Let me begin with the fact that no idea has ever existed in a vacuum. Not a single innovation is completely free of influence. But some filmmakers really didn’t innovate the plots even a bit before stealing them. The concept of stolen plots is getting more common as decades are coming by.
Movies are constantly inspired by each other throughout the timeline. Films have been evolving, and also, the stealing of plots has been evolving along with it, just like us humans. More complex, more interconnected.
It’s like multiverses have other multiverses inside and outside. It’s because of this chaos that sometimes makes you go, “Hey wait, Why does it feel like I know this scene from before!”.
Learn about movies whose plots are inspired by those of other films in the following paragraphs.
Popular Films That Were Stolen Plots Actually
Hunger Games (2013)
IMDB – 7.5/10, Reviews
The Hunger Games had a lot of buzz surrounding it. And the characters delivered an outstanding performance turning this classic movie into a cult phenomenon. However, we cannot ignore that this movie owes its plot and creatives to ‘Battle Royale,’ a Japanese film in the 2000s.
Both the movies are set in a dystopian society. Less fortunate young children are chosen to compete against each other and kill everyone to win. All of this, for the amusement of older, more influential leaders.
The only thing different in the Hunger Games was the level of violence and gore action scenes. Where Battle Royale reveled in violence, Hunger Games toned it down quite a bit and made it as non-violent as possible.
The kids in Battle Royale were eager to fight each other and were always given random weapons to survive. In Hunger Games, the kids didn’t want to fight and were given their weapon of choice.
Cars (2006)
IMDB – 7.1/10, Reviews
Pixar movies are known for their ingenuity and quality, where even their okayish films are fun to watch. ‘Cars’ was their most vital film, but it was still a good watch. But most might not even notice that this is one of the classic movies with stolen plots.
For those who aren’t aware of this movie, Cars is about an arrogant race driver who ends up in a small town. He has to do community service first if he wants to race again. Over there, he slowly befriends everyone in the town and eventually falls in love.
He has a change of heart and decides to settle down in the town. The plot sounds familiar? If it doesn’t, then let me shake your memory up. ‘Doc Hollywood’ came into theatres in 1991 and had a similar plot. The doctor is sent to a small town to do community service, but he becomes friends with everyone and falls in love.
Found the standard string connecting the plots?
Reservoir Dogs (1992)
IMDB – 8.3/10, Reviews
Quentin Tarantino made his directorial debut with Reservoir Dogs that came out in 1992. Though the movie was not a complete rip-off, it certainly had the same basic plot as ‘City on Fire,’ which came in 1987.
Both films follow the same storyline. A group of criminals planning a significant heist only to fail in the end, which reveals the identity of an undercover cop in their group. Tarantino had his twist to every scene, including the iconic Mexican standoff.
Even though Tarantino said out loud that he is a fan of City on Fire and took inspiration from the movie, it’s pretty clear that the rest of the film is the outcome of Tarantino’s directorial vision. ‘Reservoir Dogs’ is a famous movie with a stolen plot that turned into a cult classic film.
Lion King (1994)
IMDB – 8.5/10, Reviews
At first glance, ‘Lion King’ seems to be as original as it gets considering this to be an animal hamlet. However, at a second glance, one can notice the subtle similarities between Lion King and Kimba the White Lion, a Japanese manga that came out in 1950.
Both the films are eerily similar with the same support cast, including a friendly bird, a wise old baboon, and over-the-top hyenas. Although several scenes are different, moments like when Mufasa’s ghost appears to give advice and Simba stands atop a rock overseeing his future kingdom are all taken from Kimba.
The villain in both the franchise has a scar over his eye. So it’s out there for everyone to interpret them in their way, but that doesn’t stop Lion King from becoming a cult phenomenon.
Taxi Driver (1976)
IMDB – 8.2/10, Reviews
‘Taxi Driver’ is one of the most influential films of the ’70s and possibly with the maximum number of quotes. But this might not be in existence if it wasn’t for John Wayne’s ‘The Searchers’.
Directed by John Ford, ‘The Searchers is a movie about a confederate veteran, Ethan Edwards, who springs into action as his four-year-old niece is kidnapped by the Comanches. Ethan is visibly angry, and his hatred for the Comanches doesn’t help the situation.
He marches on, thinking every last Comanches must die till he gets his revenge. Ethan slowly investigates and reaches the kingpin named Scar to find that his niece might not need rescuing.
It’s safe to say that ‘Taxi Driver’ is a modern adaptation of ‘The Searchers’, making it so successful.
The Hateful Eight (2015)
IMDB – 7.8/10, Reviews
Probably one of the greatest horror movies of all time, ‘The Thing’ is where Tarantino went to find a story. The story follows a group of scientists trapped in the heavy snow with a shape-shifting monster. But, unfortunately, there’s no straightforward way of figuring out if the person beside them is real or not.
We all know that Quentin Tarantino is one of the best directors and a brilliant writer as well. He is known for taking inspiration from multiple sources and giving them his twist. While such as Kill Bill takes its creativity from Game of Thrones and Kung Fu, ‘The Hateful Eight’ focuses only on one film.
