The 25 Most Shameless Rip-Off Movies That Still Made Billions

Hollywood often takes successful concepts from the past and repackages them for new audiences. It’s common for blockbuster movies to closely resemble older, lesser-known films, or projects released only a few years earlier. Sometimes this is seen as a respectful nod to the original, or simply a coincidence, but other times it’s criticized as outright copying. Several highly profitable films have faced these originality concerns. The following list highlights examples of movies that achieved significant financial success despite these criticisms.

‘Avatar’ (2009)

James Cameron’s film was a stunning visual achievement that became the highest-grossing movie ever made. Many viewers and critics pointed out the story closely resembled ‘Dances with Wolves,’ but set in a futuristic, science fiction world. The film centers on a soldier who goes undercover within a native population, eventually falls in love, and joins their fight against his own side. This well-known storyline let the filmmakers concentrate on creating incredible special effects, building on a plot structure that audiences already understood and enjoyed.

‘The Lion King’ (1994)

Disney’s beloved animated film became a huge hit and launched a hugely successful franchise. However, it sparked debate because of its strong similarities to the Japanese anime ‘Kimba the White Lion’ by Osamu Tezuka. Many characters and scenes looked almost exactly like those from the earlier anime. Disney insisted that any resemblance was simply accidental, even though there were clear parallels in how things looked and the types of characters used.

‘Star Wars: The Force Awakens’ (2015)

J.J. Abrams brought new life to the franchise by closely following the pattern of the very first ‘Star Wars’ movie from 1977. Many fans noticed the new film’s plot is remarkably similar to ‘A New Hope,’ featuring a droid with vital plans and a powerful weapon capable of destroying planets. The story also introduces a character who, like Luke Skywalker, is a desert dweller discovering hidden abilities. This approach of echoing the original proved highly successful, with the film earning over two billion dollars worldwide.

‘Joker’ (2019)

Directed by Todd Phillips, this intense and realistic film broke records as the first R-rated movie to earn over a billion dollars worldwide. Instead of relying on typical superhero storylines, the film takes its cues from classic movies by Martin Scorsese, such as ‘The King of Comedy’ and ‘Taxi Driver.’ It particularly echoes the work of Robert De Niro, especially in scenes depicting a struggling comedian’s downward spiral. Despite drawing heavily from these earlier films, it still achieved critical acclaim and huge commercial success.

‘The Hunger Games’ (2012)

The hugely popular dystopian film kicked off a major franchise with its story of teenagers compelled to fight for their lives on television. Some horror fans pointed out the story closely resembled the Japanese film ‘Battle Royale,’ which came out more than ten years earlier. The author of the original book said she didn’t discover the Japanese film until after she’d finished writing. The movie softened some of the violence to appeal to younger viewers and ultimately became a pop culture phenomenon.

‘The Secret Life of Pets’ (2016)

Illumination Entertainment had a huge success with their animated comedy about what pets get up to when their owners aren’t around. The story and characters are very similar to those in Pixar’s ‘Toy Story’ – it features a well-loved pet who feels insecure when a new, bigger animal joins the family. By imagining what animals do behind closed doors, just like ‘Toy Story’ did with toys, the film earned almost nine hundred million dollars worldwide.

‘Cars’ (2006)

As a huge Pixar fan, I was surprised to notice how much ‘Cars’ borrows from the 1991 film ‘Doc Hollywood’. It’s basically the same story: a talented but arrogant guy finds himself stuck in a small town and has to do some good for the community before realizing there’s more to life than just rushing around. Honestly, Lightning McQueen’s journey feels almost identical to Michael J. Fox’s character in ‘Doc Hollywood’. And it’s incredible – this franchise has made billions just from selling toys and other merchandise!

‘Inception’ (2010)

Christopher Nolan’s intricate heist film, set inside the world of dreams, immediately drew comparisons from anime fans to the 2006 movie ‘Paprika.’ ‘Paprika’ centers around a device that lets therapists enter patients’ dreams, and many scenes in Nolan’s blockbuster closely resemble those from the animated film. Despite the similarities, the film was a huge success, earning over $800 million and receiving widespread praise from critics.

‘The Matrix’ (1999)

The Wachowskis’ groundbreaking sci-fi film revolutionized action movies and made audiences question what’s real. The story has similarities to the 1998 film ‘Dark City,’ where the main character learns his world isn’t what it seems and is controlled by mysterious figures. Critics also pointed out the movie’s visual look and thought-provoking ideas were inspired by ‘Ghost in the Shell.’ The franchise has been incredibly successful, continuing to earn money through new installments and related products.

‘Finding Nemo’ (2003)

Pixar’s ‘Finding Nemo’ was a huge box office hit, telling the story of a clownfish’s journey to find his son. The studio faced a lawsuit from a French author who claimed the movie copied elements from his children’s book, ‘Pierrot the Clownfish,’ which also featured a fish with a disability. Although the lawsuit was ultimately dropped, many people noticed the similarities between the two stories. ‘Finding Nemo’ continues to be one of the highest-grossing animated films of all time.

‘Aladdin’ (1992)

This beloved Disney film from the Renaissance era follows a poor street kid who discovers a magical lamp and overcomes a wicked advisor. However, the movie was criticized for borrowing ideas and designs from a long-in-development animated film called ‘The Thief and the Cobbler’. Animator Richard Williams dedicated years to his ambitious project, only to see a comparable movie released earlier and become a worldwide success. Fans have noted striking similarities between the genie character and the villain’s look in both films.

