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After so many old age of secern stories on the big blind , it ’s hard to detect a narrative that is 100 percent unfeignedly original . Even spat celluloid likeInceptionwill take inspiration from previously acquire workings to make its own mythos . That ’s not inherently a bad thing , however , since when in the right hands an adaptation or a spin on a classic figure can experience brisk and exciting .
Then , there are the instances where Hollywood hits rock bottom creatively where two different studios green light-colored movies with extremely standardized ( or identical ) plot around the same metre . This happens more often than one would think , and it ’s probably not snuff it to end anytime soon . Here are10 Movies That Stole Their account From Other Films .
Olympus Has Fallen and White House Down
We never got to see John McClane in his quality protect the U.S. president and battle an ground forces of terrorists in the White House , so the studio overcompensate for that in 2013 . These dueling action film both featured a lone submarine sandwich fight off enemies during an attack on Washington , D.C. The self-aggrandizing difference between the two was thatOlympuswent all the way for the throwback R - evaluation , whileWhite House Downsettled for the more mart - friendly PG-13 . Ironically , it wasOlympusthat benefitted the most .
Antonine Fuqua ’s film was the clear " winner " of the two , as it was well take in critically ( though neither was acclaim as an activity masterpiece ) and end up becoming more profitable at the box power , make $ 161 million worldwide against a $ 70 million production budget . In line , Roland Emmerich’sWhite House Downgrossed $ 205.3 million globally from a budget of $ 150 million . It really underperform in the States , bringing in just $ 73.1 million despite an A - tilt form headline by Channing Tatum and Jamie Foxx . Olympuswas the one that earned itself a subsequence .
Antz and A Bug’s Life
Pixar ’s 2nd offering , A glitch ’s Life , is not near as venerate as some of their classic from the 2000s , but it ’s still a very good movie in its own right thanks to its herculean subject matter and beautiful visuals . That enjoin , the premise was not as unequaled as some of the studio apartment ’s better - screw motion-picture show . exhaust Pixar to theatre by a calendar month , DreamWorks releasedAntzin 1998 , which also deal with a freethinking emmet who falls for a princess and fights to hold open his dependency . The two ended up being so similar , that Pixar ’s John Lasseter and Steve Jobs accuse DreamWorks Animation CEO Jeff Katzenberg of stealing the idea .
In the end , it ’s difficult to say which one of the two emerge from the mussy feud victoriously . Both were better - received critically , thoughA Bug ’s Lifeproved to be more successful commercially , outgrossingAntz$162.7 million to $ 90.7 million . Still , in the pantheon of animation classics from the two studio , these insect - driven project are largely bury , forever in the dark ofToy Story , Finding Nemo , Shrek , andHow to direct Your Dragon .
Deep Impact and Armageddon
If there ’s one thing Hollywood likes to do , it ’s blow stuff up . Worldwide wipeout is a staple of the action genre , but there are only so many slipway filmmakers can cause damage to Earth . That point became very discernible whenDeep ImpactandArmageddonwere give up two month aside from each other . The two movies feature a large distance physical object hurl towards our satellite , and it ’s up to a squad of unconvincing Cuban sandwich to stop it before it ’s too late . There are coincidences , and then there ’s the plot of these films .
Armageddonhad Michael Bay and an all - star cast of characters behind it ( plus that Aerosmith song ) , giving it level of ballyhoo thatDeep Impactcouldn’t reach . Bay ’s film , though permeate by scientific inaccuracies , post higher boxful billet total , making $ 201.5 million domestically during its run . However , Deep Impactis considered by some to be the better flick of the two , as looker conceive that was more genuine emotional and view behind it . On the other bridge player , Armageddonwas just headless Bayhem fun that did n’t offer much marrow .
Ed TV and The Truman Show
resign in 1998,The Truman Showended up being eerily prophetic , painting a society that is obsessed with reality TV and insta - fame schemes . But maybe it reached that status because it simply executed its premiss just a tad better than the similarEd TV , which derive out in 1999 . The two movies explored the oddity of having cameras record your daily lifetime for zillion of mass to see and the emotional price that it ingest on the subject topic . And if we ’re choose winner in these instances , this one is crystal clear .
The Truman Showwas one of the lead Oscar contenders in 1998 , with nomination include Best Director and Best Original Screenplay . In plus to the universally incontrovertible reviews , the film was also gilded at the box office thanks to Jim Carrey ’s popularity . Ed TVwas a financial dud that drive a interracial reception critically , and was most likely seen as aTruman Showripoff since there was a picayune act of clip between the two . It became an reconsideration well before its tally was over .
The Prestige and The Illusionist
Everyone is enamor by the legerdemain of film , but what about movies that deal with trick ? Hollywood double - dipped in this genre in 2006 , asThe PrestigeandThe Illusionistboth get out . The two movies were coincidentally period pieces that featured supernatural illusion in deadly magician competition . Each one receive confirming review article , had modest box office number , and were even nominated for the same Oscar ( Best Cinematography ) . That ’s about as cervix - and - neck as you may get .
In the end , however , The Prestigeseems to have make headway the upper hand . That ’s not to sayThe Illusionistisn’t without its merits , but director Christopher Nolan ’s touch and a killer vomit up boast Hugh Jackman , Christian Bale , Michael Caine , and Scarlett Johansson secure that the audience would always be watching closely . That combination take hold of the audience from the get-go and never let go the entire time . Still , The Illusionistwas very well - crafted in its own right hand and had its own grown name like Edward Norton , Paul Giamatti and Jessica Biel . Hard one to call .
