Wikipedia once again has an article on this phenomenon:
Twin films.
In the
film industry, two or more films with similar plots or themes may be released within a close period of time. Sometimes, this may be coincidental as the result of two studios independently hoping to capitalize on a current trend.
Other times, however, a script will be bought and put into production by one studio, and a competing studio - which may hear about the production through word of mouth, trade papers (such as Variety), or through the internet - will put into production a film with a similar plotline, in an effort to capitalize on its box office potential.
Concept
These types of films are sometimes referred as copycat-films,[1][2] and differentiate themselves from similar concepts, like Mockbusters, in that both the original and the copycat are often full-budget Hollywood productions with a theatrical release, while mockbusters are often low budget or low-quality direct-to-DVD imitations (like the films produced by
The Asylum film studio).
2020s
Away (2020) and
Proxima (2019) are two movies about long space missions to Mars and on the ISS respectively which female mission commanders who have their relationship with their families strained by the long time of the separation.
2010s
A Quiet Place (2018) and
The Silence (2019) both feature a deaf teenage girl that has to fight an invasion of aliens or creatures that hunt based on sound. The Silence is based on a 2015 horror novel with the story.
Smallfoot (September 2018) Himalayan Yetis and humans discover each other, try to get along. Missing Link (April 2019) A Sasquatch teams with an explorer to find his Yeti relatives in the Himalayas. Abominable (September 2019) A young Yeti escapes a compound in Shanghai, befriends kids. Together they trek back to his home in the Himalayas.
Vice, Ex Machina, Automata and Chappie - 2015 films about robots/androids becoming self aware and dealing with prejudices aimed at artificial intelligence.
Cheap Thrills (2013) and Would You Rather (2012) - two horror/thriller films about decadent wealthy people offering struggling working individuals money in exchange for doing disgusting, self-destructive, or immoral actions.
The Snow Queen and Frozen - both are animation films based on Hans Christian Andersen's fairy tale The Snow Queen
Olympus Has Fallen (March 2013) & White House Down (June 2013) When you consider that "Olympus" is code name for the White House, even the titles are the same. Both films feature a violent White House takeover and a hero who must defeat the attackers while defending the president. Released 3 months apart.
Oblivion and After Earth Both films are set on a nearly deserted earth in the future. They have even a very similar movie poster.
Oblivion and Elysium Both films feature an earth with adverse living conditions and a totalitarian regime, in both films ideal living conditions can be found in a satellite structure orbiting earth (however in Oblivion this turns out to be a deception)
Battleship and American Warships - both movies are about an alien invasion attacking and disabling the military defenses on earth and the crew of a 2nd world war ship fighting back. Comparing the trailers both movies use quite similar shots of aliens attacking, while Battleship is a bi- budget movie using CGI images, American Warships (which was initially called American Battleship) looks like a low budget movie
Frankenweenie and ParaNorman Both films are stop motion-animated horror comedies, dealing with the reanimated dead.
Mirror Mirror and Snow White and the Huntsman Both films are modern versions of the Snow White fairytale by the Brothers Grimm. Judging from the trailers, both make heavy use of CGI imagery.
Melancholia and Another Earth Both films are about a depressed woman and the arrival of a mysterious planet
Kick-Ass and Super Both feature characters who possess no super abilities/powers who embark on vigilante justice under the disguise of homemade costumes and alter egos. Each confronts the difficulties of fighting evil while lacking special abilities, and both are joined, later in their stories, by characters who share similar vigilante motivations.
Friends with Benefits and No Strings Attached Romantic comedies both featuring 2 friends attempting to have an ongoing sexual relationship, while avoiding a romantic relationship and its accompanying complexities.
The Town and Takers Both are crime films from 2010 about a gang of robbers and the FBI pursuing them.
Megamind and Despicable Me are CG animated films featuring a super hero & super villain in relationship more akin to high school rivalry than good vs evil. Both films feature the antagonist/super villain as the lead and diminish somewhat the virtues of the superhero's character. Villains from both films, experience catharsis and become better people. Despicable Me features a host of sidekicks referred to as minions. Megamind has a single sidekick named Minion.
