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Twitter Users Are Noticing That Hollywood Makes ‘The Same Movie’ Every Year, Post 9 Convincing Side-By-Side Examples
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Twitter Users Are Noticing That Hollywood Makes ‘The Same Movie’ Every Year, Post 9 Convincing Side-By-Side Examples

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Have you ever watched a movie for the first time and thought you’ve already seen it? Well, that’s because you probably have. Take No Strings Attached and Friends with Benefits, both released in 2011. The first one is about a guy and girl who try to keep their relationship strictly physical, but it’s not long before they learn that they want something more. The second features a young man and woman who decide to take their friendship to the next level without becoming a couple, but soon discover that adding sex only leads to complications. No wonder you might have flashbacks about the one watching the other.

Recently, movie buff and Twitter user Kris made a thread, highlighting the times Hollywood made almost the exact same movie twice in the same year. To make their point, Kris even created side-by-side comparisons of the posters for those movies. The thread immediately went viral, generating over 232K likes.

Image credits: KrisTosAplSauce

Image credits: KrisTosAplSauce

Image credits: KrisTosAplSauce

Image credits: KrisTosAplSauce

Image credits: KrisTosAplSauce

Image credits: KrisTosAplSauce

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Image credits: KrisTosAplSauce

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Image credits: KrisTosAplSauce

Image credits: KrisTosAplSauce

Image credits: KrisTosAplSauce

Image credits: KrisTosAplSauce

Image credits: KrisTosAplSauce

Image credits: KrisTosAplSauce

Of course, anyone who says there is a Hollywood movie that doesn’t follow rules and structures is kidding themselves. But there are plenty of universally acclaimed movies that explore similar themes and/or characters yet they don’t feel like the same story. Why?

Story analyst Daniel P. Calvisi says it’s important to make a distinction between formula and form. “A formula would dictate what you write. A form is dictating how you structure it, at what point do you reveal things, at what point should the story keep moving forward and keep flowing rather than stop dead in its tracks or just have an 8-page dialogue scene. So it’s not formula, it’s form,” he said in an interview for Film Courage.

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After posting the thread, Kris continued his research and stumbled upon more interesting similarities

Image credits: KrisTosAplSauce

Image credits: KrisTosAplSauce

Calvisi thinks it’s all about how well a movie explores certain themes and characters. So what if someone else has already done it, if movie makers really commit themselves, they will come up with something fresh and original to add. On the other hand, if you take that away, even a well-shot piece might become forgetable. To illustrate, the story analyst turns to Logan. “It was very different from a lot of other superhero films and I think the audience responded because of that,” he said. “There was more character, it was darker, it was more mature but once he starts slashing in those action scenes, I honestly get a little bored. I’ve seen Wolverine slash with his claws in what, 7 or 8 movies by now (maybe more)? So those long extended action scenes and battle scenes and car chases for me don’t impress me so much because I’ve seen them in so many movies.”

So why does this happen? Is it because movie makers aren’t willing to risk their reputation with something bold that might offend someone or get misunderstood? Or have they totally given up on their ambitions and just want to make a sure buck? Or maybe it’s something else? Tell us in the comments below.

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Soon, other people started sharing their insights as well

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stimpy avatar
Stimpy
Community Member
3 years ago DotsCreated by potrace 1.15, written by Peter Selinger 2001-2017

Well, ok heard those were most often 'spite movies', were one was specifically made to draw audience from the other and sabotage it's box office revenues...

alchristensen avatar
Al Christensen
Community Member
3 years ago DotsCreated by potrace 1.15, written by Peter Selinger 2001-2017

I've guess I've been around too long and seen too many movies, because this isn't news to me.

sean_bullough avatar
Sean Harrison
Community Member
3 years ago DotsCreated by potrace 1.15, written by Peter Selinger 2001-2017

Battleship and Pacific Rim have nothing in common with each other.

finfrosk avatar
Tor Rolf Strøm
Community Member
3 years ago DotsCreated by potrace 1.15, written by Peter Selinger 2001-2017

Oh my god, you noticed!! Not like this has been a known fact for incredibly many years or anything. Congrats.

markymarky270270 avatar
Mark
Community Member
3 years ago DotsCreated by potrace 1.15, written by Peter Selinger 2001-2017

Why have one when you can have two at twice the price.

deathmetalkitty avatar
Death Metal Kitty
Community Member
3 years ago DotsCreated by potrace 1.15, written by Peter Selinger 2001-2017

