20 Great Movies That Were Accused Of Being Rip-Offs

5. The Hunger Games (2012)

When The Hunger Games first arrived on the scene, most people's reactions tended to be along the lines of "Awesome! Kids forced to fight one another to the death in a giant arena in a dystopian future - that sounds amazing!" That is, unless you'd already seen a little movie from Japan called Battle Royale, which is also clings to that exact plot, except that it - you know - came first. If so, your reaction was probably more like, "What the f*ck? Is this the American remake of Battle Royale? What's happening here?" The two ideas are, after all, very similar. How Much Of A Rip-Off Are We Talking? Okay, so Suzanne Collins' series of novels do cling to a very similar premise to that of Battle Royale, which - although turned into a successful Japanese film in 2000 - started life as a novel in 1995. The dystopian future, gladiator battle to the death, and the fact that said gladiator-styled battles take place to prevent citizen uprisings are also note for note similar. But once you break down the story elements, the two works are probably different enough. Collins has said that she never knew about Battle Royale before writing her book, and Battle Royale author Koushun Takami hasn't bothered to sue; in fact, he enjoys the attention it has brought to his own work. Overall Rip-Off Rating: 3/5