The Losers and RED Both films are ensemble-cast, comic book properties featuring black ops members.
While Abraham Lincoln: Vampire Hunter is a horror parody and Lincoln is a straightforward biography, both were high-profile films about America's 16th president released mere months apart in 2012 after years of no major films on this subject.
Both
Grimsby and
Hardcore prominently feature action storylines with fight/action sequences filmed from the lead character's
point of view.
Red Sparrow,
Atomic Blonde and
Anna are all Cold War thriller action movies focussing on a female spy (also referred to in the film's title).
2000s
Troy (2009), Alexander (2004) were both period action movies portraying Greek and Roman historical events respectively.
Avatar (2009), Surrogates (2009),
Gamer (2009),
Sleep Dealer (2008) all deal with people acting through remote robots or life forms to interact with environments as though they were really present. They are actually controlling from remote locations with the aid of technology to which they are connected.
Battle for Terra (2007) and Avatar (2009) are both computer animated films about humans invading an alien planet wherein a soldier from the human side allies with the planet natives to fight his own people.
Avatar (2009) and District 9 both portray aliens abused by humans, the protagonist changing sides (becoming gradually pro-alien), turning against the military-minded antagonist and eventually himself becoming an alien.
Repo! The Genetic Opera (2008) and Repossession Mambo (2009) feature a corporation that genetically manufacture organs to sell on installment plans, and send a brutal repossession man to collect the property if the clients fails to make payments. The director of
Repo! The Genetic Opera (2008) pitched the idea based on a musical to Universal Studios, who instead wanted a serious movie. In 2010 Universal released Repo Men with the same premise.
Bedtime Stories and Inkheart, both released in 2008, include stories being told in the movie that come true.
Chapter 27 (2007) and The Killing of John Lennon (2006) are both fictional accounts of the days leading to the murder of John Lennon told through the perspective of his killer, Mark David Chapman.
Next (2007) and Déjà Vu (2006) are both about using time manipulation to stop an imminent terrorist attack. Premonition (2007) is also about using time manipulation, but in this case, the main character is trying to prevent her husband's death. [citation needed]
Apocalypto (2006) and 10,000 BC (2008) both feature prehistoric civilizations where the main characters have to fight for their way of life after their village was raided by other tribes and the majority of villages were taken as slaves.
The Black Dahlia and Hollywoodland, both released in 2006 only a week apart, revolve around an unsolved homicide that both take place near or in
Hollywood in the 1940's resp. 1950's, both based upon true stories. [citation needed]
Turistas (2006) and Hostel (2006) In both films, unsuspecting tourists are lured into remote locations by locals with malicious intent.
The Dark (2005) and Silent Hill (2006) are both horror films where a woman enters a strange otherworld in search of her missing daughter. Both also star
Sean Bean in a small role, have similar style final scenes, and have been adapted from other media. [citation needed]
V for Vendetta (2005) and Children of Men (2006) are both sci-fi films set in future where most countries in the world are near-destroyed by natural disasters, riots and war. England has established a totalitarian regime that shields the country from outsiders. In both movies the society is portrayed as extremely racist and xenophobic. In both movies, the main characters are part of an underground movement.
Asylum (2005) and Notes on a Scandal (2006) are both British dramas about women of similar age who have an illicit affair at a public institution (respectively a mental asylum and a school) while being observed and manipulated by an older person. Both films were adapted from novels by screenwriter
Patrick Marber, who has himself commented on the similarity between them.
[1]
Invincible, Gridiron Gang, and Facing the Giants, all movies about underdog
football teams or players who rise above expectations, all released in September 2006. We Are Marshall also involves an underdog football program, recovering from a devastating plane crash, and was released a few months later in December[4] Of these, Gridiron Gang, which depicted a true story, also closely resembles 1974
Robert Aldrich film The Longest Yard (which featured
Burt Reynolds and was remade in 2005) in that both films were about prison inmates who played football and rose above expectations. Notably, The Longest Yard was remade with
Adam Sandler playing Burt Reynolds's character in the
film of the same name, and Reynolds was in the remake also.
