They are much more common in film history than you might think: so-called twin films – that is, cinematic doppelgängers based on a similar or even identical basic idea because two (or more) production studios invested in related material around the same time. This unexpected competitive situation often leads to a real battle for the fastest possible distribution of the films – and ultimately for box office supremacy.
How do twin films come about?
The explanations for twin films range from industrial espionage to sending script ideas to different film studios to the simple fact that sometimes there are topics that are particularly important to people – which of course also makes them interesting to Hollywood. And sometimes it’s just pure coincidence!
In many cases, one of two projects must be put on hold when it becomes known that a similar competing film is already in the planning stages: For example, Ben Affleck and Matt Damon gave up on a biopic about gangster Whitey Bulger after hearing that a similar film, Johnny Depp’s crime thriller “Black Mass,” was already in the works. And in the case of the classic “Flaming inferno“ two major film studios even joined forces, to avoid box office rivalry – and equally capitalize on the idea of making an action thriller about a burning skyscraper.
Yet there are countless examples of cinematic twins, of which we’ve picked the 55 most interesting and surprising – from the legendary disaster movie duel between ‘Armageddon’ and ‘Deep Impact’ to 2022’s ‘Pinocchio’ double.
Which film was more successful, which was better? Find out in our special on the following pages!