‘Star Wars: A New Hope’ (1977)

George Lucas revolutionized the entertainment world with his space opera, drawing inspiration from a variety of sources. The story shares strong similarities with Akira Kurosawa’s ‘The Hidden Fortress,’ which centers on two arguing commoners protecting a princess as they travel through dangerous lands. Lucas himself admitted Kurosawa was a major influence. By combining elements of classic samurai films with the adventure of Flash Gordon serials, he built a hugely successful, multi-billion dollar franchise.

‘The Fast and the Furious’ (2001)

The first ‘Fast & Furious’ movie kicked off a hugely popular series centered around the world of illegal street racing. The story follows a similar path to ‘Point Break,’ but with cars instead of waves. An undercover cop goes deep into a group of racers suspected of robberies, and unexpectedly forms a connection with their leader. This winning combination led to over ten films and billions of dollars in revenue.

‘A Bug’s Life’ (1998)

Pixar followed up the hit ‘Toy Story’ with this animated film about a colony of ants. The story centers on the ants recruiting a team of brave bugs to protect them from a bullying group of grasshoppers. This plot is very similar to the classic film ‘Seven Samurai’ by Akira Kurosawa, and also resembles the western ‘The Magnificent Seven’. Despite being released in the same year as the similar movie ‘Antz’, it was a box office success.

‘E.T. the Extra-Terrestrial’ (1982)

Steven Spielberg’s heartwarming story about a boy and a lost alien captivated audiences worldwide. However, acclaimed Indian director Satyajit Ray believed the film closely mirrored a script he’d written years earlier, titled ‘The Alien,’ which had been shared in Hollywood. Ray maintained that the idea of an alien forming a friendship with a child was originally his. Spielberg disputed these claims, but the film ultimately became a massive box office success.

‘Coco’ (2017)

Pixar’s film about the Day of the Dead was a huge hit with both critics and audiences. It shared similarities with the 2014 animated movie ‘The Book of Life,’ as both stories feature a main character who journeys to the land of the dead to get their ancestors’ approval to pursue a career in music. The Pixar film earned over $800 million worldwide.

‘Monsters, Inc.’ (2001)

This popular animated movie is set in a world where monsters power their city by frightening children. However, a writer claimed the film’s idea was taken from his earlier work, a story called ‘Monsters, Ltd.’, that he had presented to the studio years before. A key disagreement revolved around the concept of monsters being afraid of children, believing they were poisonous. The movie was a huge success, and a follow-up film further increased the franchise’s overall earnings.

‘Independence Day’ (1996)

This nineties disaster film, directed by Roland Emmerich, became the defining blockbuster of its time. Its story of an alien invasion echoes H.G. Wells’ ‘The War of the Worlds’, but with a modern, technological twist. Giant alien ships attack cities around the world until humans discover a computer virus that can disable the aliens’ defenses. The movie was a huge financial success, earning over $800 million, and helped launch Will Smith into superstardom.

‘National Treasure’ (2004)

Nicolas Cage leads this exciting adventure film that blends American history with a treasure hunt. The story centers around deciphering secret clues hidden within famous pieces of art and landmarks – a concept that became popular around the time of ‘The Da Vinci Code’. Although the movie version of that book came out later, this film tapped into the public’s fascination with historical mysteries. The film did well financially, leading to a successful follow-up movie.

‘Pacific Rim’ (2013)

Guillermo del Toro’s film wowed audiences with its incredible visuals of giant robots battling massive monsters. Fans of anime, particularly ‘Neon Genesis Evangelion,’ recognized similarities – the film shares themes of young pilots controlling bio-mechanical machines against otherworldly creatures. It clearly draws inspiration from classic Japanese mecha designs and the idea of pilots connecting with their machines. The film’s success led to both a sequel and an animated spin-off series.

‘Lady and the Tramp’ (1955)

This beloved Disney movie tells the story of a love between a fancy show dog and a tough street dog. The film was inspired by a story called ‘Happy Dan, The Whistling Dog’ by Ward Greene, but there was some debate over how much of the movie was actually based on his work. Despite the controversy, it’s become one of Disney’s most important and profitable films, continuing to earn money with each re-release.

‘Friday the 13th’ (1980)

The movie ‘Friday the 13th’ first introduced the character of Jason Voorhees and started a hugely successful horror series, earning vast amounts of money. The filmmakers openly admitted they were inspired by John Carpenter’s ‘Halloween,’ which came out a couple of years before. Like ‘Halloween,’ this film featured teenagers being stalked and killed one by one by a quiet, menacing killer. Even though it borrowed heavily from the earlier film, ‘Friday the 13th’ became a classic and a defining series in the horror genre.

‘Aquaman’ (2018)

DC Comics’ underwater film was a huge box office success, earning over a billion dollars. While some critics noted similarities to Marvel’s ‘Thor’ and ‘Black Panther’ in terms of its story – a hesitant king and a secret world – and to ‘Avatar’ with its glowing underwater scenes, the movie still became the highest-grossing DC-based film up to that point, despite its familiar plot elements.

‘Disturbia’ (2007)

This thriller stars Shia LaBeouf as a housebound teenager who begins to suspect his neighbor is a serial killer. It’s a teen-focused update of the classic Alfred Hitchcock film ‘Rear Window’. While the creators of the original story initially sued, claiming plagiarism, the lawsuit was ultimately dropped. Despite this, the movie proved to be a successful and profitable surprise.

‘Rocky’ (1976)

Rocky, the iconic boxing movie written by and starring Sylvester Stallone, won an Academy Award for Best Picture and kicked off a hugely successful series of films. The story is similar to the 1956 Paul Newman movie ‘Somebody Up There Likes Me,’ as both follow a down-on-his-luck boxer who finds a chance at love and success while preparing for an important fight. Stallone’s creation has become a lasting symbol in sports dramas, captivating audiences for almost half a century.

Tell us which of these blockbusters you think improved upon the original concept in the comments.

2025-11-26 18:20