Happy Feet (2006) and Surf's Up (2007) are both
computer-animated films starring
penguins. In
2005, the French documentary March of the Penguins, starring real-life penguins from
Antarctica, had been an unusual box-office success in the
United States.Cite error: A <ref> tag is missing the closing </ref> (see the
help page). Magician
Ricky Jay served as a technical consultant on both productions and briefly appeared on-screen in The Prestige. Similarly, the 2007 film Magicians also follows two rival stage conjurers. Strangely enough, earlier in 2006
Hugh Jackman and
Scarlett Johansson, stars of the film The Prestige, also starred in Woody Allen's Scoop (2005), a film set in the present day and also involving murder and stage magic. Also coincidentally, The Illusionist and Next (2007) (which also features a magician in its title role) both star
Jessica Biel.
Green Street Hooligans (2005) and The Football Factory (2005), both films having a story about the English hooligan community and their meetings to fight after the games. Also in both movies the football club
Milwall FC is part of the story, a rivalry against other teams in the F.A. Premier League.
Æon Flux (2005) and Ultraviolet (2006), both films are about a dystopian future and share a similar stylized sleek setting. Powerful female leads with distinct hairstyles try and undo the wrongs brought upon humanity by a powerful virus. [6]
Madagascar (2005) and The Wild (2006), both featuring zoo animals navigating the terrain of
New York City, and later being introduced to their natural habitat. Madagascar was successful financially and critically. The Wild, on the other hand, was a flop and frequently compared to Madagascar, even though it was initially conceived before that film. [7]
Sky High (2005) and Zoom (2006), both revolve around special high schools attended by
superheroes. The setting is also reminiscent of the X-Men films, and Zoom was released within weeks of X-Men: The Last Stand.[8]
The Cave, The Descent, both released theatrically in 2005, and The Cavern (originally entitled WIthIN before Sony Pictures altered the title to bank off the success of The Cave) on
DVD in 2006. All three films involve
spelunking and terrifying subterranean life that hunts down the principal characters. [9]
Elektra (2005) and Catwoman (2004). Two films, both based on female comic book characters (from Marvel and DC, respectively) who have unsteady love/hate relationships with (more popular) anti-heroes. Both characters started out as villainesses, both were resurrected, then had spin-offs and adventures as "good characters". [10]
Finding Nemo (2003) and Shark Tale (2004) are both CGI animated films in an underwater setting.
Garden State (2004) and Elizabethtown (2005), both feature young men who are miserable in their career when they learn of a family member dying. They return home, fall in love with a woman, and grieve for their dead family member. They must decide whether to return to their life or settle down with their new found love. After initially deciding to go back to their lives, they both change their minds and pursue love.[11]
Chasing Liberty and First Daughter, released in 2004, both center around the
U.S. President's daughter seeking her personal freedom; both met with critical and box office disaster. The film First Daughter was recently mislabeled as Chasing Liberty on the Time Warner Cable Network.[12]Spartan (2004) is also centered around the President's daughter, although in this case, her kidnap by rogue elements.
Phone Booth and Liberty Stands Still, released in 2002, each involved a protagonist pinned to a specific location (a phone booth and hot dog vendor cart, respectively) by a sniper trying to impart their target with epiphanies about their flawed lives.
[2]
The Piano Teacher, released 2001, and Secretary, released 2002, are two controversial films revolving around a female protagonist involved in
sado-masochism and
self-mutilation, with dysfunctional relationships both to her mother and to the male protagonist, who attempts to rescue her. While The Piano Teacher was a serious drama that ended unresolved, Secretary was a black comedy with a happy ending.
Ditto and Il Mare, two South Korean films released in 2000 in which two people living in different years are able to communicate with each other, using a mailbox and
ham radio, respectively. Ditto is also similar to the American film Frequency (also released in 2000), in which a man is able to communicate with his late father via ham radio.[13]Il Mare was later remade as the 2006 American film The Lake House.
Overnight Delivery (1998) and Road Trip (2000) College boy thinks his girlfriend, attending another college, is cheating, and sends nasty letter. Then thinks she's not cheating, takes goofy friends on a trip to her campus recover the package before she gets it.
