The Cornucopia bloodbath is an event that has always occurred at the very beginning of every Hunger Games since they began, as most of the tributes compete for valuable weapons, food, water and packs full of other valuable supplies that could be useful during the games. These supplies are spread in and around the Cornucopia.
Tributes seem to always die at the bloodbath. The Gamemakers, or the Capitol, probably set up the Cornucopia for optimal entertainment value and quick deaths at the beginning of the game to keep audiences interested. In the end, the Cornucopia is often taken over by a group of tributes who fought in the bloodbath (usually this is the pack of Career Tributes.)
Location
The Cornucopia is usually located in the center of the arena and is where the Career Tributes normally set up camp during the majority of the games, as many tributes would attempt to return to scavenge what is left of the supplies there. The area around the Cornucopia varies between games, such as being surrounded by forests like in the 74th Hunger Games or surrounded by seawater like in the 75th Hunger Games.
Supplies
The value of an item depends on how close it is to the cornucopia. Items scattered in the outskirts are usually less valuable. Items in the heart of the Cornucopia are the most valuable, usually being weapons. Weapons varies usually on the type of arena. For example, tridents might only appear in water based arenas. Sometimes the Capitol limits the weapons to a specific type. In an unknown Hunger Games, it is known that the Capitol made spiked maces the only weapon available, mainly for entertainment.
Tactics
There are a variety of ways tributes will approach the bloodbath, but these strategies depend on how the Cornucopia has been positioned.
Peeta Mellark flees the bloodbath.
Some tributes ignore the Cornucopia completely and try to put as much distance as they can between themselves and the tributes with weapons from the Cornucopia. This means they will get little or no supplies at all and will have to rely on the arena and their skills or perhaps a rich sponsor to give them some. In the 74th Hunger Games, Peeta Mellark avoided the Cornucopia at first under Haymitch's orders, but later joined the Career Tributes and had access to their supplies until he betrayed them.
Other tributes, including Katniss Everdeen, grab what they can from the outskirts of the Cornucopia and flee before things get too dangerous. This means they still get supplies, but are not very valuable and have little or no weapons. Other tributes, mostly the Careers, dash for supplies as an opportunity to kill as many as possible while they are all together.
This means they will get the most weapons and supplies, but they also run the highest risk of getting killed or badly injured. Some tributes are agile and can reach the inside of the Cornucopia to swiftly gather supplies and leave or stay, like Thresh.
Deaths
While any number of tributes can die in the bloodbath, an average of about eight to twelve tributes are killed. In the first Hunger Games, it is assumed no tributes were killed in the bloodbath since the Games were an extremely new idea. That said, the most tributes known to die in a bloodbath was 18; which occurred during the 50th Hunger Games.
Pre-Games
74th Hunger Games
In the novel and film, Katniss Everdeen is taken to a launch station, where her stylist, Cinna, is waiting. He puts on her arena jacket and gives her the Mockingjay pin for good luck. The timer gives them 60 seconds to say their goodbyes. After kissing her, Katniss walks inside the elevator tube, and it closes, beginning to lift her up into the arena. Cinna nods to her as she is ascended into the arena.
In the film, as she ascends, light blinds her view for a few moments. When she could finally see clearly, she looks toward the silver horn-shaped Cornucopia and its supplies. Before the 50 seconds prior to the game's commence counted down, she turns her head to see the other tributes beside her.
At 10 seconds, she spots a bow and quiver of arrows, but is distracted by Peeta Mellark, her district partner, who notices her idea and gestures with his head a no, before facing the Cornucopia again. A loud gong signals the beggining of the games.
75th Hunger Games
In the novel, Katniss describes the scene as quick and similar to the 74th Hunger Games. But when she walks into the tube and is elevated into the arena, peacekeepers come in and beat up Cinna. Katniss cries and screams, as he is dragged away unconscious, leaving a trail of blood.
In the film, the scene is similar, but when she is ascending, she crouches down to try and stop the elevator to save Cinna as he is dragged away, without leaving a blood trail. Once again light blinds her view, before she could see the Cornucopia, which is surrounded by seawater this time.
