“The Hunger Games: Mockingjay — Part 2,” which opened last week, which officially brings the billion-dollar “Hunger Games” film franchise to a close. Even though that probably means we won’t have any more wacky Jennifer Lawrence-Liam Hemsworth-Josh Hutcherson press tours, the movie franchise is still leaving the world with a handful of contributions.
1. Jennifer Lawrence as a superstar.
Even without her starring role as heroine Katniss Everdeen, J-Law would have become one of the biggest movie stars on the planet … actually, scratch that. Although Lawrence would have an Oscar-winning career ahead of her, it’s doubtful that she would have become the phenomenon she is today without “The Hunger Games.” The movies’ massive reach put the actress in an unusually bright spotlight, and her hilarious, unfiltered personality did the rest. If you don’t believe it, check out Vulture’s list of the top 100 delightful Lawrence moments in the past four years: www.vulture.com/2015/11/jennifer-lawrences-100-most-delightful-moments.html
2. A wave of dystopian movies based on young-adult books.
The first “Hunger Games” movie was a smash (and raked in nearly $700 million), so Hollywood tried to replicate its success. This led to the Shailene Woodley-led “Divergent” series, which earned lots of “Hunger Games” comparisons but only a fraction of the critical acclaim. Either way, the first two “Divergent” movies made nearly $300 million each at the box office; two more are on the way (“Allegiant” opens in March). Then “The Maze Runner” scored big with new star Dylan O’Brien. The second movie debuted this year, and a third is expected in February 2017.
But not all teen dystopian films have been as lucky: “The Hunger Games” and “Divergent” paved the way for “The Giver,” a movie based on the Lois Lowry’s book that was in development for nearly 20 years. Moviegoers didn’t like the adaptation of the beloved novel, and the film tanked.