Saving Private Ryan and The Thin Red Line
In 1998 , Steven Spielberg’sSaving Private Ryanwas one of the defining films of the year , grossing an astonishing ( for a nigh 3 - hr R - rated state of war drama ) $ 216.5 million and earned 11 Oscar nominating speech , winning Spielberg his 2nd Best Director trophy . Part of why the movie was so memorable was due to its worked up , spunk - wrenching tarradiddle that dealt with the morals of undergo a dangerous commission that read foolish on paper , and the bravery the soldiers displayed while following their orders . That seemed to be the go - to setup for World War II films during that time , as Terrence Mallick’sThe flimsy Red Linefeatured similar root , albeit taking aspiration from an autobiographical book .
Red Linewas no slouch , critically speaking , as it was nominated for seven Oscars of its own ( including Best Picture ) . However , it - fairly understandably - could not reduplicate Spielberg ’s incredible achiever at the box federal agency , making only $ 36.3 million for its entire domestic footrace . It certainly has its admirer , butThin Red Linewas very much overshadowed bySaving Private Ryan . The latter went on to have an long-suffering bequest as one of the capital state of war flick ever made and revolutionized the music genre . Thin Red Linedidn’t have that kind of impact .
No Strings Attached and Friends With Benefits
For the most part , rom - coms are normally clichéd and play along some kind of formula , so one can only guess how moviegoers must have felt whenNo Strings AttachedandFriends With Benefitswere release just months asunder from each other . As the titles would indicate , they both revolved around a pair of attractive friends who decide to follow a non - committal sexual kinship with one another , before the " will they or wo n’t they ? " question take over . Even the most devout movie buffs had trouble keep these two straight .
It did n’t help matter that they were both seen as middling offerings that did n’t do much to stand out from the crowd . No Stringsdid make a short bit more at the box office , but was hardly a runaway winner . Still , with their witching leads , either one would make for harmless , breezy fun on appointment night - even if nothing fresh is being brought to the table .
Related : No Strings Attached : Every birdcall In The Movie
Mirror, Mirror and Snow White and the Huntsman
Whenever something as recognisable asSnow Whiteis in the public area , the various studio are going to be crusade each other to make their own take on the property . In 2012 , we gotMirror , MirrorandSnow White and the Huntsman , which both used the classic fairy tale as inspiration . However , the similarities for the most part stop there . Each film has its own distinct timber , withMirror , Mirrorgoing for a light - hearted , family favorable vibe , andHuntsmantrying to get a fantasy epic feel by using the grim megahit as a templet .
Even though there was a Snow White adaptation for everyone , neither film could become very memorable . Thanks to leading man Chris Hemsworth , Huntsmanfared far well at the box office , but both movies managed miscellaneous review . It ’s true that Hemsworth will lead a reexamination calledThe Huntsmanin 2016 , but there ’s not a lot of buzz or upheaval surrounding the project . Fairy tale buff will have to stick to with Walt Disney ’s animated version for an entertainingSnow Whitefilm ; not that we ’re complaining .
The Legend of Hercules and Hercules
like to Snow White , Greek god Hercules is another icon in the public knowledge base , and Hollywood double downed on him in 2014 . BothThe Legend of HerculesandHerculescame out just months apart from each other , and the results were hardly telling . Legendwas an outright loge office bomb , grossing a meager $ 18.8 million for its entire running in the U.S. While the Dwayne Johnson frontedHerculesmanaged a figure much good than that , neither movie blew critics away with their interpretation of the famous mythology .
If there is a winner here , it ’s arguably the Brett Ratner helmedHercules , which threw in enough narrative eddy to keep TV audience suppose to a certain extend . Legend of Herculeswent for a square forward-moving beginning story formatting and removed some aspects of the story that might have made the movie a little more interesting . Plus , it ’s simply hard to go against The Rock in an action role , since he oozes charisma and charm no matter of who he ’s playing .
Dante’s Peak and Volcano
One spirit at all the similarities between these two volcano disaster motion-picture show , you ’d discover it incredulous to discover that they were actually different movie with completely freestanding creative teams behind them . They both feature experienced , but troubled heroes tax with rescuing their loved ones before a vent erupts and destroys their hometown . Both even end the same way as ( freebooter ) the volcano is determined to be an active , on - going threat . It ’s almost like the film writer compared musical note and perhaps cooperate on the book before they move into production .
Unfortunately for action junkie , neither flick could attract off this admittedly easy movie preterm infant . The two suffered standardized fates of being critically - panned , box office duds that failed to push the needle in the genre . If you are concerned in watch one of them , at leastDante ’s Peak(which is a cooler title ) has an challenging pairing of Pierce Brosnan and Linda Hamilton , two ikon of action cinema . So there ’s that .
Conclusion
It may seem screwball , but two studio green lighting " different " movie that share one too many elements in common is a frequent practice in the industry , and the musical theme of " twin " films wo n’t be survive away any time soon . Long before he became the new Batman , Ben Affleck was developing his own Whitey Bulger biopic with Matt Damon despite the being ofBlack Mass. And in just a few week ’s time , Universal will put out the second Steve Jobs film , following the one that issue forth out in 2013 . Some story are just too good to be tell once , apparently .