The countdown begins at 10. Katniss looks to her sides to see career tributes beside her. She tries to find Peeta but presumes he was behind the Cornucopia. Katniss shows a vengeful expression after seeing Cinna get killed and when the games begin with a gunshot, she determinedly dives into the water.
Cornucopia bloodbaths
The tributes lined up for the starting of the Games.
50th Hunger Games
In the 50th Hunger Games, 18 people were killed in the opening bloodbath, most of them likely by the Careers. However, the arena was so beautiful, the tributes were awed at first sight. Haymitch Abernathy, the victor from District 12, managed to get supplies before the bloodbath began, being the only one not stunned by the beauty of the arena.
74th Hunger Games
In the novel version of the 74th Hunger Games, eleven people were killed in the opening bloodbath. In the film version of the 74th Hunger Games, twelve people were killed instead as the District 4 tributes were not considered Careers and the District 4 female was killed off.
In the novel, Katniss grapples with the District 9 male over an orange backpack, until the boy begins coughing blood in her face and finally falls onto the ground dead with a knife protruding out of his back. Katniss looks to see the District 2 female, Clove, with a knife in her hands, indicating she had done the deed. Clove throws a knife right toward Katniss's head, almost killing her. However, Katniss shields herself with her backpack, gaining herself a knife, before running off into the forests.
Cato shoving the District 4 female into a crate during the 74th Hunger Games.
In the film, including the behind the scenes, Katniss and the other tributes are risen to their podiums. The timer counts down from 60. The tributes look around at the forest arena and take their positions. Most are aimed towards the Cornucopia, including Katniss, who is focused on a bow in the center of the Cornucopia, but Peeta distracts her by shaking his head. The playing of music signals that the Games have begun and the tributes run off their podiums.
Peeta and Rue run straight towards the forest. Katniss circles the pedestals in an attempt to run towards Peeta, passing by Foxface who runs into the forest the other way, but he runs swiftly into the forest surrounding them, forcing her to stop and watch the bloodbath unfold. Thresh is the first one at the Cornucopia, with the District 4 male close behind. They both run to the back of the Cornucopia; Thresh gathers supplies and the District 4 male hides. Cato punches the District 6 male and then beats him up.
The tributes fighting
The District 8 male attempts to punch Marvel but he blocks, trips, and slashes him with a kukri. Marvel then gets on top of the District 8 male and stabs him multiple times. The District 6 male sees this and runs. The District 10 male runs, but is cleaved by Cato. The District 3 male pushes the District 7 female and steals her throwing axe. The District 3 male gets into a fight with Marvel over the axe.
When he refused to let go, Marvel smacks him with his backpack, winning the axe. The District 6 male and the District 10 male fight on the floor for a backpack. Marvel swings his axe at the District 10 male but he dodges, however when it comes back around it smacks the District 10 male in the face, knocking him to the ground. The District 3 male and the District 7 female fight for a spear.
The District 3 female grabs a black backpack and runs, but the District 5 male grabs her and pulls her back into the bloodbath. The District 5 male trips and falls, allowing the District 3 female to escape. The District 6 female takes a sword and tries to attack the District 4 female with it, but she is brutally beaten and pushed to the ground, causing her to let go of her sword.
Tributes killing each other
Tributes killing each other
The District 4 female grabs a sword and slashes the District 3 female's leg, while Clove looks through a pack and finds throwing knifes and a vest. The District 5 male grabs a sickle. The District 3 female gets up and the District 5 male slashes her with his sickle and steals her bag, leaving her to bleed to death.
The District 6 female tries to steal the District 10 male's bag, but Glimmer comes from behind and pulls her hair, taking the bag with her. While still pulling the District 6 female's hair, Glimmer shoves her into a crate and then shoves her to the ground. Glimmer tries to steal the bag from her but the District 6 female doesn't let go of it. Glimmer picks up a knife, stabs her to death, steals the bag, and runs off.
The District 7 female sees this and ducks behind a crate to avoid conflict. The District 4 female confronts Cato. She swings a sword at Cato but he ducks. Cato smacks the sword out of her hands and smacks her with a bar mace. He then throws her over a crate. The District 7 male attacks the District 6 male, but the District 6 male punches him in face. As Katniss watches the District 4 female grab a red backpack and run, she spots an orange backpack and runs to it, passing Glimmer stabbing the District 6 female to death as Marvel watches and the District 6 male looking through a backpack frantically.