The Curve (1998) and Dead Man On Campus (1998) College roommates try to get roommate to commit suicide in order to get a 4.0.
The Truman Show (1998) and EdTV (1999) are both about people who spend their lives as a
reality TV star (both films also happen to feature the actor
Harry Shearer). Like the above films, The Truman Show also deals with a false world of sorts. EdTV received a lukewarm response from critics for what they saw as a lighter, less memorable take on the same idea.
[4] While the Truman Show was critically acclaimed, winning awards. EdTV was in fact a remake from a movie from Quebec release in 1994 called Louis 19, le roi des ondes (Louis 19th, King of the Airwaves).
Deep Impact and Armageddon, released in 1998, were films that featured ensemble casts, both concerned a celestial body hitting the Earth, and both were major successes on a global scale.
[6]
Elizabeth and Shakespeare in Love, released in 1998, both are set in
Elizabethan times with
Elizabeth I as a main character. Strangely enough, both also star actors
Joseph Fiennes and
Geoffrey Rush. The two films competed for multiple Academy awards including Best Picture and Best Actress. As a rare moment in the Academy Awards history, two actresses received nominations for the same role in the same year:
Cate Blanchett was nominated the Best Actress for the role of Queen Elizabeth I in Elizabeth, while
Judi Dench was nominated (and won) the Best Supporting Actress for her portrayal of the same queen in Shakespeare in Love.
[9]
Also in 1998, Saving Private Ryan and The Thin Red Line, both high profile big budget World War II movies from well respected directors, featuring a large ensemble cast of semi-unknowns led by actors who had become famous for comic roles but transitioned into dramas, and featuring various cameos by other famous actors, also competed for Best Picture. [Coincidentally, the fifth film nominated was also a World War II film, Life Is Beautiful.]
Dante's Peak and Volcano, released in 1997, both deal with people containing the eruption of a volcano. Dante's Peak was successful, while Volcano was a flop domestically.
[11]
Independence Day and Mars Attacks, two alien-invasion movies released in 1996, feature numerous similarities in plot and characters, though Mars Attacks is more of a spoof on old B-movies, whereas Independence Day is a straight sci-fi action flick.
Powder (1995) and
Phenomenon (1996) are both about a misunderstood man with unusual abilities who causes a stir in a small rural town.
John Travolta does the same act again that year in
Michael (1996), except this time he's an angel, and not a phenom.
Babe and Gordy, released in 1995, both deal with speaking pigs. Babe was a critical and commercial success, while Gordy was a failure in both arenas.
Twister and Tornado!, both released in 1996, and both deal with tornado chasers in their line of work. Tornado! was a B-movie, while Twister was a huge box office success.
Groundhog Day (1993) and 12:01 (1993), both are about an individual stuck in a 24 hour time loop where the protagonist wakes every morning on the same day and experiences the events of that day over and over until they discover how to break the cycle. (12:01 is based on a
1973 short story previously made into a
short film in 1990)
Repossessed, a parody of The Exorcist (1973), was released to cinemas in 1990 at the same time as Exorcist III. Repossessed was forced to carry the following disclaimer on its advertising: "This motion picture parody is in no way connected to the makers or writers of The Exorcist or any of its sequels."
Dark Angel, released in the US as I Come In Peace, and Peacemaker (1990 film) were both films featuring alien police officers who chase wanted criminals to earth.
Romy and Michele's High School Reunion and Grosse Pointe Blank were released two weeks apart from each other in April 1997. While Blank is a crime comedy and Romy is more straightforward, both movies revolve around the main character(s) trying to make a good impression at their 10-year high school reunion.
The Abyss, Deepstar Six, Leviathan, The Evil Below, and Lords of the Deep were all released in 1989 and are underwater thrillers involving explorers discovering strange new (and in most of the movies hostile) creatures in the ocean. The Rift, released in 1990, had the same premise.
The Secret of My Succe$s (1988) and Working Girl (1989) are both about people starting new lower-level jobs in New York City, pretending to be executives, coming up with great ideas regarding takeovers, and getting the girl/guy that was "out of their league."
