12 Blatant Copycat Movie Pairs (And Which Was Better)

A case of cinematic déjà vu.

A Bugs Life Antz
Dreamworks/Pixar

They say that originality is dead, and you need only look so far as the Hollywood machine and its constant churning out of cliched and trope filled film for proof. In a way it makes sense: why try something new and daring when a tried and tested formula has proved profitable in the past?

But sometimes a couple of movies come out that are so similar in content and close together in release dates that it seems something more suspicious than a lack of originality is going on. These films are known as ‘copycat movies’ or ‘twin films’ as Wikipedia likes to call them – movies so barely discernible from each other that you’d swear they’re nigh on the same film.

This can happen for many reasons. Often, it’s something as innocent as films cashing in on a topical issue or a movie trying to piggyback on another’s success but sometimes there’s something more nefarious at work like industrial espionage.

Whatever the motivation, there’s no denying we’ve seen a glut of suspiciously similar films in recent years. Here, we name them and shame them and pit them against each other in a bid for the title of ‘who did it better’.

12. The Illusionist & The Prestige

A Bugs Life Antz
Syncopy/Freestyle

They’re both about magicians, they’re both set in the late 19th century and they both have literary roots, Neil Burger’s The Illusionist being based on a short story by American writer Steven Milhouse and Christopher Nolan’s The Prestige on a book by British novelist Christopher Priest.

But to give each movie its due, beyond face value they actually aren’t all that similar. At the heart of The Illusionist is a lovelorn magician played by Edward Norton who uses his trickery to reunite with forbidden love interest Jessica Biel, whereas The Prestige is a story of obsession and rivalry between feuding stage magicians played by Christian Bale and Hugh Jackman with a little bit of sci-fi thrown in for good measure.

Which One Was Better?

Both films were a hit with critics and made plenty at the box office, so this is a close one. They’re both great movies, but The Prestige has the edge when it comes to plot twists and entertainment value.

Plus, The Prestige has a brilliant cameo from the late, great David Bowie as Nikola Tesla which gives it a zillion bonus points. Sorry, The Illusionist.

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