The Hunger Games Director Makes A Surprising Comment About Mockingjay

Prior to «Mockingjay,» «Catching Fire» was an absolute marvel at the box office, grossing over $860 million worldwide. Critically, it was a triumph and managed to nab a highly positive A on CinemaScore. With such positive momentum, it makes sense why Lionsgate decided to divide «Mockingjay» into two parts, allowing them to double dip in profits. Unfortunately, «Mockingjay» never reached the critical peak of «Catching Fire,» with both «Part 1» and «2» boasting A- CinemaScore ratings and 70% critical scores on Rotten Tomatoes — the lowest for the franchise. 

Francis Lawrence is right to acknowledge the frustration that fans had with the «Mockingjay» divide, but perhaps what’s most telling is the diminishing box office returns. The first «Mockingjay» made a modest $766 million worldwide, failing to reach the franchise high of «Catching Fire.» By the time «Mockingjay — Part 2» debuted in 2015, only hardcore fans stayed around, helping the film gross just shy of $647 million — a series low. 

The director explained that frustration between fans and critics definitely manifested, which soured what could have been a solid, heartfelt finale. «In an episode of television, if you have a cliffhanger, you have to wait a week or you could just binge it and then you can see the next episode. But making people wait a year, I think, came across as disingenuous, even though it wasn’t,» Lawrence discussed. 

While Lawrence definitely regrets the decision to split up the finale, he says he’s learned his lesson.