Making sense of the ‘Hunger Games’ timeline
The Hunger Games is a dystopian novel series set in the distant future. The exact year has never been explicitly stated in either the books or the films, which has left fans wondering exactly when the original Hunger Games trilogy, and its prequels, The Ballad of Songbirds and Snakes and Sunrise on the Reaping, take place.
The Hunger Games timeline, explained!
The best way to mark time in this franchise is to note the annual Hunger Games. In the fictional country Panem, the Capitol signed a “Treaty of Treason” after defeating a rebellion in its districts. That year, the first Hunger Games took place. So, many fans use BTT, or “Before the Treaty of Treason,” and ATT, or “After the Treaty of Treason,” to denote dates in the franchise. (Star Wars uses a similar date naming convention, based on whether something takes place BBY, before the Battle of Yavin, or ABY, after the Battle of Yavin.)
| The Ballad of Songbirds and Snakes | 10-11 ATT |
| Sunrise on the Reaping | 50 ATT |
| The Hunger Games | 74 ATT |
| Catching Fire | 74-75 ATT |
| Mockingjay | 75-76 ATT |
The original Hunger Games trilogy takes place between 74 and 76 ATT. Katniss Everdeen and Peeta Mellark won the 74th annual Hunger Games in Book 1 of Collins’s trilogy, The Hunger Games. The two also compete in the 75th annual Hunger Games one year later in Catching Fire, Book 2. Rebels from District 13 rescue Katniss from the arena and leave Peeta to be captured and tortured at the end of that book. The war in Mockingjay, Book 3, which ends with President Snow’s execution, only lasts a few months.
How far in *our* future does The Hunger Games take place?
The books and films take place in an alternate-history version of our world. Katniss mentions early on in The Hunger Games that she lives in the former United States. At some point between 2008, when the first book was published, and the start of the first book, the United States became Panem. The new government divided what was left of the fifty states into thirteen districts and a capitol.
The original screenplay for The Hunger Games, written by Billy Ray, stated that the film is set 300 years from now. If this information is accurate, the original trilogy is set in the 23rd century. As a result, prequel novels A Ballad of Songbirds and Snakes and Sunrise on the Reaping take place in the 22nd century. The Hunger Games novel author Suzanne Collins was one of the screenwriters who worked on the original film and likely had input regarding these details—so while this is unconfirmed, it’s not nothing.
“Reaping Day” is significant in The Hunger Games for a few reasons
Another interesting (read: devastating) bit of info is that the prequel The Ballad of Songbirds and Snakes, which takes place in 10 ATT, revealed that Reaping Day—the day tributes are chosen for the Games—is July 4. Happy Independence Day, y’all!
At some point in the story, Katniss indicates that she and most other citizens of Panem don’t know what existed before Panem. This means they wouldn’t understand the significance of that date. However, someone in the Capitol likely did and probably delighted in the irony of setting Reaping Day on a date that was once meant to symbolize freedom from tyranny. It’s so brutal.
Even more depressing, as Suzanne Collins first revealed in an excerpt from the 2025 prequel novel Sunrise on the Reaping, this day also happens to be Haymitch Abernathy’s birthday. That poor guy can’t catch a break. He had to compete in the Quarter Quell, which demanded twice the number of tributes. Then he had to mentor District 12’s tributes for the next like … 25 years. And on top of all that, he hasn’t been able to enjoy his birthday, like, maybe ever? Our next protagonist might be the franchise’s most tragic character yet.
Where do you think Collins will take The Hunger Games franchise next? Further into the ATTs? Way back to the BTTs? Or will she keep filling in those gaps, and those Hunger Games, in between?
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