a recap of the Reaping, throws up, and falls into his own vomit. Katniss and Peeta help him back to his room.
 * Scenes of Katniss in her room on the train and throwing the cookies Peeta's father gave her out of a window are omitted in the film.
 * In the book Peeta and Katniss confront Haymitch on the train after he advises them to stay alive. Peeta breaks Haymitch's glass and gets punched in the jaw, while Katniss stabs her knife between his hand and the bottle he reaches for. She also throws the knife to show off her skill in response to Haymitch's taunt. In the film, Peeta does not break Haymitch's glass and the latter pushes Peeta back with his bare foot but does not injure him. Katniss stabs the table but does not throw the knife.
 * Haymitch didn't appreciate the Tributes of District 12 for the 74th Annual Hunger Games (Katniss Everdeen and Peeta Mellark). In the book, Haymitch was really impressed because he got some terrific tributes.

Career Tributes

 * In the movie, Haymitch Abernathy tells Katniss Everdeen the Career Tributes train in a special academy until they're 18 and then volunteer. There is no mention of the age they volunteer at in the book. This is odd because Clove is depicted as 15 in the film and Glimmer and Marvel are depicted as 17. Cato is the only one of the four who is depicted 18.
 * In the book, the Career Tributes are from Districts 1, 2, and 4. In the movie, the Careers are just from 1 and 2.
 * In the book, the District 4 girl travels with the Careers and is killed along with Glimmer by the tracker jackers. In the movie, the District 4 girl is killed in the bloodbath at the Cornucopia.
 * In the movie, Glimmer and Cato are shown to have a flirtatious relationship. The book might be hinting at this when Cato says, "When we find her, I kill her in my own way, and no one interferes," as they go off towards the smoke of the first fire.
 * In the book Katniss makes note that Glimmer was keeping guard the night before the tracker jacker attack. In the film, Clove is shown to be keeping guard.

The Capitol

 * In the movie, Katniss is shown watching a clip before the Games of a tribute killing another tribute with a brick in a previous Games, and Caesar Flickerman comments on how it was one of his favorite games and arenas. In the book, there is no mention of this.
 * In the film, Katniss is seen selecting a view from her window on a remote control in her room at the Capitol apartment. She lands on an image of a forest and is emotionally affected due to it reminding her of the woods beyond District 12. The book only mentions that she is able to change the view out her window.
 * Octavia, Venia and Flavius, Katniss's prep team, are only seen very briefly in the film before the chariot rides to the training center; while in the book, they are also featured when dressing Katniss up for the interview with Caesar Flickerman before and after the games.
 * In the movie Octavia's skin is not green.
 * In the book, Glimmer and Marvel were wearing jeweled togas while their skin was painted silver during the chariot rides. In the movie they are seen wearing pink feathery costumes.
 * In the book, Katniss and Peeta are told by Cinna to hold hands in the tribute parade, but in the film, Peeta suggests that they hold hands and initiates the movement.
 * In the book, each of the tribute chariots are pulled by different kinds and colours of horses, whereas in the film they are all black.
 * In the book, Haymitch instructs Katniss and Peeta to hide their true strengths and talents in front of the other tributes. In the film, Peeta mentions Haymitch's instructions but Katniss urges him to ignore them. After Peeta falls from a climbing exercise in the training room, the Careers laugh at him and Katniss tells him to throw a heavy to prove his strength. This may also be a more explicit reason for the Careers enlisting Peeta into their group.
 * In the book, Peeta enters his private session with the Gamemakers before Katniss. When she enters, the training arena is in disarray. The bow and arrow are at their station, but she chooses other targets. In the movie, Katniss goes first and the bow and arrow have been placed center stage for her to use.
 * In the book, Katniss takes several shots to become familiar with the Training Center bow's tighter pull before putting on an impressive display of shooting by targeting not just the target dummy but also a punching bag and an overhead light. In the film she is only given three arrows to shoot with and quickly becomes used to the bow's pull after her first shot misses. She uses the second arrow to hit the dummy in the heart and the third arrow to skewer the apple out of the roast pig's mouth.
 * In Catching Fire, Katniss recognizes Plutarch Heavensbee as having been the Gamemaker who walked backwards into a punch bowl. This is not seen in the movie.
 * In the book, when the tributes' scores are revealed, it is merely a picture of the tribute, and their score beneath it. In the film, Caesar Flickerman reads out their name, district, and score.
 * A buzzer sounded ending the interviews in the book but in the movie Caesar just tells them.
 * In the book, all of the tributes sat onstage during Caesar's interviews before standing next to him during their own. In the movie, the tributes wait backstage and only one tribute is on stage at a time. During the interview they sit down across from Caesar.
 * In the book, after Peeta's interview with Caesar Flickerman, Katniss pushes Peeta into an urn and this cut his hands. In the movie, Katniss just pushes Peeta against the wall and shouts at him; there is no urn to be seen and his hands do not get cut up.
 * In the movie, the backstory about the Avoxes is not revealed. However, the redhaired girl that Katniss and Gale saw one day in the woods who asked for their help can be seen in the apartment and credited as "Avox Girl" in the film. Other Avoxes can be seen serving people of the Capitol in the training center and sponsor parties.

