Quentin Tarantino Blasts Hunger Games For Ripping Off Battle Royale

[RAMROD 111,407]

Quentin Tarantino is the latest guest on “The Bret Easton Ellis Podcast,” where he started unveiling his list of the 20 greatest movies of the 21st century so far.
The Oscar winner revealed his No. 20-11 picks: Steven Spielberg’s “West Side Story” (#20), Eli Roth’s “Cabin Fever” (#19), Bennett Miller’s “Moneyball” (#18), Prachya Pinkaew’s “Chocolate” (#17), Rob Zombie’s “The Devil’s Rejects” (#16), Mel Gibson’s “The Passion of the Christ” (#15), Richard Linklater’s “School of Rock” (#14), Jeff Tremaine’s “Jackass: The Movie” (#13), Aharon Keshales and Navot Papushado’s “Big Bad Wolves” (#12) and Kinji Fukasaku’s “Battle Royale” (#11).

The latter pick should come as no surprise to Tarantino fans, as the director has regularly included Fukasaku’s 2000 dystopian action movie on lists of his favorite movies over the years. The film, based on Koushun Takami’s novel of the same name, centers on a group of students in junior high school as they are forced to fight to the death by Japan’s totalitarian government.

Tarantino noted the similarities between “Battle Royale” and “The Hunger Games,” the book and movie franchise started by author Suzanne Collins. The films more or less share the same plot set-up, which is why Tarantino can’t believe the “Battle Royale” team did not sue Collins. 

“I do not understand how the Japanese writer didn’t sue Suzanne Collins for every ****ing thing she owns,” Tarantino said. “They just ripped off the ****ing book! Stupid book critics are not going to go watch a Japanese movie called ‘Battle Royale,’ so the stupid book critics never called her out on it. They talked about how it was the most original thing they’d ever ****ing read. As soon as the film critics saw the film they said, ‘What the ****! This is just “Battle Royale” except PG!'”

Tarantino revealed he was one of the first people to see “Battle Royale” as he was a friend of director Kinji Fukasaku. Tarantino was in Japan doing preliminary scouting for “Kill Bill” at the time when Fukasaku invited him to a private screening of the film he’d been working on.

“I had no idea what the **** I was about to see,” Tarantino said. “And holy ****ing ****! I don’t even know what I saw. It was so wild… three months later I was at the Seattle Film Festival. They were going to be showing ‘Battle Royale’ at midnight. Nobody had seen this in America yet. I got to the midnight screening and that was one of the most exciting screenings as I waited for the movie to start. I knew what they were going to see. This is going to deliver more than they even know! They are not prepared for how this is going to deliver. To have that knowledge was power.”

https://variety.com/2025/film/news/quentin-tarantino-slams-hunger-games-battle-royale-ripoff-1236592961/

[Ladle Ghoulash 29,603]

I mean, he’s right, but this is also incredibly bold coming from the man who ripped off Lady Snowblood for Kill Bill lmao 

Edited 7 hours ago by Ladle Ghoulash

[Borisapillar 9,610]

9 minutes ago, Ladle Ghoulash said:

I mean, he’s right, but this is also incredibly bold coming from the man who ripped off Lady Snowblood for Kill Bill lmao 

Came here to say this lol

[elsamars 4,107]

I’m sorry but he’s an overrated piece of ****.  No shade to anyone who loves him but he’s just an object for pretentious people.
 

He can go **** hisfeet while Suzanne Collins is publishing banger books leading to banger movies.

Edited 6 hours ago by elsamars

[Flippy 13,232]

I mean, he’s not wrong regardless

[Franch Toast 27,293]

This is why I never got into Hunger Games. Battle Royale is far more original and bold. 
 

But Tarantino is one to talk.

[River 119,670]

Hunger Games is overrated.. only the 1st movie was good, rest total garbage.

But I slept during the first one because it was pretty boring.

I like Tarantino, I think global pandemic is good.

[Zombiecat 17,223]

4 minutes ago, River said:

Hunger Games is overrated.. only the 1st movie was good, rest total garbage.

But I slept during the first one because it was pretty boring.

I like Tarantino, I think global pandemic is good.

 gurl

[Decodekid 28,828]

Is he right ? Maybe, Do I care? No 

I’ll forever love that franchise, currently reading the new book. It’s 2025 cope, labubu dubai whatever

[Morphine Prince 107,584]

I mean yes clearly Battle Royale was an inspiration but c'mon. 

The Hunger Games is great. We don't care what this man says. 

[CoolTrainerTerry 1,497]

Way to join the conversation 20 years later 

[Ladle Ghoulash 29,603]

42 minutes ago, River said:

Hunger Games is overrated.. only the 1st movie was good, rest total garbage.

But I slept during the first one because it was pretty boring.

I like Tarantino, I think global pandemic is good.

Hunger Games mid. There, I said it. Inglorious Basterds clears.

[elijahfan 26,640]

Not only is he absolutely right, but I also think you guys are taking his remarks way too seriously. He's literally just stating a fact, not saying that he's better than anybody else (tho he probably believes it, and rightfully so ).

[HotLikeMexico 5,400]

Tarantino > Hunger Games. Y’all can choke. 

[Tomiel25 2,113]

It's such a reach, every movie, every book, every song contains elements or themes that have already been used many times over time, I highly doubt Battle Royale is the first movie where a group of people have to try to survive until only one remains, even his movies reuse elements from other movies, something he talked about throughout his career. In any case, who would have to sue both the creators of battle royale and the creators of the Hunger Games would be the already death creators of the gladiators and coliseums in Rome so many centuries ago because obviously both works were inspired by them.

Quentin, with all due respect, I like many of your movies, but you don't have to Sh¡+ on one movie just to praise another.

Edited 4 hours ago by Tomiel25