# Coincidental film releases **URL:** \ **Category:** Cafe Society\ **Created:** [March 4, 2013, 1:31am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/coincidental-film-releases/651956 "2013-03-04T01:31:17Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![rhysf](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/f14d63/32.png) [@rhysf](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/rhysf)\ **Post date:** [March 4, 2013, 1:31am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/coincidental-film-releases/651956/1 "2013-03-04T01:31:17Z")
I’ve just noticed that these two upcoming films, with somewhat similar themes of returning to an abandoned earth, have eerily similar posters: [After Earth](http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/After_Earth) [Oblivion](http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Oblivion_%282013_film%29) It reminded me of the Truman Capote/In Cold Blood films, [Capote](http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Capote_%28film%29) and [Infamous](http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Infamous_%28film%29), both made around the same time, and also of [The Adventures of Priscilla](http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Adventures_of_Priscilla,_Queen_of_the_Desert) and [the one with Patrick Swayze in drag](http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/To_Wong_Foo,_Thanks_for_Everything!_Julie_Newmar) - both with the same premise, but one so odd that some people had difficulty accepting that no plagiarism had occurred. I feel like I’ve heard of films being delayed or abandoned because someone else snuck in ahead with the same idea. Anyone know of any other examples like this? ---
**Author:** ![Little\_Nemo](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/little_nemo/32/3120_2.png) [@Little\_Nemo](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Little_Nemo)\ **Post date:** [March 4, 2013, 1:51am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/coincidental-film-releases/651956/2 "2013-03-04T01:51:47Z")
Last year also had _Mirror Mirror_ and _Snow White and the Huntsman_, two “adult” versions of Snow White. ---
**Author:** ![Ethilrist](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/ethilrist/32/4604_2.png) [@Ethilrist](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Ethilrist)\ **Post date:** [March 4, 2013, 2:10am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/coincidental-film-releases/651956/3 "2013-03-04T02:10:59Z")
I saw these two side-by-side on the IMDB main page and thought exactly the same thing… [Star Trek: Into Darkness](http://www.imdb.com/title/tt1408101/) [The Croods](http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0481499/?ref_=sr_1) Oh, you’re talking about the plot, not just the artwork… how about: [Joan of Arc](http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0178145/) [The Messenger: the Story of Joan of Arc](http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0151137/) both released in 1999, about the life & times of, well, Joan of Arc. ---
**Author:** ![RealityChuck](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/realitychuck/32/195_2.png) [@RealityChuck](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/RealityChuck)\ **Post date:** [March 4, 2013, 2:33am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/coincidental-film-releases/651956/4 "2013-03-04T02:33:37Z")
[Harlow](http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0059252/) and [Harlow](http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0059253/?ref_=fn_al_tt_2), released one month apart in 1965. Both were biographies of Jean Harlow. [Armageddon](http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Armageddon_(1998_film)) and [Deep Impact,](http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Deep_Impact_(film)) both released in 1998 and both about asteroids striking the Earth. ---
**Author:** ![epbrown01](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/e/7ba0ec/32.png) [@epbrown01](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/epbrown01)\ **Post date:** [March 4, 2013, 2:50am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/coincidental-film-releases/651956/5 "2013-03-04T02:50:25Z")
\*\*The Matrix \*\*and **The Thirteenth Floor**. I’ve seen people compare \*\*The Matrix \*\*to **Dark City** as well, but they shouldn’t. ---
**Author:** ![Accidental\_Martyr](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/ce7236/32.png) [@Accidental\_Martyr](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Accidental_Martyr)\ **Post date:** [March 4, 2013, 3:13am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/coincidental-film-releases/651956/6 "2013-03-04T03:13:48Z")
**The Descent** , **The Cave** and **The Cavern** were films with a similar premise released in 2005. ---
**Author:** ![Quimby](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/q/22d042/32.png) [@Quimby](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Quimby)\ **Post date:** [March 4, 2013, 3:16am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/coincidental-film-releases/651956/7 "2013-03-04T03:16:53Z")
I came here to mention the Asteroid movies but that was said. There was also a summer where we got two Volcano movies. One was called Volcano and the other…something else, I forget. ---
