The Japanese Film ‘Hunger Games’ Tried To Replace Is Finally Getting a 4K Ultra HD Release

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Years before The Hunger Games books were published, there was a film that featured kids fighting to the death in a remote location. Now, the film will have a physical release, in time for its 25th anniversary. Battle Royale is a Japanese dystopian action movie directed by Kinji Fukasaku, released on December 16, 2000. For its 25th anniversary, Lionsgate will release a special physical edition featuring a 4 K Ultra HD version of the film. Pre-orders for the Battle Royale 25th anniversary physical release have opened and will begin shipping on December 9, 2025.

At a listed price of $39.99 USD, collectors will receive not only the original film but also the director’s cut and special bonus features. Both discs will be contained in a steelbook case, and if you get the T-shirt bundle for $59.99 USD, it also includes a black T-shirt featuring the film’s characters and the Battle Royale logo.

Battle Royale follows a group of high school students who were selected at random to fight in a yearly game called Battle Royale. Contestants will have three days to fight each other until a single victor emerges, and the collars around their necks will explode if they don’t cooperate. Battle Royale grossed over $1.3 million at the global box office and earned a high Certified Fresh score of 90% on Rotten Tomatoes, as well as a high audience score of 89%. Three years later, a sequel was released called Battle Royale II: Requiem, but unlike its predecessor, the follow-up didn’t fare well with fans and critics.

‘Battle Royale’s Influence on ‘Squid Game’

Battle Royale is one of many titles in which people are forced to fight to the death or risk being killed if they don’t follow the rules. One big franchise that’s similar to Battle Royale is The Hunger Games by Suzanne Collins. Since The Hunger Games rose in popularity, it has been heavily compared to Battle Royale by fans and critics alike. But another media franchise that was inspired by Battle Royale is Netflix’s Squid Game. In a 2021 report, its creator, Hwang Dong-hyuk, revealed that the 2000 Japanese film was one of the inspirations for creating this South Korean hit, along with other survival titles such as The Hunger Games and As the Gods Will. He stated that Japanese media were “great inspirations,” fantasizing about what it would be like to participate in these scenarios before deciding to use deadly kid games.