The Hunger Games By the time the film adaptation of "The Hunger Games" was released in 2012, the publisher had reported over 26 million "Hunger Games" trilogy books in print, including movie tie-in books. "The Hunger Games" universe is a dystopia set in Panem, a country consisting of the wealthy Capitol and 12 districts in varying states of poverty. Every year, children from the districts are selected to participate in a compulsory televised battle royale death match called The Hunger Games. The novels were all well received. In August 2012, the series ranked second, exceeded only by the "Harry Potter" series in NPR's
The Hunger Games (film) William Golding's "Lord of the Flies", "Metropolis", "Blade Runner", "Death Race 2000", and George Orwell's "Nineteen Eighty-Four". Manohla Dargis in "The New York Times" compares it to "Battle Royale", "Ender's Game", and "Twilight", but contrasts "The Hunger Games" in terms of how its "exciting" female protagonist Katniss "rescues herself with resourcefulness, guts and true aim". Steve Rose of "The Guardian" refers to the film as "think "Battle Royale" meets "The Running Man" meets "Survivor". Writing in "The Atlantic", Govindini Murty made a list of touchstones the film alludes to, from the ancient Greek, Roman and Egyptian civilizations to modern references