Glimmer stabs the District 6 female.
Glimmer grabs the District 6 female's yellow sleeping bag and runs straight into the District 10 male, who takes it and runs. He trips and Marvel steals the bag. He steals the bag back and then pushes the District 7 male to the ground, with his sleeping bag in his left arm. The District 5 male smacks the District 7 female with his backpack. The District 7 male sees this and grabs a spear and pushes the District 5 male to the ground. Thresh runs out of the Cornucopia as Glimmer runs inside and the District 7 male is about to kill the District 5 male when Thresh runs in between.
The District 5 male leaves his stuff, still holding onto his sword, and crawls away. The District 7 male tries to spear Thresh, but Thresh dodges, knocks the spear out of his hands, and pushes him with his curved sword and backpack, slashing his throat and ultimately killing him.
Thresh killing the District 7 male.
The District 9 male (played by the District 7 male's actor) sees an orange backpack, grabs a two-holed axe, and runs towards it. Katniss grabs the backpack but trips. She turns around and sees the District 9 male about to slash her, but he falls to the ground dead.
The District 9 male (played by the District 7 male's actor) about to kill Katniss.
She sees Clove, who has thrown a knife into his back. Clove throws a knife toward Katniss's head, but Katniss shields herself with her backpack and runs away. The District 3 male and the District 7 female now fight over a black backpack, but the District 7 female manages to beat him and run off. Marvel grabs a yellow sleeping bag and jumps over a crate and Thresh escapes. The District 6 male chases the District 5 male to the back of the Cornucopia.
The District 6 male strangles the District 5 male to a crate, but the District 5 male gets the upper hand and smacks the District 6 male into another crate. The District 5 male comes out of the Cornucopia, but is slashed in the abdomen by Glimmer, while Clove rams the District 7 female to ground. Marvel sees her on the ground and he spears her in the heart.
Glimmer tries to attack the District 6 male, but he grabs a sword and pushes Glimmer to the ground, causing her to scream, gaining the attention of Cato. Cato pushes the District 6 male away from Glimmer, who attempts to slash Cato, but Cato grabs a serrated sword, trips him, and then stabs him in the gut. Cato then finished him with one last stab. Katniss crashes into Foxface and has a short run-by encounter with the District 10 male. After this, the District 4 male grabs a small sword and attempts to escape, but when he turns around, Cato slashes his throat with a bar mace.
The District 6 male about to killed by Cato.
Cato looks up and finds a sword and grabs it. Katniss, Peeta, Rue, Thresh, the District 10 male, the District 8 female, Foxface, the District 4 female, the District 3 male, Clove, Cato, Marvel and Glimmer all escape the bloodbath alive, but after the Cornucopia bloodbath the District 4 female is later found and killed by the Careers,
| Tribute | Placing | Killed by |
|---|---|---|
| District 8 male | 24th | Marvel |
| District 10 female | 23rd | Unknown |
| District 3 female | 22nd | District 5 male |
| District 6 female | 21st | Glimmer |
| District 9 male | 20th | Clove |
| District 7 male | 19th | Thresh |
| District 9 female | 18th | Unknown |
| District 5 male | 17th | Glimmer |
| District 7 female | 16th | Marvel |
| District 6 male | 15th | Cato |
| District 4 male | 14th | Cato |
| District 4 female | 13th | Careers |
The Fallen shown in the film.
Photo Gallery (74th Hunger Games)
Notes: In the film, the order of clips were changed around therefore creating a different order from the original.
75th Hunger Games
In the 75th Hunger Games, eight people were killed in the opening bloodbath. Unlike the previous games, the only things held in the Cornucopia were weapons.
In the novel, Katniss swims quickly to the Cornucopia. She acquires a bow and arrow and readies it as she hears someone behind her. She sees Finnick Odair, who yells for her to duck and uses a trident to spear the District 5 male, who had approached Katniss from behind. He shows her a golden bracelet, giving to him by Haymitch, to symbolize their alliance. The two realize there are only weapons and no food or survival supplies.
