 Twenty @-@ year @-@ old actress Jennifer Lawrence was chosen to play Katniss Everdeen . Though Lawrence was four years older than the character when filming began , Collins felt the role demanded " a certain maturity and power " and said she would rather the actress be older than younger . She added that Lawrence was the " only one who truly captured the character I wrote in the book " and that she had " every essential quality necessary to play Katniss . " Lawrence , a fan of the books , took three days to accept the role , initially intimidated by the size of the production . Josh Hutcherson and Liam Hemsworth were later added to the cast , in the roles of Peeta and Gale , respectively . Production began in late spring 2011 and the film was released on March 23 , 2012 . The film 's opening weekend brought in a non @-@ sequel record $ 152 @.@ 5 million ( USD ) in North America . The Hunger Games : Catching Fire , based on the second novel in the series , was released the following year on November 22 , 2013 . 
