You're sitting there in front of the television, and thirty minutes into the movie, you can swear that you've seen it before. But it is an entirely different movie, with different titles and castes! Hollywood puts out films that are basically twins.
So if you'd like to avoid them, or are interested in figuring out what these movies are, here's a list of the most obvious twins.
1. Armageddon (1998) and Deep Impact (1998)
A giant asteroid on a collision course with Earth. Humanity has one job, band together to save it or face extinction together as a group.
Both movies debuted the same year and were only a few months apart. You wonder if both films were going up against the same asteroid, except Bruce Willis and Robert Duvall were fighting from different ends. It could even be triplets if you consider 2021's Don't Look Up.
2. White House Down (2013) and London Has Fallen (2016)
If you like seeing Gerald Butler kick a terrorist butt, these movies are for you. While they exist in the same universe, the only difference between them is that one is set in DC, and the other is set in London.
3. Chasing Liberty (2004) and First Daughter (2004)
Unlike the previous two, Chasing Liberty and First Daughter is a romantic comedy with much lower stakes. The president's daughter is tired of the heavily guarded life that comes with hanging out with the secret service all day.
As she tries to live an everyday life, she finds love in the most unlikely places. So romantic — unless you're a part of the secret service. They were released in the same year too!
4. Titan AE (2000) and Guardians Of The Galaxy (2014)
After witnessing the death of a parent, they're abducted by aliens and taken to outer space, where they grow up as assertive badass that mask their inner pain with a sassy attitude.
He comes across some unlikely misfits who join him, including a female warrior and a talking animal. Together, they try to stop a blue alien from doing bad things. I could be talking about either movie and wouldn't be wrong.
5. No Strings Attached (2011) and Friends With Benefits (2011)
Can I copy your homework? Sure, just make it a slightly different cast. Both movies revolve around the same plot; to spice up their relationships, two friends decide to have sex with no emotional attachment. But as things progress, they fall for each other, and the rest is history.
6. The Prestige (2006) and The Illusionist (2006)
In a movie that dares you to question everything, The Prestige and The Illusionist revolve around magic and rival illusionists who take their rivalry up a notch with each passing minute.
While they have slightly different endings, they're basically the same movie. But we see Hugh Jackman do something other than Wolverine, so yay.
7. Happy Feet (2006) and Surfs Up (2007)
Suppose you're looking for a great watch about people going against the status quo and following their dreams. In that case, these movies are definitely for you.
Mumble is a Penguin with a tap dancing talent, and Cody is a Penguin who wants to surf. While they have different desires, they're animated films about penguins breaking the status quo.
8. Skyline (2010) and Battle: Los Angeles (2011)
Aliens love showing up in the US, but in these movies, they picked LA because why not? These movies are so similar that the producers of Battle took legal action against Skyline, accusing them of stealing ideas and equipment. Humans fighting for survival from an alien threat — that's all they are.
9. Oblivion (2013) and After Earth (2013)
With how things are going on Earth right now, we aren't too far off from the themes of these movies. They both showcase what an apocalyptic earth would look like after humanity is gone.
The film After Earth focuses on a father and son duo who have crashed on Earth and need to be rescued. The other, Oblivion, follows a drone operator who finds a group of humans still living on Earth.
10. Dredd (2012) and The Raid (2011)
Both movies follow law enforcement as they take on a criminal mastermind holed up on the highest floor of a skyscraper.
The main characters are forced to fight their way up through the goonies and take them down as they go along. It's like playing King of the Hill, except starring Sylvester Stallone.
11. The Jungle Book (2016) and Mowgli: The Legend Of The Jungle (2018)
Considering that both movies were based on the same novel by Rudyard Kipling, it makes sense that they're the same. A young boy, who wolves raised, tries to find his way in life as he navigates the politics of the jungle. It's a coming-of-age story like no other and a real tear-jerker too.
12. Upgrade (2018) and Venom (2018)
A twin movie is one thing, but when the main characters are Logan Marshall-Green and Tom Hardy, you wonder if they took the twin thing too seriously. Upgrade and Venom are stories of humans entering a symbiotic relationship with other beings, giving them superhuman abilities beyond their wildest dreams.
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This article was produced and syndicated by Wealth of Geeks.
Boloere Seibidor, fondly called B.S. is a Nigerian-based writer and poet. Her favorite topics to cover include music, especially Hip-Hop, film, lifestyle, and fashion. She's been published by Feral Journal, Fantasy Magazine, The Temz Review, and most notably, Wealth of Geeks. She enjoys romantic dinners, movie nights, and touring new sites. When she's not writing, she's delving back in time to the underground world of Hip-Hop, watching TikTok, or visiting the cinema.