**Author:** ![Accidental\_Martyr](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/ce7236/32.png) [@Accidental\_Martyr](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Accidental_Martyr)\ **Post date:** [March 4, 2013, 3:25am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/coincidental-film-releases/651956/8 "2013-03-04T03:25:32Z")
> [@Quimby](#): > > I came here to mention the Asteroid movies but that was said. > > There was also a summer where we got two Volcano movies. One was called Volcano and the other…something else, I forget. **Dante’s Peak** ---
**Author:** ![RealityChuck](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/realitychuck/32/195_2.png) [@RealityChuck](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/RealityChuck)\ **Post date:** [March 4, 2013, 3:47am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/coincidental-film-releases/651956/9 "2013-03-04T03:47:54Z")
> [@epbrown01](#): > > \*\*The Matrix \*\*and **The Thirteenth Floor**. I’ve seen people compare \*\*The Matrix \*\*to **Dark City** as well, but they shouldn’t. Why not? Both dealt with people being manipulated in a phony reality by malign outside forces, and they were even shot on the same sets. ---
**Author:** ![Jophiel](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/jophiel/32/66_2.png) [@Jophiel](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Jophiel)\ **Post date:** [March 4, 2013, 4:22am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/coincidental-film-releases/651956/10 "2013-03-04T04:22:47Z")
[1492: Conquest of Paradise](http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0103594/) and [Christopher Columbus: The Discovery](http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0103962/). My understanding is that most of these events are coincidental and the studios realize it when they’re already committed to the project. You wouldn’t want to intentionally split your audience like that after putting that much money into the film. ---
**Author:** ![Nanoda](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/n/ce73a5/32.png) [@Nanoda](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Nanoda)\ **Post date:** [March 4, 2013, 4:34am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/coincidental-film-releases/651956/11 "2013-03-04T04:34:39Z")
Antz vs. Bugs Life? Deep Impact and Armageddon? I’ve noticed this phenomenon more than I can explain away as coincidence. There _has_ to be something shady going on. Actually, I just found an entire page on [TV Tropes](http://tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pmwiki.php/Main/DuelingMovies) about this, though with a quick skim I don’t agree with many of them. ---
**Author:** ![billfish678](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/7bcc69/32.png) [@billfish678](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/billfish678)\ **Post date:** [March 4, 2013, 4:44am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/coincidental-film-releases/651956/12 "2013-03-04T04:44:45Z")
Related to the title of the OP more than the spirit of the OP. The movie The China Syndrome, released shortly before Three Mile Island, was one heck of a coincidence. Probably did more to kill the US nuclear power industry than any other single thing. ---
**Author:** ![Jophiel](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/jophiel/32/66_2.png) [@Jophiel](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Jophiel)\ **Post date:** [March 4, 2013, 5:55am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/coincidental-film-releases/651956/13 "2013-03-04T05:55:01Z")
> [@Nanoda](#): > > I’ve noticed this phenomenon more than I can explain away as coincidence. There _has_ to be something shady going on. I can’t imagine what. If anything, a studio might be inclined to delay a release because of this. Few people are going to say “Wow, that was a great volcano movie, now let’s go see the other one!” or “Man, that asteroid movie sucked but maybe the other one is better… let’s go!” 2003 brought us [Gods & Generals](http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0279111/) and [Cold Mountain](http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0159365/). Not really identical plots but both Civil War dramas. I mainly remember because, a few years later, I saw singer Mary Fahl do a show where she opened for a song with “This was from a Civil War movie a few years back. Not Cold Mountain. God, I wish it had been Cold Mountain…” ---
**Author:** ![epbrown01](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/e/7ba0ec/32.png) [@epbrown01](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/epbrown01)\ **Post date:** [March 4, 2013, 6:22am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/coincidental-film-releases/651956/14 "2013-03-04T06:22:44Z")
> [@RealityChuck](#): > > Why not? Both dealt with people being manipulated in a phony reality by malign outside forces, and they were even shot on the same sets. **Dark City** and **the Matrix** are only superficially similar, and have completely different plots and narratives. \*\*The 13th Floor \*\*and \*\*the Matrix \*\*are both about virtual reality worlds where the characters aren’t sure what’s real and the audience is pulled into the same questioning state. A sort of 2nd person omniscient narrative where we can follow everyone, but we’re seeing things from the characters’ perspective. \*\*Dark