The phenomenon is called twin films: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Twin_films

kaitlyndsouza avatar
kAiTLyN
Community Member
3 years ago DotsCreated by potrace 1.15, written by Peter Selinger 2001-2017

i think The Silence is more like A Quiet Place, since they both are about deaf people and their families. but The Silence is also like BirdBox since they both are aiming to reach a safe place and encounter people who are brainwashed. its kind of a trio here.

elia84631 avatar
elia 84631
Community Member
3 years ago DotsCreated by potrace 1.15, written by Peter Selinger 2001-2017

Some of them are different movies but with same thematology

benjithegreat avatar
Phart
Community Member
3 years ago (edited) DotsCreated by potrace 1.15, written by Peter Selinger 2001-2017

They're just now figuring this out?!! It's been obvious for decades... Then again, I guess Twitter is only 14 now, so just starting to understand the world. Interesting how it still feels very much like a child. Welcome to the world, dumbasses...

dfreg avatar
Leodavinci
Community Member
3 years ago DotsCreated by potrace 1.15, written by Peter Selinger 2001-2017

1) Some of these are a real reach to make a connection, 2) others are coincidence because of a common theme/idea, and 3) others are attempts by one party to capitalize on something by another. Ex: 1) Battleship and Pacific Rim. 2) Flushed Away and Ratatouille. 3) Bugs Life started production first, but Antz released first.

barryparker avatar
Barry Parker
Community Member
3 years ago DotsCreated by potrace 1.15, written by Peter Selinger 2001-2017

People, this is competing studios that dig up comparable scripts as other studios. It's been going on forever. They hear so and so is making an apocalypse movie about an asteroid and they say, "hey, what script do we have like that? Let's get on it!"

nataliamorgadonardi avatar
NMN
Community Member
3 years ago DotsCreated by potrace 1.15, written by Peter Selinger 2001-2017

Bewulf: 3 of them in 2007, two had I guess the same title almost

admfrncs avatar
Adam Francis
Community Member
3 years ago DotsCreated by potrace 1.15, written by Peter Selinger 2001-2017

It goes way beyond this. Movies are made again and again and again. Hollywood doesn't want original ideas. They want ideas that sell. The thinking is if an idea worked once, it'll work again. That's how all business works in the U.S.

andiibowsher avatar
Andii Bowsher
Community Member
3 years ago DotsCreated by potrace 1.15, written by Peter Selinger 2001-2017

I first noticed this with Groundhog Day. The same year or within a short time there was another film with a very similar time loop story -only now it's so long ago I can't remember what it was (arguably better, though, than the now more famous Groundhog day). Anyone recall the name of the analogue film?

joyjackson_1 avatar
JOY JACKSON
Community Member
3 years ago DotsCreated by potrace 1.15, written by Peter Selinger 2001-2017

why does tom holland always look like a slightly altered animated tom holland onward tom holland is just tom holland with blue skin and a long nose

edie_5 avatar
Hannah Baker
Community Member
3 years ago DotsCreated by potrace 1.15, written by Peter Selinger 2001-2017

not only movies but look at how many tv shows are remakes of older ones? Hawaii five o, magnum pi and a c**p load of others. Even Roswell new mex. is a remake of Roswell 99 It like there is no imagination in Hollywood.

davidhorvath avatar
Dávid Horváth
Community Member
3 years ago DotsCreated by potrace 1.15, written by Peter Selinger 2001-2017

Wyatt Earp VS Tombstone (1993). Same story, same characters, same hot shot starts. (photos: IMDB) Whyatt-Ear...8c-png.jpg Whyatt-Earp-VS-Tombstone-5e9b35148938c-png.jpg

superwittysmitty avatar
SuperWitty Smitty
Community Member
3 years ago DotsCreated by potrace 1.15, written by Peter Selinger 2001-2017

This really isn't "news" but I guess there are people on Twitter who weren't aware of this. I remember realizing that Natalie Portman worked with Mila Kunis on Black Swan, which came out in 2010. This is so close to the release of No Strings Attached and Friends With Benefits in 2011 that it MUST have been a topic of discussion between them since they were both making virtually the same movie simultaneously. Deep down there must have been an element of competition: which movie would do better at the box office? Even stranger, the guy Natalie was hooking up in her movie was Mila's boyfriend and soon-to-be-husband in real life! I wonder how friendly the two actresses were in real life and how these movies affected their relationship. According to IMDb and Rotten Tomatoes, Mila's Friends with Benefits has made slightly more money and has a slightly higher rating than Natalie's No Strings Attached. Neither one's career has done really well since then but they're both hanging in there.

juanluissalasgonzalez avatar
juan luis salas gonzalez
Community Member
3 years ago DotsCreated by potrace 1.15, written by Peter Selinger 2001-2017

