15 pairs of movies that have near-identical plots

Thematically, all storytelling follows one of four basic conflict narratives: man vs. man, man vs. nature, man vs. himself, and man vs. society. In film as in literature, these narrative frameworks are used across genres to tell stories of epic adventures, timeless romance, and remarkable self-discovery.

It stands to reason, then, that many plots in modern-day stories—even across continents, time periods, planets, and dimensions—echo each other's plot arcs. It's typical that even the most original works of art nowadays owe credit to others that came before, in some cases dating all the way back to ancient myth. In film, scripts can get bounced around studios so much that if they seem lucrative it's not unheard of for one studio to pick it up while another takes the same idea and gives it a slight spin in order to capitalize off it, too. Art imitates art.

Thus, one way or another, you get a lot of films that are very much alike—and not just in a "Star Wars is a Western" kind of a way. Occasionally, directors will be open about their inspirations from, or reimagining of, previous films; and sometimes it's just a total coincidence. Or is it?

For this list, Stacker found 15 pairs of films that have eerily similar plots. Of course, the movies differ in many ways, too. In several cases, the same plot is dressed in a different setting or genre to make it seem like something else entirely. But all pairs of movies on this list have the same basic plot once you strip away the details. Check out these films that you may never have realized are more similar than you thought.

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