City \*\*has a completely different plot (alien abduction and experimentation) and is from a 3rd person omniscient perspective. Yeah, the aliens create a fake city to house the abductees but there’s nothing virtual about it, nor does the movie ever try convince the audience the city is real. Unlike the characters, we know from the jump the city is fake and being manipulated - they show them shuffling characters and buildings constantly. We follow the characters to learn _why_ the aliens are doing what they’re doing (pretty much the only cheesy element), focusing mostly on John Murphy’s character and Jennifer Connelly at her anime-template dream girl best. Hell, they’re not even _visually_ similar - one’s a SFX-laden cyperpunk shoot’em up, the other is German 1930s noir with effects that mimic magic more than anything. If the two films hadn’t come out close together, no one would try to link them. I could make a stronger case for \*\*Dark City’s \*\*similarity to **The Wizard of Oz**. ---
**Author:** ![Zebra](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/z/c0e974/32.png) [@Zebra](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Zebra)\ **Post date:** [March 4, 2013, 6:25am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/coincidental-film-releases/651956/15 "2013-03-04T06:25:40Z")
> [@Jophiel](#): > > [1492: Conquest of Paradise](http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0103594/) and [Christopher Columbus: The Discovery](http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0103962/). > > My understanding is that most of these events are coincidental and the studios realize it when they’re already committed to the project. You wouldn’t want to intentionally split your audience like that after putting that much money into the film. Those two films came out in 1992. 500 years after the events they depict. Kind of understandable. Two very different films that came out at the same time but seemed similar were Empire of the Son, Hope and Glory and The Last Emperor. All were about young boys, set during WWII (partially for Last Emperor) and Last Emperor and Empire of the Sun were both set in China. ---
**Author:** ![alphaboi867](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/alphaboi867/32/3898_2.png) [@alphaboi867](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/alphaboi867)\ **Post date:** [March 4, 2013, 7:48am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/coincidental-film-releases/651956/16 "2013-03-04T07:48:50Z")
In televisionland **30 Rock** and **Studio 60 on the Sunset Strip** both debuted in the 2006-07 _on the same network_. Studio 60 actually had _higher_ ratings, but 30 Rock was cheaper to produce. ---
**Author:** ![shijinn](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/cc9497/32.png) [@shijinn](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/shijinn)\ **Post date:** [March 4, 2013, 7:53am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/coincidental-film-releases/651956/17 "2013-03-04T07:53:52Z")
are these really different from the surge of vampire/zombies/slasher/superhero/whatever movies? the suits think that whatever is the cash cow at that moment and approve more of them. ---
**Author:** ![rhysf](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/f14d63/32.png) [@rhysf](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/rhysf)\ **Post date:** [March 4, 2013, 8:31am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/coincidental-film-releases/651956/18 "2013-03-04T08:31:49Z")
> [@Jophiel](#): > > I can’t imagine what. If anything, a studio might be inclined to delay a release because of this. Few people are going to say “Wow, that was a great volcano movie, now let’s go see the other one!” or “Man, that asteroid movie sucked but maybe the other one is better… let’s go!” Maybe, but sometimes a crappy movie can ride on the coattails of a better one. Of the two Harlow films mentioned by RealityChuck, one was made in eight days to beat the release of the bigger budget version. And it seems The Cavern changed its title to be more resonant with the other similar releases at the time. ---
**Author:** ![rhysf](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/f14d63/32.png) [@rhysf](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/rhysf)\ **Post date:** [March 4, 2013, 8:39am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/coincidental-film-releases/651956/19 "2013-03-04T08:39:34Z")
> [@shijinn](#): > > are these really different from the surge of vampire/zombies/slasher/superhero/whatever movies? the suits think that whatever is the cash cow at that moment and approve more of them. I’m sure groupthink is the culprit in some cases but seems unlikely for others such as Capote/Infamous. I think most of these are genuine coincidences due to the sheer volume of films made each year. ---
**Author:** ![madmonk28](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/madmonk28/32/20811_2.png) [@madmonk28](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/madmonk28)\ **Post date:** [March 4, 2013, 8:41am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/coincidental-film-releases/651956/20 "2013-03-04T08:41:48Z")
Hitchcock and The Girl both came out around the same year, although The Girl was on HBO. [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/coincidental-film-releases/651956.md?page=2)