"The Hunger Games" received a very healthy portion of MTV Movie Awards nominations this year, and chances are the gang will walk away with a few much-deserved golden popcorn statues from the show.
The only question is: In which arenas will the tributes prevail?
This week in District 14, we're breaking down each of the nine nominations "The Hunger Games" received and making our predictions as to whether and why they'll become victors.
Movie of the Year
"The Hunger Games" is something of a freshman franchise at the moment, and it's sharing this major category with a hip senior classman ("Harry Potter") and a very popular junior ("Breaking Dawn - Part 1"). Even putting aside the massively successful "The Help" and "Bridesmaids" which are also nominated, the "Harry Potter" and "Twilight" fanbases will be tough to beat, especially since many "Hunger Games" fans stem from one or both of those fan groups and may still have a little click loyalty for them. There's a chance "The Hunger Games" could take this prize home, but it may be a little slim.
Our Bet: Lose
Best Female Performance
Jennifer Lawrence has this category in the bag. While Kristen Wiig, Emma Stone and Rooney Mara also present some fresh blood for the nomination list and Emma Watson's got a plethora of "Harry Potter" fans at her flanks, J.Law is the literal face of the newest Big Thing in Young Hollywood and almost everyone can agree her performance merits the landslide victory here.
Our Bet: Win
Best Male Performance
While Josh Hutcherson might've won over (most of) "The Hunger Games" faithful with his touching performance as Peeta Mellark, his fellow competitors in this battle are fierce. The "Harry Potter" folks will no doubt be vetting the series' long-lived lead Daniel Radcliffe for a final win, and both Ryan Gosling and Channing Tatum have nudged into heartthrob status over the past few years. Hutcherson could totally nab the victory and probably will, but we predict it'll be by a very close margin.
Our Bet: Win
Breakthough Performance
As much as we loved Melissa McCarthy in "Bridesmaids" and Shailene Woodley in "The Descendants," Liam Hemsworth as Gale has a shot at owning the Breakthrough Performance courtesy of a little bonus name recognition. The world is Hemsworth right now, thanks to him and brother Chris - star of "The Avengers" and "Snow White and the Huntsman". That said, McCarthy has quite the following and, well, Taylor Lautner still hasn't won an MTV Movie Award.
Our Bet: Could go either way
Best Cast
The "Harry Potter" gang is worthy competition for this category as well, but it may be the hilarious "Bridesmaids" gals who give "The Hunger Games" kids the biggest run for their money here. This one still smells ripe enough for a big tribute win, though.
Our Bet: Win
Best On-Screen Transformation
When you tell someone who hasn't been following the "Hunger Games" craze closely that it was the beautiful and hilarious comedienne Elizabeth Banks behind all that powder, those gaudy clothes and that ridiculous wig, they can't believe it. There's a reason: That look was a far, far departure from her norm, and while she might be up against some healthy competition — particularly from Colin Farrell in "Horrible Bosses" and Rooney Mara for "The Girl With the Dragon Tattoo" — she's earned a win here and will probably get it.
Our Bet: Win
Best Hero
While "Avengers" characters Captain America (Chris Evans) and Thor (Chris Hemsworth) represent the year's new heroes well, and old reliable Harry Potter is definitely strong in the mix, Katniss Everdeen is sure to snag the win for the year's best hero, a category determined entirely by Twitter-based votes. After all, the girl was able to face-down the Capitol with just a handful of berries.
Our Bet: Win
Best Fight
Katniss and Peeta's big finale showdown with Cato (Alexander Ludwig) in "The Hunger Games" is way overshadowed by the epic Harry vs. Voldemort fight scene in the final "Harry Potter" flick. However, one theme of "The Hunger Games" is vicious triumph, and there is a lot of fresh blood in the voting fanbase, so they may be champs in this category after all.
Our Bet: Could go either way
Best Kiss
Josh Hutcherson himself has said he doesn't think he and Lawrence will be able to dethrone three-time winners Robert Pattinson and Kristen Stewart for Best Kiss, and as much as we loved their work on the scene, this one's pretty much in the bag for "Twilight."
Our Bet: Lose
Amanda Bell is a young adult book-to-film enthusiast and has made a name for herself as a fan-friendly, informative and dependable source. In addition to being the District 14 columnist for NextMovie, she runs the popular Twilight Examiner column. Keep tabs on her on Twitter.