Pacific Rim is a VERY BAD copy from Evangelion (Japanese Anime) , its almost sad to watch

francesami avatar
Francesa Miller
Community Member
3 years ago DotsCreated by potrace 1.15, written by Peter Selinger 2001-2017

"Tornado" and "Twister" both 1996 Don't forget "Volcano" and "Dante's Peak" 1997 Okay, forget them.

nataliamorgadonardi avatar
NMN
Community Member
3 years ago DotsCreated by potrace 1.15, written by Peter Selinger 2001-2017

Sweeney Todd: a serious one in 2006 then Tim Burton's version in 2007

darkdogzstudioz avatar
Alan Smith
Community Member
3 years ago DotsCreated by potrace 1.15, written by Peter Selinger 2001-2017

battleship: a bunch of washed up music 'artists' try and stop alien robots. pacific rim: kickass giant robot made by humans kicks a*s of giant monsters. the only thing they have in common is an attachment to the ocean.

stejohnson674 avatar
Stephanie Johnson
Community Member
3 years ago DotsCreated by potrace 1.15, written by Peter Selinger 2001-2017

I'm confused on why I can't comment on each one. Basically some are a definite yes others u could debate about how they actually are different 😊

finfrosk avatar
Tor Rolf Strøm
Community Member
3 years ago DotsCreated by potrace 1.15, written by Peter Selinger 2001-2017

Also.. lots of these are totally wrong. Two studios making a movie about the exact same thing, is not the same as two movies kinda sorta about the same thing-ish.

stimpy avatar
Stimpy
Community Member
3 years ago DotsCreated by potrace 1.15, written by Peter Selinger 2001-2017

Well, ok heard those were most often 'spite movies', were one was specifically made to draw audience from the other and sabotage it's box office revenues...

alchristensen avatar
Al Christensen
Community Member
3 years ago DotsCreated by potrace 1.15, written by Peter Selinger 2001-2017

I've guess I've been around too long and seen too many movies, because this isn't news to me.

sean_bullough avatar
Sean Harrison
Community Member
3 years ago DotsCreated by potrace 1.15, written by Peter Selinger 2001-2017

Battleship and Pacific Rim have nothing in common with each other.

finfrosk avatar
Tor Rolf Strøm
Community Member
3 years ago DotsCreated by potrace 1.15, written by Peter Selinger 2001-2017

Oh my god, you noticed!! Not like this has been a known fact for incredibly many years or anything. Congrats.

markymarky270270 avatar
Mark
Community Member
3 years ago DotsCreated by potrace 1.15, written by Peter Selinger 2001-2017

Why have one when you can have two at twice the price.

deathmetalkitty avatar
Death Metal Kitty
Community Member
3 years ago DotsCreated by potrace 1.15, written by Peter Selinger 2001-2017

The phenomenon is called twin films: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Twin_films

kaitlyndsouza avatar
kAiTLyN
Community Member
3 years ago DotsCreated by potrace 1.15, written by Peter Selinger 2001-2017

i think The Silence is more like A Quiet Place, since they both are about deaf people and their families. but The Silence is also like BirdBox since they both are aiming to reach a safe place and encounter people who are brainwashed. its kind of a trio here.

elia84631 avatar
elia 84631
Community Member
3 years ago DotsCreated by potrace 1.15, written by Peter Selinger 2001-2017

Some of them are different movies but with same thematology

benjithegreat avatar
Phart
Community Member
3 years ago (edited) DotsCreated by potrace 1.15, written by Peter Selinger 2001-2017

They're just now figuring this out?!! It's been obvious for decades... Then again, I guess Twitter is only 14 now, so just starting to understand the world. Interesting how it still feels very much like a child. Welcome to the world, dumbasses...

dfreg avatar
Leodavinci
Community Member
3 years ago DotsCreated by potrace 1.15, written by Peter Selinger 2001-2017

1) Some of these are a real reach to make a connection, 2) others are coincidence because of a common theme/idea, and 3) others are attempts by one party to capitalize on something by another. Ex: 1) Battleship and Pacific Rim. 2) Flushed Away and Ratatouille. 3) Bugs Life started production first, but Antz released first.

barryparker avatar
Barry Parker
Community Member
3 years ago DotsCreated by potrace 1.15, written by Peter Selinger 2001-2017

People, this is competing studios that dig up comparable scripts as other studios. It's been going on forever. They hear so and so is making an apocalypse movie about an asteroid and they say, "hey, what script do we have like that? Let's get on it!"

