The most popular video game in the world is "Fortnite," a game that falls into the battle royale genre. A hundred players drop onto an island, and as the enclosed safety area shrinks over time, the goal is to be the last player standing by any means necessary (but usually murder involving weapons).

But that concept was shown on the big screen decades before the likes of "Call of Duty: Warzone" and "PUBG" hit the market. Below, we've rounded up the best movies in which the characters all have to murder each other in one central location — also known as a battle royale. If we missed any, let us know in the comments — or tell us whether you think "Guns Akimbo" with Daniel Radcliffe counts or not.

'Battle Royale' (2000)

There's a reason the video game genre is named battle royale, and it all has to do with this novel-turned-film from Kinji Fukasaku. In the movie, the Japanese government wants to curb juvenile delinquency, so they force a middle school class to travel to a remote island and fight to the death until one survivor wins. The concept was spun-off, ripped off, added to but never perfected quite like the OG battle royale movie.

'The Hunger Games' (2012)

The other main example of this style of storytelling was expanded upon in Suzanne Collins's "The Hunger Games" novels, which were turned into big-budget Hollywood blockbusters. Starring Jennifer Lawrence as Katniss Everdeen, "The Hunger Games" sees children forced into combat annually, and it's the classic style of a battle royale but with a dystopian sci-fi twist.

This film launched Lawrence into superstardom; she was more famous for her role as Katniss than she was for winning the Best Actress Oscar for "Silver Linings Playbook." They continue to pump the "Hunger Games" movies out, but we don't think anything is quite like seeing the original for the first time.

'The Belko Experiment' (2016)

Not many people know this, but James Gunn ("Guardians of the Galaxy," "The Suicide Squad") wrote this battle royale set in a corporate office. In the film, workers at the Bogota branch of Belko Industries are instructed to begin killing their co-workers or else they'll end up dead. Thus begins this horror-action-satire with lots of familiar faces, like David Dastmalchian, Michael Rooker, Tony Goldwyn, John C. McGinley and Sean Gunn.

'Smokin' Aces' (2006)

The point of a battle royale is to be the last survivor, but you can still mix that in with a little bit of king of the hill or juggernaut, where the goal is to get to a specific location or eliminate a particular target. And no film better exemplifies that twist on a battle royale than Joe Carnahan's extremely underrated "Smokin' Aces," in which a loaded cast all try to get to the top of a hotel penthouse to kill Jeremy Piven.

This was the first time Alicia Keys and Common acted in a movie, and they're joined by Ben Affleck, Ryan Reynolds, Andy Garcia, Chris Pine, Ray Liotta, Jason Bateman, Taraji P. Henson and Joel Edgerton. This movie rocks; it looks great, it's funny, it has great action and more people should see it.

'The Killing Room' (2009)

A tiny film that came and went, "The Killing Room" is the most minimalistic imagining of a battle royale. A small handful of volunteers are asked to be a part of an experiment, and as they begin to die one by one, they realize only one of them can survive. This is a psychological thriller with a ton of medical and scientific twists, anchored by a truly bugged-out Nick Cannon and appearances from Chloe Sevigny, Timothy Hutton, Shea Whigham and Peter Stormare.

'The Hunt' (2020)

The COVID pandemic really tanked the momentum and box office success of this satire-action film from writer Damon Lindelof. It opened in theaters the week of the lockdown, and was made available digitally at a time when nobody really wanted to watch Americans being hunted for sport in an allegory for the left-right political divide in our nation. So, the worst timing ever for a movie release, really. But Betty Gilpin is fantastic and this movie has a good twist ending! Too bad nobody saw it.

'The Running Man' (1987)

When it comes to "The Hunt" and "The Running Man," you might be thinking: "well, those are more like The Most Dangerous Game than a regular battle royale, by definition" — and to that, we say... who cares?

Featuring Arnold Schwarzenegger, Jesse Ventura and Richard Dawson, this is a great dystopian action film about a game show that can earn you a pardon and a tropical vacation. The irony in hiring Richard Dawson to be an evil game show host is that he was the most beloved game show host in the '70s for hosting the original run of "Family Feud."

[Image: YouTube]