10 Recent Movies That Were HUGE Ripoffs
4. All These Asylum Movies
It would be remiss to write about movie ripoffs without discussing The Asylum - the infamous schlock factory which has been producing "mockbuster" versions of hit movies for the last two decades, all in an attempt to trick your well-meaning grandparents into accidentally buying them amid the belief they're getting a legit Hollywood experience.
Some of the studio's more attention-grabbing past ripoffs include Snakes on a Train (Snakes on a Plane), Transmorphers (Transformers), and Atlantic Rim (Pacific Rim), and though The Asylum's profile has declined considerably in recent years, they're still plugging away producing their bafflingly profitable low-budget knock-offs.
2023 alone has seen them release ripoffs Methgator (Cocaine Bear), Transmorphers: Mech Beasts (Transformers: Rise of the Beasts), End Times (The Last of Us), Megalodon: The Frenzy (Meg 2: The Trench), and The Exorcists (Exorcist: Believer).
And while there's a strong chance you haven't seen any of these movies, The Asylum's shrewd business model - that is, making these ripoffs for an absolute pittance - ensures they've never lost money on one.
On one hand, it's about the most cynical way imaginable to make a movie, but on the other, it's hard to not respect the hustle and business acumen at least a little bit.