In ‘The Hateful Eight,’ the scientists were replaced with gunslingers and the monster with a murderer. Both the films have the same conclusion, with the main villain dying as the credits rolled in. Tarantino reportedly used the same soundtrack as in ‘The Thing’; however, it didn’t make it to the final cut.
Alien (1979)
IMDB – 8.4/10, Reviews
‘Alien’ wasn’t the first film to display the evil side of extraterrestrial beings. However, it’s pretty amazing how much the makers have borrowed from ‘It! The Terror From Space’.
Both the films follow the same storyline with a spaceship landing on an alien planet. While roaming the new world, a local greets them who’s extremely maniac and hungry. He immediately starts killing everyone around him.
The villain meets the same fate in both the movies as it dies in the vacuum of space after being chased away by a blowtorch. The similar scenes cannot all be coincidental, can they?
Star Wars (1977)
IMDB – 8.6/10, Reviews
Everyone knows that the director George Lucas wasn’t solely responsible for creating Star Wars, a generation-defining film. George has never kept his sci-fi and samurai influences away from the audience, but many think it was an outright adaptation of ‘The Hidden Fortress’ with Star Wars.
Directed by Akira Kurosawa, the samurai epic came in 1958 and is mainly responsible for Star Wars. Even Lucas himself talks about his love for ‘The Hidden Fortress’ and how he loves the concept of storytelling through the eyes of two low characters.
For ‘The Hidden Fortress,’ it was two arguing farmers, while for ‘Star Wars,’ it was C-3PO and R2-D2. It might even be okay if only the directorial of the films were common, but George didn’t stop at that. Instead, he transferred the ‘Fortress’ into space for his film.
‘Star Wars’ is one of the classic films that many didn’t know it was an adaptation with a stolen plot.
The Fast and the Furious (2001)
IMDB – 6.8/10, Reviews
‘The Fast and the Furious’ made a lasting impact on the box office and became one of the most successful film franchises. However, a lot of critics brought to light the similarities between this and ‘Point Break.’
Released in 1991, ‘Point Break’ stars Keanu Reeves and Patrick Swayze and is a romance film full of adrenaline that became the blueprint for ‘The Fast and the Furious.’ Unfortunately, the sheer number of similarities between them makes it seem like an outright remake rather than copying a few scenes or characters.
Both the films have a similar plot with an F.B.I agent infiltrating a group of criminals who drive race cars and commit robbery. However, the undercover cop falls in love with a girl related to the gang’s head and lets them go away after the last heist.
One of the classic films that exist today because of its stolen plot.
Toy Story (1995)
IMDB – 8.3/, Reviews
As significant as this Pixar movie is, it might not be as original as some might think. ‘The Brave Little Toaster is to be given credit, which was first released as a novel for children before being adapted for a movie.
‘The Brave Little Toasters’ stars various household appliances instead of toys cast aside by Rob, their owner, as he moves to college. Not willing to accept the separation, the appliances form a team and set out to reach Rob’s dorm room while escaping from terrifying obstacles.
Both the films were successful in their tasks cementing, a name for themselves as one of the best films for children to watch.
The Island (2005)
IMDB – 6.8/10, Reviews
Released in 2005, ‘The Island’ is Michael Bay’s sci-fi film that caught the attention of the critics for different reasons. It was later sued by the makers of ‘Parts: The Clonus Horror,’ which came out in 1979, for stealing the plot.
Both the films centers around a secret colony full of clones who are raised to harvest organs illegally. The protagonist discovers what’s happening and sets out for Southern California to expose the people behind this.
From specific characters to dialogues and the direction of the films, many similarities can be seen. The infringement case was settled outside the court, reportedly for seven figures.
A Fistful of Dollars (1964)
IMDB – 8.0/10, Reviews
Apart from George Lucas, the director of ‘A Fistful of Dollars,’ Sergio Leone also stole from Kurosawa and was sued for theft. He alleged that Sergio remade his entire samurai classic film released in 1961, “Yojimbo.”
The plot of both films follows a lonely protagonist who enters a small town where two rival gangs are vying for control. He decides to work as a double agent for the gangs and ends up killing everyone. As a result, he is given a lot of money and rides off into the sunset.
“A Fistful of Dollars” ups the violence and makes the bad guys a little pleasant. The protagonist goes without a name in both films. It is a classic movie that Hollywood couldn’t help but copy.
First Blood (1982)
IMDB – 7.7/10, Reviews
John Rambo is one of the greatest one-man-army movies with his trademark bandana and a huge knife. But this character was already in existence before 1982 and is inspired by a novel written by David Morrell in 1972.
Modern-day technology makes it hard to live free and be a cowboy, but this doesn’t stop the protagonist from living his life his way. The similarities between them could be seen in the scene where a bully with a badge captures Rambo.
“First Blood” is one of the classic films with a stolen plot. He is tortured to a great extent but eventually manages to escape from his captors. This leads to an extensive search where the local sheriffs chase Rambo, cornering him on a cliff with the help of a helicopter. Our protagonist downs the aircraft with a nearby rock in an epic climax scene and wins the fight.
So this was our list of stolen plot movies and we know there are going to be many others and this list will never end. We hope to update more movies into this. Here’s other lists you might be interested to check out to watch next: