The Hunger Games' two-part finale proved a divisive decision, andit should have warned another popular young adult franchise that splitting its final movie was a bad idea.The Hunger Gamesmoviesare overwhelmingly considered successful, and bothMockingjayinstallments made hundreds of millions at the box office. Even so, the choice to split the adaptation ofMockingjayinto two parts was one that was met with criticism, andMockingjay - Part 1suffered as a result.
Unfortunately,The Hunger Gamesis far from the only franchise to divide its final movie into two — and some aren’t even waiting until the last installment to try this approach. Given the complaints aboutMockingjay,one would think other YA dystopian series of the 2010s would have proceeded with caution. However,theDivergentseries attempted the same strategy when adaptingAllegiant.It didn’t work in the final movie’s favor, suggesting the franchise should have paid closer attention toMockingjay’s response.
Mockingjay: Part 1’s Problems Proved That A Two-Part Finale Wasn’t A Good Idea
The First Part Of The Hunger Games Finale Was Anticlimactic & Poorly Paced
The Hunger Gamessplitting its final movie into two parts created problems forMockingjay - Part 1,as the first portion of the film had pacing issues. TheMockingjaybook had a standard structure, with the action increasing as the narrative went on, then coming to a head with the story’s resolution. Unfortunately, Suzanne Collins' source material wasn’t meant to be consumed in halves.Mockingjay - Part 1lacked much of the excitement from the book, as it dragged the story out and saved many of the more interesting parts forPart 2.
Even Katniss' iconic ‘If we burn’monologue couldn’t stop it from feeling like a slog, especially when the Games-esque portion of the novel didn’t happen untilMockingjay - Part 2.
In addition to more climactic scenes occurring inMockingjay - Part 2,Katniss and Peeta also didn’t interact much in the first half of the finale. This made it more difficult to get through, as did the fact that much of the first installment saw Katniss maneuvering the politics of District 13. Even Katniss’ iconic “If we burn” monologue couldn’t stop it from feeling like a slog, especially when the Games-esque portion of the novel didn’t happen untilMockingjay - Part 2.This left the prior movie feeling like setup more than anything else.
Divergent Splitting The Final Book Into Two Movies Doomed The Franchise
Ascendant Was Never Actually Made, Leaving The Series Unfinished
Mockingjay -Part 1’s narrative problems didn’t preventPart 2from getting made, nor did it stop other franchises from following the same setup. Unfortunately for theDivergentseries, it followed in the prior dystopian franchise’s footsteps — but with more devastating results. The decision to split the final book,Allegiant,into two parts resulted in the story never receiving a conclusion.Ascendantwas canceledafterAllegianthad lackluster returns at the box office. And while there were initially discussions about continuing the story in TV form, it never happened.
Given the popularity ofVeronica Roth’s books, this was disappointing for those excited to see Tris and Four’s entire story brought to the screen. AndAllegiantcould have learned fromThe Hunger Games,as the third movie suffered many of the same problems asMockingjay - Part 1.Another adaptation that wasn’t meant to be split in two,Allegianthad a slow beginning and lack of action throughout its run. TheDivergentseries was obviously saving the most exciting developments for its finale, but because it split the final book into two, that conclusion never happened.
Two-Part Movies Are Very Risky, And Hollywood Continues To Proves It
It’s Difficult To Pull Off This Approach
IfThe Hunger GamesandDivergentseries prove anything,it’s that it’s difficult for Hollywood to pull off two-part movies. Of course, that hasn’t stopped studios from attempting it. A number of recent films have been split into two parts, including 2023’sFast X, Across the Spider-Verse, Horizon,andRebel Moon(which is intended to be even more than two parts). This has varying degrees of success. While a film likeAcross the Spider-Versebuilds excitement with its ending, it’s still risky to leave audiences on a cliffhanger for years. It’s possible they’ll lose interest in that time.
6 Upcoming Movies That Will Suffer After Being Split Into Two Parts
Hollywood’s strategy of splitting a movie into two parts is starting to backfire, and these upcoming films may be hurt by only being half a story.
In the case of movies likeHorizonorRebel Moon, it’s even more risky, as they aren’t sequels. Both first movies proved somewhat underwhelming, which raises questions about whether viewers will even check out their follow-ups. This is why it’s often better to tell a full story with a film rather than dragging it out in the hopes of greater returns. While the two-part method does work occasionally —Avengers: Infinity WarandAvengers: Endgamebeing an example — it requires the right approach. More often than not, such projects end up likeThe Hunger Games’finale instead.
The Hunger Games
The Hunger Games is a multi-movie franchise starring Jennifer Lawrence as Katniss Everdeen. The films are based on the young adult dystopian book series by author Suzanne Collins. The first film was released in 2012, followed by Catching Fire in 2013, Mockingjay Part 1 in 2014, and Mockingjay Part 2 in 2015. In 2023, the fifth film in the series was released, The Ballad of Songbirds and Snakes.
The Divergent Series
Based on the young adult novel series by Veronica Roth, The Divergent Series is a multimedia franchise that eventually launched into a film trilogy adaptation starting in 2014. Set in a dystopian future, The Divergent Series follows Beatrice “Tris” Prior, a teenager who learns she is Divergent after taking a placement test for a faction, where people with particular virtues are sorted into. As a Divergent, she discovers that darkness lies beyond the veil of their utopian society and that nothing is as it seems. The fourth and final film of the franchise was canceled before release, leaving the adaptation incomplete.