nataliamorgadonardi avatar
NMN
Community Member
3 years ago DotsCreated by potrace 1.15, written by Peter Selinger 2001-2017

Bewulf: 3 of them in 2007, two had I guess the same title almost

admfrncs avatar
Adam Francis
Community Member
3 years ago DotsCreated by potrace 1.15, written by Peter Selinger 2001-2017

It goes way beyond this. Movies are made again and again and again. Hollywood doesn't want original ideas. They want ideas that sell. The thinking is if an idea worked once, it'll work again. That's how all business works in the U.S.

andiibowsher avatar
Andii Bowsher
Community Member
3 years ago DotsCreated by potrace 1.15, written by Peter Selinger 2001-2017

I first noticed this with Groundhog Day. The same year or within a short time there was another film with a very similar time loop story -only now it's so long ago I can't remember what it was (arguably better, though, than the now more famous Groundhog day). Anyone recall the name of the analogue film?

joyjackson_1 avatar
JOY JACKSON
Community Member
3 years ago DotsCreated by potrace 1.15, written by Peter Selinger 2001-2017

why does tom holland always look like a slightly altered animated tom holland onward tom holland is just tom holland with blue skin and a long nose

edie_5 avatar
Hannah Baker
Community Member
3 years ago DotsCreated by potrace 1.15, written by Peter Selinger 2001-2017

not only movies but look at how many tv shows are remakes of older ones? Hawaii five o, magnum pi and a c**p load of others. Even Roswell new mex. is a remake of Roswell 99 It like there is no imagination in Hollywood.

davidhorvath avatar
Dávid Horváth
Community Member
3 years ago DotsCreated by potrace 1.15, written by Peter Selinger 2001-2017

Wyatt Earp VS Tombstone (1993). Same story, same characters, same hot shot starts. (photos: IMDB) Whyatt-Ear...8c-png.jpg Whyatt-Earp-VS-Tombstone-5e9b35148938c-png.jpg

superwittysmitty avatar
SuperWitty Smitty
Community Member
3 years ago DotsCreated by potrace 1.15, written by Peter Selinger 2001-2017

This really isn't "news" but I guess there are people on Twitter who weren't aware of this. I remember realizing that Natalie Portman worked with Mila Kunis on Black Swan, which came out in 2010. This is so close to the release of No Strings Attached and Friends With Benefits in 2011 that it MUST have been a topic of discussion between them since they were both making virtually the same movie simultaneously. Deep down there must have been an element of competition: which movie would do better at the box office? Even stranger, the guy Natalie was hooking up in her movie was Mila's boyfriend and soon-to-be-husband in real life! I wonder how friendly the two actresses were in real life and how these movies affected their relationship. According to IMDb and Rotten Tomatoes, Mila's Friends with Benefits has made slightly more money and has a slightly higher rating than Natalie's No Strings Attached. Neither one's career has done really well since then but they're both hanging in there.

juanluissalasgonzalez avatar
juan luis salas gonzalez
Community Member
3 years ago DotsCreated by potrace 1.15, written by Peter Selinger 2001-2017

Pacific Rim is a VERY BAD copy from Evangelion (Japanese Anime) , its almost sad to watch

francesami avatar
Francesa Miller
Community Member
3 years ago DotsCreated by potrace 1.15, written by Peter Selinger 2001-2017

"Tornado" and "Twister" both 1996 Don't forget "Volcano" and "Dante's Peak" 1997 Okay, forget them.

nataliamorgadonardi avatar
NMN
Community Member
3 years ago DotsCreated by potrace 1.15, written by Peter Selinger 2001-2017

Sweeney Todd: a serious one in 2006 then Tim Burton's version in 2007

darkdogzstudioz avatar
Alan Smith
Community Member
3 years ago DotsCreated by potrace 1.15, written by Peter Selinger 2001-2017

battleship: a bunch of washed up music 'artists' try and stop alien robots. pacific rim: kickass giant robot made by humans kicks a*s of giant monsters. the only thing they have in common is an attachment to the ocean.

stejohnson674 avatar
Stephanie Johnson
Community Member
3 years ago DotsCreated by potrace 1.15, written by Peter Selinger 2001-2017

I'm confused on why I can't comment on each one. Basically some are a definite yes others u could debate about how they actually are different 😊

finfrosk avatar
Tor Rolf Strøm
Community Member
3 years ago DotsCreated by potrace 1.15, written by Peter Selinger 2001-2017

Also.. lots of these are totally wrong. Two studios making a movie about the exact same thing, is not the same as two movies kinda sorta about the same thing-ish.

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