An American Tail and The Great Mouse Detective, both released in 1986, are animated feature films starring mice. An American Tail gained a lot of praise and grossed more than The Great Mouse Detective, which was still critically and commercially successful.
Back to the Future (1985) and Peggy Sue Got Married (1986) both feature protagonists who go back in time and meet high school versions of their family members, played by the same actors.
Weird Science, Real Genius, and My Science Project, which all debuted in August 1985, featured teens dabbling in mad science and winding up in over their heads. In all three, central character(s) are
nerds who are trying desperately to fit in with the popular crowd.
Porky's, The Last American Virgin, Screwballs and Losin' It were all released in 1982 and 1983. All four are sex comedies depicting a group of young male friends trying to lose their respective virginities or perform another sexually related mission.
The Vindicator (1986) and RoboCop (1987): both movies are about an innocent man who is left mutilated and near-dead by villains, is reconstructed into a
cyborg by a special-weapons company, and seeks revenge on the people responsible for his fate.
GoBots: Battle of the Rock Lords and The Transformers: The Movie were both theatrically released in 1986, and are both animated feature films derived from TV cartoons based on toy lines. Although the GoBots film was released to cinemas six months before the Transformers film, the latter was in production for the better part of two years, before the GoBots film began production (there is also evidence to suggest that the GoBots film was originally intended for television, and was rushed into theaters to beat Transformers).
Godspell and Jesus Christ Superstar, released within months of each other in 1973, are both adaptations of Broadway musicals based on the life of
Jesus Christ. Jesus Christ Superstar, the darker, more rock-oriented piece, was more successful from both critical and financial standpoints than Godspell.
[16][17]
John Boorman's Leo the Last and
Hal Ashby's The Landlord were released in the United States a week apart in May 1970. Both deal with issues of class and race and feature an upper-class white man who moves into a lower-class black neighborhood and gets involved with the residents.
[18]
The Warriors and The Wanderers are both 1979 films about gang wars between New York teenage street gangs of various ethnicities. The films have somewhat similar titles and share several minor actors and crew members.
Bloody Mama (1970) and The Grissom Gang (1971) are both based on the life story of
Ma Barker, although only the first film refers to Barker by her original name. Both take place in the American South of the 1930s and feature a gang of criminals led by a domineering mother.
[20]Big Bad Mama, a more fanciful retelling of the Barker myth would follow in 1974. See
1930s nostalgia films.
Star Wars and Close Encounters of the Third Kind were both released in 1977. Both movies were written by their respective directors (
George Lucas and
Steven Spielberg), earned more money than any other science-fiction film of the 1970s, and are regarded as two of the most influential sci-fi movies of all time, especially for their groundbreaking use of
special effects.
1960s
Stanley Kubrick's Dr. Strangelove and Sidney Lumet's Fail-Safe were both released within months of one another in 1964 and deal with the concept of accidental nuclear war, although Dr. Strangelove is satire, while Fail-Safe is a drama. Dr Strangelove was originally slated for release in November 1963 but was postponed due to the death of President
John F. Kennedy.
You're a Big Boy Now (1966) and The Graduate (1967) are offbeat comedies about late-blooming young men simultaneously rebelling against their parents and being torn between two women.
[21]
The 1946 Bugs Bunny cartoon Rhapsody Rabbit and the 1947 Tom and Jerry cartoon The Cat Concerto both feature a character (Bugs in the first, Tom in the second) trying to play Hungarian Rhapsody on the piano while being thwarted at every turn by a mouse (unnamed in the first, Jerry in the second).
William Wyler'sJezebel (1938) was reportedly created for
Bette Davis when she failed to win the highly coveted role of
Scarlett O'Hara in Gone with the Wind (1939). However, the movie was filmed and released before the part of Scarlett was even cast in 1939. In fact, the character of a Civil War debutante that Davis played harmed her chances of landing the Gone With the Wind role, because it was felt she had already played the Scarlett character the year before. Both films were about feisty, independent
Southern belles during the
American Civil War.
[23]