Déjà View: Movies With Similar Plots

Hollywood doubled-up on these stories.

Olympus Has Fallen and White House Down - Remakes and sequels are bad enough, but you know Hollywood has run out of stories when you see two eerily similar films hit theaters. However, when two films share a plot, only one can prevail.   Our case of déjà view starts with this year's duo of films about terrorists taking over the White House. While the more serious Olympus fared decently at the box office, the Jamie Foxx and Channing Tatum starrer White House Down was the summer's first certifiable flop.  (Photos from left: Millennium Films, Columbia Pictures)

1 / 10

Olympus Has Fallen and White House Down - Remakes and sequels are bad enough, but you know Hollywood has run out of stories when you see two eerily similar films hit theaters. However, when two films share a plot, only one can prevail. Our case of déjà view starts with this year's duo of films about terrorists taking over the White House. While the more serious Olympus fared decently at the box office, the Jamie Foxx and Channing Tatum starrer White House Down was the summer's first certifiable flop. (Photos from left: Millennium Films, Columbia Pictures)

Photo By Photos from left: Millennium Films

Deep Impact and Armageddon - These two movies about large space objects (a comet and asteroid, respectively) hurling toward Earth both did big business at the box office. But Deep Impact, starring Morgan Freeman, came in a distant second to Bruce Willis' Armageddon, which out-earned it by over $200 million.  (Photos from left: Paramount Pictures, Touchstone Pictures)

2 / 10

Deep Impact and Armageddon - These two movies about large space objects (a comet and asteroid, respectively) hurling toward Earth both did big business at the box office. But Deep Impact, starring Morgan Freeman, came in a distant second to Bruce Willis' Armageddon, which out-earned it by over $200 million. (Photos from left: Paramount Pictures, Touchstone Pictures)

Think Like a Man and He's Just Not That Into You - The ensemble comedies, both based on best-selling advice books, played to drastically different audiences, but the surprising success of Think Like a Man (which grossed nearly $100 million on a fraction of the budget of He's Just Not That Into You) proved to studios that Black rom coms have legs.   (Photos from left: Screen Gems Pictures, New Line Cinema)

3 / 10

Think Like a Man and He's Just Not That Into You - The ensemble comedies, both based on best-selling advice books, played to drastically different audiences, but the surprising success of Think Like a Man (which grossed nearly $100 million on a fraction of the budget of He's Just Not That Into You) proved to studios that Black rom coms have legs.  (Photos from left: Screen Gems Pictures, New Line Cinema)

Independence Day and The Arrival - No secret which of these films about humans fighting alien invaders became the box office story of 1996. Independence Day also had the added bonus of launching Will Smith's blockbuster streak.

4 / 10

Independence Day and The Arrival - No secret which of these films about humans fighting alien invaders became the box office story of 1996. Independence Day also had the added bonus of launching Will Smith's blockbuster streak.

Scary Movie and Shriek If You Know What I Did Last Friday the Thirteenth - Scary Movie won this on simplicity alone. The horror spoofs were both packed with talent (Marlon Wayans in Scary Movie, Coolio in Shriek), but the latter parody took up too much real estate on the marquee and was banished to direct-to-video.  (Photos from left: Dimension Films, Endless Entertainment)

5 / 10

Scary Movie and Shriek If You Know What I Did Last Friday the Thirteenth - Scary Movie won this on simplicity alone. The horror spoofs were both packed with talent (Marlon Wayans in Scary Movie, Coolio in Shriek), but the latter parody took up too much real estate on the marquee and was banished to direct-to-video. (Photos from left: Dimension Films, Endless Entertainment)

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Oblivion and After Earth - Neither of these post-apocalyptic adventure tales set on barren, charred versions of planet Earth lived up to their hype, but only one was considered a full-on box office disaster. Blockbuster scion Jaden Smith must be working on his next project, After Flop.

6 / 10

Oblivion and After Earth - Neither of these post-apocalyptic adventure tales set on barren, charred versions of planet Earth lived up to their hype, but only one was considered a full-on box office disaster. Blockbuster scion Jaden Smith must be working on his next project, After Flop.

The Road and The Book of Eli - Denzel Washington's version of the post-Apocalypse survivor's tale resonated far better with audiences, earning more than five times what The Road earned at the box office.   (Photos from left: Dimension Films, Silver Pictures)

7 / 10

The Road and The Book of Eli - Denzel Washington's version of the post-Apocalypse survivor's tale resonated far better with audiences, earning more than five times what The Road earned at the box office.  (Photos from left: Dimension Films, Silver Pictures)

Madagascar and The Wild - Both these animated films, about animals escaping New York City zoos in search of their native place, charmed critics, but Madagascar spawned two sequels. Jada Pinkett Smith and Chris Rock lent their voices for the franchise.  (Photos from left: Dreamworks, Walt Disney Pictures)

8 / 10

Madagascar and The Wild - Both these animated films, about animals escaping New York City zoos in search of their native place, charmed critics, but Madagascar spawned two sequels. Jada Pinkett Smith and Chris Rock lent their voices for the franchise. (Photos from left: Dreamworks, Walt Disney Pictures)

Matrix and The Thirteenth Floor - The Matrix became such a cultural and box office phenomenon when it released in 1998, its easy to forget that three other time-warping alternate reality films released that same year. The one that came closest (though still a very, very distant second) to the Oscar-nominated film was Thirteenth Floor. But the film's $18 million box office take is laughable compared to The Matrix's half-billion draw.  (Photos from left: Warner Bros Pictures, Columbia Pictures)

9 / 10

Matrix and The Thirteenth Floor - The Matrix became such a cultural and box office phenomenon when it released in 1998, its easy to forget that three other time-warping alternate reality films released that same year. The one that came closest (though still a very, very distant second) to the Oscar-nominated film was Thirteenth Floor. But the film's $18 million box office take is laughable compared to The Matrix's half-billion draw. (Photos from left: Warner Bros Pictures, Columbia Pictures)

The Heist and The Score - These crime films share the same basic plot, prestige casts and even five-letter titles, so why did The Score score $113 million compared to Heist's paltry $28 million? We'd like to believe the answer has to do with two words: Angela Bassett.  (Photos from left: Warner Bros Pictures, Paramount Pictures)

10 / 10

The Heist and The Score - These crime films share the same basic plot, prestige casts and even five-letter titles, so why did The Score score $113 million compared to Heist's paltry $28 million? We'd like to believe the answer has to do with two words: Angela Bassett. (Photos from left: Warner Bros Pictures, Paramount Pictures)