The Career tributes arrive at the Cornucopia, but are driven off by them. Katniss shoots Gloss in the calf when he attempts to dive into the water for safety but was too slow. She also attempts to shoot Enobaria, but she dives into the water faster. As Brutus approaches, she attempts to shoot him in the liver, but he uses his tribute belt to stop it. After realizing Peeta is stuck on his podium and cannot swim, Katniss readies to go retreive him, but Finnick offers to.
He swims and retrieves him, along with his district partner, Mags. The four of them team up and collect supplies, but are forced to leave before the Career tributes could come back. Also, it is mentioned by Johanna Mason that Beetee was stabbed in the Cornucopia before she went to retrieve him.
In the film, Katniss is coming up into the arena. She is distraught about what happened to Cinna. As she is in the arena, she takes a look around. She finds Cashmere and Brutus next to her; they appear to be looking around as well. Katniss turns frantically looking for Peeta, but he is nowhere to be seen; she then thinks that he is behind the Cornucopia.
Claudius announces the Games to begin, and the countdown begins from 10. The cannon is heard and Katniss dives into the water and quickly arrives at a narrow, rocky wedge. However, she sees Brutus arriving right behind her and begins dashing toward the Cornucopia. Beside her on the rocky edge at her right, Gloss is running too.
The two race each other to the Cornucopia, but Gloss trips, gaining her to an advantage. When she reaches the Cornucopia, she retrieves a bow and quiver of arrows; she turns and shoots Gloss in the calf, as he slowly falls into the water. She is then startled by a sound and readies her bow.
It is Finnick Odair, who quickly shows her his golden bracelet that symbolizes their alliance. Finnick then yells for her to duck before using a trident to spear the District 5 male, who had approached Katniss from behind wielding a bladed whip. Katniss begins to drive the arriving Career tributes away. Finnick tells Katniss that he will search for Peeta, and for her to hold the Careers off.
Katniss then shoots an arrow at Enobaria, who dives in before the arrow could find her. Finnick tells Katniss that Mags found Peeta. Finnick and Katniss run to the rocky spoke, as a cannon sounds. They approach Mags where is she frowning and pointing to Peeta who is fighting the District 9 male.
Peeta repeatedly tries to climb back onto a podium, but the District 9 male keeps pulling him back in. Finnick dives in to save him, but the District 9 male finally pulls Peeta underwater with him. A few moments later a cannon sounds; Katniss is frightened as a corpse floats up.
Fortunately, Peeta ascends, thrashing for air. Katniss is relieved but turns serious when she sees the Career Tributes have already formed an alliance and have gathered supplies, forcing them to leave.
Photo Gallery (75th Hunger Games)
Trivia
- There are several goofs and errors during the bloodbath in the film adaption of The Hunger Games. The District 8 female, District 9 male, female, and District 10 female do not appear in the bloodbath scene as their portrayers are not stunt actors.
- The District 10 boy is shown being killed by Cato in the bloodbath, but he still survived up to the point where Glimmer was killed and the District 7 boy is shown to be killed by Clove and by Thresh, because he replaced the District 9 male.
- All the times are based on the portraits. Several errors occurred during the portrait and the actual time listing. Some timings are blurred out, excluding info. The sequences of events isn't in chronological order.
- In the film adaption of the 74th Hunger Games, there are twelve tributes killed during the bloodbath instead of eleven.
- In the film adaption of the 74th Hunger Games, the podiums with the tributes seem to be in this order: (From left to right) District 5 male, District 4 male, Rue, Glimmer, District 3 male, District 3 female, District 10 male, Peeta, District 7 female, District 6 male, Cato, District 7 male, Foxface, Katniss, Marvel, Clove, District 4 female, District 8 male, District 6 female and Thresh. (Missing: District 8 female, District 9 male, female and District 10 female).
- In the 74th Hunger Games, Katniss, the District 3 male and the District 10 male are the only survivors tributes who participate at the bloodbath to not have killed someone. However, all of them did assist in a kill, but they didn't actually make it.
- The District 9 male (74th HG), and the District 5 male (75th HG) are both similar, as they fought with Katniss in some way and are then killed by a Career Tribute, Clove and Finnick in this case.