The Hunger Games

 * In the book, the Cornucopia is gold and described as looking like a horn. In the film the Cornucopia is made of black steel and resembles (for lack of better comparison) plane wreckage.
 * In the book, 12 tributes died on Day 1, 11 having been killed in the bloodbath. In the movie, 13 died on Day 1, 12 having been killed in the bloodbath. (As previously mentioned, the girl from District 4 is the additional death.)
 * In the book, it is said that the tributes are wearing the same black hoodie when initially at the Cornucopia; but in the movie, it is only the style of the hoodie that is the same. It appears that each district has a different colored jacket.
 * In the bloodbath, District 9 male doesn't cough up blood all over Katniss. He gets killed by Cato in the movie and Clove in the book. District 7 male gets the knife in his back instead.
 * In the book, Katniss collects a bright orange backpack. In the film, the pack is only orange along the back, and poorly covered by webbing.
 * Only in the film, after getting away from the Cornucopia, Katniss runs into Foxface, where the two exchange wary glances, before running away from each other in opposite directions.
 * In the book, among the contents of the backpack are a bottle of iodine, which she uses to purify her water, a pack of crackers, a pack of dried beef strips, and a pair of nightvision sunglasses. None are present in the movie, there is a section of rope, which she uses to tie herself.to trees instead of her belt.
 * The water bottle Katniss receives in the book is plastic, and holds a half-gallon, but is metal and much smaller in the film. The sleeping bag is described as going over her head in the book, but she is only seen covered up to her waist in the film.
 * In the book, Katniss goes many days suffering from dehydration. In the movie, she finds a source of water almost immediately upon running into the woods.
 * In the book, the girl tribute from District 10 is the final dead tribute to be shown in the sky on the first night. In the film, it is the girl from District 9. This is likely a production error as it can be assumed based on the amount of tributes killed that the girl from District 10 died on the first day.
 * In the film, Katniss learns that Peeta is with the Careers when they pass her tree after killing the District 8 girl. In the book, Katniss learns Peeta is with the Careers when he volunteers to go back and finish off the District 8 girl after the cannon doesn't sound to signify her death after their first attack.
 * In the book, hovercrafts picked up the dead tributes' bodies but in the movie, no hovercrafts appeared to do so.
 * In the book Katniss falls asleep from the effects of the fire and awakens just before the Careers find her. It is near evening and they have also been affected by the fire as they are coughing and look beat up. In the film the Careers see Katniss just after she reaches the river and escapes the fire and pursue her in daylight. They also taunt her during the pursuit and have not been affected by the fire.
 * In the book Glimmer attempts to climb the tree Katniss is in after Cato tries and falls. She also attempts to shoot at Katniss when she stops climbing. In the film Glimmer does not attempt to climb the tree and shoots at Katniss from the ground. Cato also attempts to shoot at her but did not do so in the book.
 * In the film, Rue is the one who suggests that Katniss should saw down the branch the tracker jackers hang from so that they would fall on the camp below, while in the book, she merely points out to Katniss that she is in close proximity of the tracker jackers, and Katniss comes up with the idea herself of releasing them onto the campsite herself.
 * In the book, after Glimmer died, Katniss used her knife to remove the bow from her tight grip. In the film, she got the bow easily.
 * In the book Katniss saws off the branch with two attempts, starting at night, then resuming in the morning. In the film, she doesn't see Rue until the morning and thus only does this in the morning.
 * The tracker jackers respond much more slowly to Katniss' sawing of the branch than in the film. In the book they were affected by the smoke from the fire, the effects of which lasted through the night.
 * In the book, Katniss meets Rue while bathing in a stream. In the movie, she meets Rue after awekening covered with leaves. Also, Rue tells her about District 11 in the book.
 * In the book, Rue chews up the medicinal leaves that relieve Katniss' burn pain after Katniss wakes from the effects of the tracker jacker attack. In the movie, Rue puts full leaves on Katniss' stings while she is still sleeping from the wasp venom.
 * In the book Foxface overshoots one of her jumps while crossing the minefield and falls, but does not land on a mine. She does not make any missteps in the film.
 * Only in the book, after the Careers' food supply was destroyed, Katniss sees Foxface in the ruins of the explosion the next morning. Foxface is laughing as she finds a knife and a metal pot that were not damaged in the explosion.
