The acclaimed Pulp Fiction director is no stranger when it comes to speaking up against conventionally booming films in Hollywood. Last year, Quentin Tarantino was under fire for his disconcerting comment on Marvel actors NOT being considered as “movie stars”. Now, it seems no different for The Hunger Games franchise.
While making an appearance on Jimmy Kimmel Live!, the Oscar-winning director didn’t mince his words on expressing his blunt criticism regarding the globally acclaimed YA Dystopian novel adaptation of Suzanne Collins’ The Hunger Games franchise. Check out Tarantino’s full quote below:
“I’m a big fan of the Japanese movie, Battle Royale, which is what Hunger Games was based on,” Tarantino explained, “Well, Hunger Games just ripped it off. That would have been awesome [to have] directed Battle Royale.”
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Kinji Fukasaku’s dystopian thriller, Battle Royale, has been one of the director’s all-time favorite films to watch on repeat, so it’s no wonder that Tarantino noticed the sheer similarities between the two. In fact, The Hunger Games was also inspired by another: The Lottery by Shirley Jackson, which is a classic dystopian short story that tackles the same concept when it comes to “picking” an annual sacrifice for the survival of the town.
It is worth noting, though, that despite Tarantino’s criticism of the franchise, The Hunger Games grossed over $2.97 billion worldwide, and The Hunger Games: Catching Fire became the highest-grossing entry for the series with a whopping $865 million. Not to mention, there’s a prequel currently in the works, The Hunger Games: The Ballad of Songbirds and Snakes, that will focus on the events before Katniss Everdeen’s win for District 12 came to fruition.
The Hunger Games: The Ballad of Songbirds and Snakes is currently slated for release on November 17, 2023.
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