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Battle Royale

Play trailer 0:30 Poster for Battle Royale 2000 1h 54m Mystery & Thriller Action Comedy Play Trailer Watchlist
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90% Tomatometer 51 Reviews 89% Popcornmeter 50,000+ Ratings
42 9th graders are sent to a deserted island. They are given a map, food, and various weapons. An explosive collar is fitted around their neck. If they break a rule, the collar explodes. Their mission: kill each other and be the last one standing. The last survivor is allowed to leave the island. If there is more than one survivor, the collars explode and kill them all.

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Battle Royale

Battle Royale

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Critics Consensus

Battle Royale is a controversial and violent parable of adolescence, heightening teenage melodrama with life-or-death stakes.

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Critics Reviews

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Sara Stewart New York Post 05/25/2012
3/4
Stylistically it's a beauty, with khaki-uniformed waifs fighting for their lives to a crashing classical score. Go to Full Review
A.O. Scott New York Times 05/24/2012
3.5/5
Awful deaths (and hysterical reactions to them) punctuate declarations of love and friendship, revelations of treachery and heavily armed expressions of angst. Go to Full Review
Joshua Rothkopf Time Out 05/22/2012
4/5
Forgive the film its small flaws of histrionic performances and cheap execution for the giddy rush of its banal, Verhoevenesque atmosphere... Go to Full Review
Gregory Nussen Screen Rant Oct 13
9/10
Kinji Fukasaku's dystopian high school-set murder spree is more prescient than ever. Go to Full Review
Panos Kotzathanasis Asian Movie Pulse 03/03/2024
8
Battle Royale” stands as a definite cult movie, from Takeshi Kitano's presence to the way it inspired Tarantino, to the violent portrayal of youth and sociopolitical criticism unfolds against a backdrop of dark humor and an evocative soundtrack. Go to Full Review
Javier G. Trigales Espinof 11/27/2023
3/5
The "groundbreaking" premise of Battle Royale remains a good black comedy diversion that's more conventional than some wanted it to be. [Full review in Spanish] Go to Full Review
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Audience Reviews

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Leslie A @Les233 1d Battle Royale definitely had an interesting plot, but it did make me uncomfortable because I felt bad that the characters were going through all this violence and hardships at such a young age. I was expecting just a typical survival plot, but it had a lot more themes that I didn't expect. See more Gitana R. @Gitana.R 4d Battle Royal is definitely a movie that I wasn't quite fond of. In some instances it felt like the movie was created to have the audience feel sentimental. The film displays characters traumatic experiences with family members making it easily relatable to the audience. If you are a fan of dystopian worlds like squid games you may even enjoy the film better. See more Elias M @Elias_miguel_502 4d In modern times, i myself would of wrote this off as another movie that is similar to squid game or other movies with the same plot trope. but of course, this movie came out in 2000, and the idea of a survival system made with tasks makes the movie interesting but far more darker when noticing the slight difference of everyone being around the age of 11-14. I enjoyed the movie and even cried a bit when they started flashbacking to their happy moments before being killed in a instant. -elias miguel See more Shanneal M. @RT11059013 5d Battle Royale feels less like a survival movie and more like a dark joke about how adults treat teenagers. It’s chaotic, brutal, and weirdly emotional at the same time. I liked how the movie shows normal classmates slowly breaking under pressure instead of turning everyone into action heroes. See more Ngọc Ánh Đ @RT00770051 6d Battle Royale made me feel tense and uncomfortable the whole time. It was hard to watch because the characters are so young, and the violence feels cruel instead of fun. I felt sad seeing friendships fall apart and people turn on each other just to survive. Even though it was disturbing, it stayed in my mind because it made me feel shocked, anxious, and emotional. See more Michael T @Michael3333 May 3 I found the movie to very interesting and intriguing right from the get go would recommend. See more Read all reviews
Battle Royale

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Movie Info

Synopsis 42 9th graders are sent to a deserted island. They are given a map, food, and various weapons. An explosive collar is fitted around their neck. If they break a rule, the collar explodes. Their mission: kill each other and be the last one standing. The last survivor is allowed to leave the island. If there is more than one survivor, the collars explode and kill them all.
Director
Kinji Fukasaku
Producer
Akio Kamatani, Tetsu Kayama, Masumi Okada, Masao Sato, Kenta Fukasaku, Kinji Fukasaku, Kimio Kataoka, Toshio Nabeshima, Chie Kobayashi
Screenwriter
Kenta Fukasaku
Production Co
WOWOW, Toei Company, AM Associates, MF Pictures, GAGA, Kobi Co., Battle Royale Prod. Committee, Toho Company, Nippon Shuppan Hanbai (Nippan) K.K.
Genre
Mystery & Thriller, Action, Comedy
Original Language
Japanese
Release Date (Theaters)
Dec 16, 2000, Original
Rerelease Date (Theaters)
Oct 12, 2025
Release Date (Streaming)
Nov 30, 2016
Runtime
1h 54m
Sound Mix
Dolby Digital