 * In the book, Katniss' hearing in her left ear is repaired by Capitol medics after her and Peeta win the games. The movie shows that she momentarily loses her hearing.
 * In the book Cato's initial reaction to finding the supplies destroyed is more severe, as he tears his hair out and beats the ground. The male tribute from District 3 throws some stones to show the Careers that all the mines have activated and they examine the wreckage to try and find anything to salvage. Cato then yells at the boy before breaking his neck when he turns to flee. In the film Cato immediately confronts the boy upon returning to the campsite before breaking his neck in the middle of yelling at him.
 * In the book, the boy from District 3 went with the other Careers to the smoke where another tribute allegedly hid because they were certain that his trap was foolproof. In the movie, he stays with the pyramid and Foxface and Katniss must sneak past him. It's not clear why he is uninjured in the explosion.
 * Rue is attacked with the spear while in the trap in the book. In the movie, she is hit with Marvel's spear while standing at the same time that Katniss kills Marvel with an arrow.
 * Marvel is shot in the neck by Katniss' arrow and drowns in his own blood in the book. In the movie, he is shot in the heart and immediately dies.
 * The movie contradicts the book when as Rue is dying from the spear attack, Katniss comforts Rue and tries to tell her she will be okay whereas in the book, she thinks to herself that "there's no point in comforting words, in telling her she's alright. She's no fool."
 * In the film Katniss throws the spear away from Rue's body. In the book, she leaves the spear in Rue so it will be collected along with the body and not be available for anyone else to use. (We don't see what happens to any of the dead tributes in the film, so not changing this might not have made sense.) She also isn't seen collecting the arrow that killed Marvel.
 * Katniss did not receive bread from District 11 in the movie after Rue's death.
 * In the book, Claudius Templesmith repeated the rule change that both tributes from the same district will be declared victors if they are the last two standing twice. In the film, it was only announced once.
 * In the book, after Claudius announces the new rule that two tributes from the same district can be victors, Katniss impulsively yells out Peeta's name. In the movie, she only whispers his name.
 * In the book, when Katniss is looking for Peeta in the stream, she yells out "Peeta!" and Peeta answers "You here to finish me off, sweetheart?", before she finds him wounded, but in the movie, she just finds him camoflauged when he moves his hand to grab her boot.
 * In the book, when Peeta is telling Katniss about his early admiration for her, he also tells her that his father initially wanted to marry her mother but her mother married a different man (Katniss' father). This also explains why Peeta's father promised Katniss that he will take care of Prim when they are in the games while he is giving the cookies to her after the reaping (which is also not shown in the film): Prim looks a lot like Katniss' mother.
 * Katniss doesn't tell Peeta a story about how she got Prim's goat, Lady, in the film. The book reveals the true story while Katniss makes up a story to tell Peeta that the Capitol would be willing to air.
 * In the book, Katniss gives Peeta some berries mixed with sleep syrup to make him sleep while she goes to the feast. In the movie, she just leaves while he is sleeping that night.
 * In the book, the backpacks left to the tributes in the Cornucopia that contained "something they desperately need" were all different colors and sizes, but in the movie, they appeared to be identical except for the district numbers.
 * In the book, as Clove pins Katniss to the ground, Katniss yells out Peeta's name to distract her. In the movie, she does not scream Peeta's name.
 * In the book, Thresh kills Clove by smashing a rock into her skull. In the film, he smashes her against the Cornucopia twice and her neck is snapped. Also, in the book, Cato was nearby and rushed to save Clove as she was being held up by Thresh, but he was too late. In the movie, he was nowhere to be seen though Clove screams for him before she is killed.
 * Thresh didn't know that Katniss and Rue were allies after Clove gave a good performance (in the book). In the movie, it was like Thresh knew already that Rue and Katniss were allies. He wasn't there when Clove was giving a great show but he killed Clove to save Katniss for Rue.
 * In the book, it mentions how Peeta has blood poisoning and his medicine is in a syringe (antibiotic). In the movie, there is no mention of blood poisoning and the medicine is in the form of a balm. As such it also used to treat Katniss's forehead wound that came from Clove's knife during their struggle at the Cornucopia. In the book, the wound did not fully recover until she was named a victor and treated back at the Capitol for several days.
