Spartacus
"Katniss follows the same arc from slave to gladiator to rebel to face of a war," The Hunger Games author Suzanne Collins is quoted as saying regarding the title character in the 1960 Stanley Kubrick classic starring Kirk Douglas.
Keep clicking for more movies that, either directly or not, led Hollywood to play the Games.
Logan's Run
The 1976 futuristic film revolves around a society where young people are exterminated upon turning 30. Thirty? Tributes wish they could live that long.
Battle Royale
Based on the novel of the same name, this 2000 Japanese flick's premise is so strikingly similar that many critics called The Hunger Games a "rip-off." But Collins insists she had never heard of the book or the movie until after she submitted her manuscript.
Rambo
Collins herself says that much of the weaponry, most notably Katniss's crossbow, was inspired by the popular Sylvester Stallone franchise.
The Fifth Element
Director Luc Besson's epic sci-fi adventure about saving the Earth was pretty cool and all thanks, in large part, to plenty of sweet and stylish duds—something flamboyant chaperone Effie Trinket can definitely appreciate.
Mad Max: Beyond Thunderdome
Before there was rock star Lenny Kravitz in The Hunger Games, there was pop star Tina Turner in this final chapter of Mel Gibson's Mad Max trilogy that finds our hero battling it out in an arena where the rules are simple: Two men enter. One man leaves.
Twilight
Much like the love triangle that developed between Edward, Bella and Jacob, Katniss also finds herself attracted to a couple of hotties—Gale and Peeta.
The Running Man
Arnold Schwarzenegger action flick in which convicted criminals known as "runners" fight for their lives in hopes of being set free, all for the viewing pleasure of folks at home in front of their TVs.
Death Race 2000
Cult classic featuring Sylvester Stallone taking part in a violent annual cross-country road race where drivers' scores are not only based on speed, but also for how many innocent bystanders they can mow down. Well, that's certainly one way to keep the citizens of a nation in distress, um, entertained.
Lord of the Flies
A group of boys stranded on a remote island coupled with an ever-increasing survival of the fittest mentality? 'Nuff said.
Rollerball
Take some football, throw in a little hockey, add a bit of motorcross and, or course, a whole lotta roller derby and you wind up with a spectator sport led by James Caan that inevitably becomes more dangerous—and deadly—to play.
Tomb Raider
Katniss may hail from District 12, but in movieland, she also comes from a long line of women like Angelina Jolie's Lara Croft, who are not only capable of kicking ass, but look pretty darn fine while doing it, too.