10 Movies That Definitely "Influenced" The Hunger Games

3. The Running Man

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=q5p87us3oWs Dystopian Future: Yes Reality TV Aspects: Yes Battle Arena: Yes Captive Fighters: Yes Children As Fighters: No Any Arnie fan will be more than aware of The Running Man and it's odd mix of classic Schwarzenegger acting combined with deeper themes that are explored far more in the novel the film is loosely based on than in the action presented by the film itself. Still, there are many parallels to be drawn between The Running Man and The Hunger Games. While Ben Richards - played by Arnie - is a volunteer for the game, he is so under duress. The show is presented on television to a baying audience who revel in all of the death and carnage, plus there is a special arena set up for the participants to do battle. Of course, being an 80s action film the presentation is completely different and far more over the top, but many of the themes are still present, if underplayed. The main difference in the film is that Richards is tasked with facing professional killers, rather than other people who have been selected from the prison population, meaning he faces a slightly different challenge to that faced by Katniss Everdeen. However, even then you could make an argument for a similarity between the professional killers and those participants in the Hunger Games who have trained their entire lives for the opportunity.