 * Peeta's leg is almost completely healed after the medicine is supplied in the film, whereas he remained severely injured in the book as the medicine did not treat the wound itself.
 * In the book, Katniss and Peeta made out many times. In the movie, they kissed once.
 * In the book, Peeta and Katniss are stuck in the cave without food or water for days when rain and thunderstorms prevent them from hunting. As a reward for making out, they receive goat cheese, rolls, and a tureen of wild rice and lamb stew. The rain stops after Thresh is killed. In the movie, there is no rain and they are able to hunt the day after acquiring the medicine.
 * In the book, Foxface dies after Thresh, but in the movie, she dies first.
 * In the book, Thresh is killed by Cato but in the film, he is presumably killed by the mutts.
 * In the book, Katniss and Peeta encountered Cato while he was running away from the muttations.
 * In the book, the muttations were supposed to be wolf-like creatures that resemble the dead tributes due to genetically engineered DNA, but in the movie, they were genetically engineered dog-like creatures and the muttations were never addressed by name or as having the tributes' DNA in the film (though Gary Ross asserts that if the viewers look closely, they will see the mutts have human eyes--one even has blue eyes).
 * The muttations were also capable of moving in a bipedal fashion in the book, but they never do so in the film.
 * In the film Cato is already on top of the Cornucopia when Katniss and Peeta climb it and has sustained some injuries to his face. In the book they encounter him as he flees the mutts and run after him to seek refuge at the Cornucopia.
 * In the movie, Cato makes a speech about how all he knew how to do was kill and how he felt about about being a pawn in the games while Peeta was in his headlock. But in the book, all Cato says is that if Katniss shoots him, Peeta will also be killed.
 * In the book Peeta uses his blood to draw an x on the back of Cato's hand to tell Katniss to target it, but in the film he just taps the back of Cato's hand with his index finger.
 * In the book, Cato endures the pain from the muttations ripping him apart for several hours after being dragged into the mouth of the Cornucopia, and mouths "please" to Katniss, indicating for her to kill him already. When she can get a good shot angle, she shoots him in the head. In the movie, Katniss shoots him in the heart almot immediately after he falls to the muttations to spare him the pain. This wasn't possible in the book because he was wearing body armor.
 * In the book, the mutts ran away down into a hole. In the movie after Cato dies, they disperse and it cannot be seen where they go. It is assumed they disappear just as the extra mutts appeared out of nowhere.
 * In the book, both Katniss and Peeta are near death from cold and their wounds just after the rule change reverting back to a single victor. Peeta, having been bitten by a muttation in the leg, is in danger of bleeding to death. The idea of double suicide by nightlock is a desperate attempt to end the suffering either by forcing the Gamemakers' hands or by death itself. In the movie, there is no desperation in the double suicide attempt. The weather is nice and neither tribute has life-threatening wounds to speak of, but the Gamemakers fold on the bluff anyway.
 * In the book, Katniss and Peeta put the berries in their mouths, and as Claudius tells them to stop, spit them out. In the movie, Claudius stops them before they put the berries in their mouths.

After the Games

 * In the book, Peeta's leg is amputated and replaced by a prosthetic. In the movie, he doesn't lose his leg.
 * In the film, they never truly address that Katniss and Peeta had to pretend to be in love to gain sponsors. Instead, it was made to appear more like true love, even on Katniss' part. However, whether the movie was showing true love or false remains unclear as there are facts to support both arguments.
 * In the book, Katniss and Peeta each receive half of the crown. In the film, Katniss and Peeta each get their own crown although Peeta receiving his is not shown. His crown can be seen on a pillow in the background.
 * In the film Snow notices and comments on Katniss' mockingjay pin, whereas in the book he silently crowns her.
 * In the book, Katniss and Peeta get in an argument on the train home about whether Katniss was faking her love for him or not. Peeta is crushed when he realizes Katniss was (mostly) faking for the Games. This argument is not shown in the film though there is a subtle moment of realization by Peeta after she tells him she wants to forget what's happened and he sees how happy she is to see Gale. He joins hands with her and his doing so juxtaposes his doing so on the chariot ride into the Capitol - knowing it's primarily for the audience and not for him.