This Viral Twitter Thread Takes on Identical Hollywood Movies

Hollywood is a place full of original ideas and creators, but every so often a studio gets wind of a project elsewhere and chases its own version of it.

Well, recently on Twitter, a thread began where people were linking movies and their direct doppelgangers. 

And it's as wild as you think, with copycats across genres and eras. 

Check out the beginning of the thread! 

Why do these types of movies happen? There are many reasons, but perhaps the most obvious is that they're trying to copycat success. When a studio sees a certain genre or topic generating big box office bucks, they try to jump on the bandwagon and reap their own successes. 

These types of copycats often flop. 

Mostly because the original versions are usually more appreciated and capture the momentary zeitgeist. 

Occasionally you get hints of what other people are making and try to race them to the finish line. That's where things like Antz and A Bug's Life come into play. They were developed in secret and in direct competition with one another. 

The same goes with Snow White and the Huntsman versus Mirror Mirror. These are studios trying to control a title in the public domain. They want to control it within their brand so they can continue to hold the intellectual property and make sequels or spinoffs. 

Look at how Disney dominates titles in the public domain. 

But I also think most of the industry is chasing trends. 

Think about movies like Atomic Blonde chasing John Wick. They have similar premises and even shooting styles, but one has 3 successful sequels and the other struggled. 

Atomic Blonde was based on a comic book and I think people assumed it would appeal to the same crowds, but there was something more unique and interesting about John Wick that helped it translate better. Perhaps it was the worldbuilding, which was adjacent to our own. 

It felt big and new. Not like a spy movie we'd seen. 

But copying goes deeper than just loglines. 

Sometimes writers talk around town and big studios decide they want to chase similar plots in their catalog. Like Civil War and Batman v. Superman. 

These kinds of projects will always exist. 

Hollywood is massively competitive and great ideas are worth money. That's why people want to steal or replicate them for themselves. 

Should you worry about this stuff? 

Probably not. 

When it comes to writing your own ideas, write the movie or TV show you would watch. Don't worry about trends, just focus on telling the best story and let things take off from there.