10 Movie "Ripoffs" That Actually Weren't

And finally, we have one of the most blatant "ripoffs" in cinema history that, in fact, isn't at all.

1985's low-fi creature feature Ghoulies was instantly dismissed as one of the many Gremlins knock-offs produced throughout the 1980s, including Critters, Spookies, Hobgoblins, and so on.

But it might surprise you to learn that Ghoulies was actually an independent production that happened to be in development at the same time as Gremlins.

All the same, that didn't stop Warner Bros. from suing producer Charles Band in an attempt to stop him using the similar Ghoulies title. Somewhat hilariously, Warner Bros. lost the lawsuit.

Though Gremlins wrapped shooting five months before Ghoulies started, Band still planned for an accelerated production schedule that would get it in cinemas ahead of Gremlins' June 1984 release.

Ultimately that didn't happen due to Band running out of funds halfway through shooting, forcing him to spend months sourcing more money, in turn allowing Gremlins to be released first.

And so while it's easy to look at Ghoulies as yet another cynical cash-in on a studio hit, that actually wasn't the intent - at least not at first. 

In an amusing "everyone wins" outcome, though, Ghoulies made $35 million at the box office against a mere $5.5 million budget and spawned its own four-part franchise in the process.