One of the most popular book-to-movie series in recent history, The Hunger Games hype is not over yet. Based on the 2020 novel The Hunger Games: The Ballad of Songbirds & Snakes, a new movie of the same title is now playing in theaters for all to enjoy. Acting as a prequel on the Hunger Games timeline, an increased depth into the history of the games is explored retroactively through the mind of the author, Suzanne Collins. While the film adaptation is sure to divert from the original novel in some ways, the spirit and adventure of the original movies will be maintained by director Francis Lawrence, who also directed the vast majority of the Hunger Games movies.
Excitement for this new film addition aside, one can only watch the original 4 movies so many times without needing a break and expanding ones movie scope. Thanks to the lineup of movies brought together below, any fan hungry for more movies like Hunger Games has multiple options to choose from.
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Divergent (2014)
Easily the most closely related, Divergent carries an eerily similar tone and theme that any Hunger Games fan is likely to gravitate towards. Also based on a book series around the same era, Divergent follows a young girl who is marked as a problem when they discover she does not fit into any 5 virtue factions of their ‘perfect’ dystopian society. From the beginning of this film, it’s easy to tell how similar this saga is in comparison to Hunger Games, with the evidence quickly piling up as the plot continues.
Battle Royale (2000)
A noticeably bloodier addition to this list, Battle Royale is a japanese action film that takes the base premise and runs with it. In a dystopian future Japan, a classroom of 9th graders are taken captive by the government and forced to fight to the death based on a law enacted after a revolution years prior. Promoted as one of Quentin Tarantino’s favorite movies of the last 2 decades, even with a few honorable references in Kill Bill: Vol. 1, the level of violence and carnage is guaranteed to be much higher.
Percy Jackson & The Olympians: The Lightning Thief (2010)
Following the trend of battling teenagers and blooming romance, Percy Jackson & The Olympians: The Lightning Thief is one of two movies that combines the aforementioned themes with Greek mythology. A struggling teenager named Percy Jackson (Logan Lerman) discovers he is a descendant of a Greek God, kick-starting his new adventure and pitting him in the center of a long-time battle of the gods and their offspring. While the movies did not stay as true to the books as The Hunger Games did, the entertainment in this movie is still a familiar likeness to what is so great about the Hunger Games.
Although this film wasn’t received particularly well, there is a Percy Jackson series arriving on Disney Plus next month that looks promising.
Guns Akimbo (2019)
Diverging a bit from the usual path of teenage romance novels, Guns Akimbo focuses more on the fight to survive for others’ enjoyment. After talking a big game on an underground, online, gladiator-like community called Skizm, Miles (Daniel Radcliffe) is hunted down and forced into a life-or-death battle against trained killers that know his exact location at all times. While the theme of survival is present, this selection fits more into the sub-genre of dark humor with a sprinkling of romantic tension.
The Maze Runner (2014)
One of the most thematically similar movie options on this list, The Maze Runner is set in a dystopian future where teenagers are pitted against each other in a variety of ways. Awoken in an elevator with no memory of his past, Thomas (Dylan O’Brien) finds himself amongst a group of young men trapped in a walled-off area and a giant, ominous maze as their only possible exit. While the plot seems to overall tiptoe the same line as the Hunger Games movies, there is an added element of mystery to this exciting trilogy.
Lord of the Flies (1963)
The film classic based on the 1954 William Golding novel of the same name, Lord of the Flies is such a pop culture staple that it likely inspired all of these films/stories to some degree. After their plane crashes and strands them on a remote, Pacific island, a group of young boys form their own savage tribes and begin to discover the darkest corners of human nature when faced with survival. Certainly veering off the path in terms of tone and modernity, Lord of the Flies is sure to satisfy that craving for on-screen, dramatic desperation.
The Tournament (2009)
For fans of Hunger Games that mostly enjoyed the gritty action sequences, The Tournament maintains a vaguely similar tone only more intense and more frequent. Trapped in a town where highly-trained, globally known assassins fight for an impressive cash prize, Father MacAvoy (Robert Carlyle) accidentally ingests one of the assassins’ trackers, unknowingly becoming a contestant in the competitive bloodbath. Likened moreso to Battle Royale (2000) or Guns Akimbo (2019), the high-octane, tournament-style action is really what this film does best.
Harry Potter and the Goblet of Fire (2005)
A selection from the iconic book-to-movie series that contains the most relevant plot details, Harry Potter and the Goblet of Fire is right up the alley of any Hunger Games fan. After being suspiciously selected to participate in the potentially deadly Triwizard Tournament, Harry (Daniel Radcliffe) must overcome multiple dangerous challenges against highly skilled witches and wizards. Interwoven with romance, adventure, friendship, and the occasional, necessary darkness, all boxes are checked and accounted for.
Check out our guide to the Harry Potter movie series for the rest of the films or dive into our picks for the best movies like Harry Potter.
Logan’s Run (1976)
One of the more thematically different movies on this list, Logan’s Run employs the fear of a dystopian rule that dictates the age one is most likely to be hunted down. In a dystopian future where civilians are willingly ‘re-incarnated’ in fire once they turn 30, enforcement officer Logan (Michael York) is tasked with hunting the ‘runners’ of society until he becomes one himself. While the effects are a bit dated and campy, there is a wealth of sci-fi theories and concepts that truly carry the narrative.
The Hunt (2020)
In what could be summarized as more of a Saw meets Squid Games movie, The Hunt is a dark, satirical action-thriller that is definitely not for younger viewers. Abducted by a group of disgustingly rich global billionaires, a group of random individuals realizes that they are being hunted for betting sport and decide to fight back. The main similarity that audiences will enjoy is the main character; an unexpectedly capable fighter who is determined to take down the existing, oppressive system.
Connor Sheppard is an Oregon-grown culture writer for IGN with previous work on The Manual. Intrigued from a young age by pop culture and movies, he has developed into an experienced critic and consumer of all things media. From his time earning a bachelor’s degree in digital communications at Oregon State University, he found a love for writing and appreciating specific actors and directors in the many films he watches.
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