History Main / DuelingMovies

[[redirect:DuelingWorks]]

[[redirect:DuelingWorks}]]

[[redirect:DuelingWorks/{{Film}}]]

%% [[redirect:DuelingWorks/{{Film}}]]

This page has been moved to DuelingWorks/{{Film}}. This is a placeholder while indexes are removed.

[[redirect:DuelingWorks/{{Film}}]]

->''"We keep going back to the theme of movies being released in twos: ''Film/DeepImpact'' and ''Film/{{Armageddon}}'', ''Film/{{Volcano}}'' and ''Film/DantesPeak'', etc. Well, when your doppelganger of a movie being released opposite you is ''Film/TheMatrix'', then you are in deep sh*t."''
-->-- '''[[WebVideo/TheSpoonyExperiment Miles Antwiler]]''' [[http://moviemoses.wordpress.com/2010/02/01/the-thirteenth-floor-1999-josef-rusnak/ on]] ''Film/TheThirteenthFloor'' (1999)

This page is a list of similar films that were released at around the same time. Sometimes one film intentionally copied another, sometimes it's part of a wider trend in which that type of film became very popular all of sudden, sometimes it's total coincidence: the creators just had the same idea around the same time.

Occasionally, studios will be forced to war with one another when they simultaneously produce similar movies which are subsequently released within a short time from each other.

One very rare aversion: Creator/WarnerBros bought the rights to ''The Tower'' and eight weeks later, Creator/TwentiethCenturyFox bought the rights to ''The Glass Inferno'' so to avoid having similar films at the box office at the same time, they [[AllYourPowersCombined joined forces and combined]] the novels into ''Film/TheToweringInferno''!

See also DuelingProducts, DuelingGames, and DuelingShows for proof that this type of competition isn't limited to just films. See also TheMockbuster.

Not to be confused with DuelingStarsMovie.

----
||border=1

[[foldercontrol]]

[[index]]
* DuelingMovies/{{Animation}}
* DuelingMovies/{{Comedy}}
* DuelingMovies/{{Drama}}
* DuelingMovies/{{Horror}}
* DuelingMovies/SciFi
* DuelingMovies/DuelsAcrossGenres
[[/index]]

[[folder:Action-Adventure (non-Sci-Fi)]]
|| Initiators || Followers || Description || Misc || Winner? ||
|| ''[[Film/TheATeam The A-Team]]'' ||''Film/TheLosers''\\
\\
''Film/TheExpendables'' may be a third contender. || Capital-"[[{{Pun}} A]]" action movies adapted from other mediums about [[BadassCrew rag tag groups of government agents]] who come together to clear their name: The former is TheFilmOfTheSeries. The latter: An adaptation of Andy Diggle and Jock's re-imagining of a classic WWII DC comic as a group of Special Forces operatives during the War on Terror. || ''The Losers'' basically '''is''' ''The A-Team'', there's never been any doubt or denial that it played a major role in its re-imagining, the timing of the film releases are just unfortunate. || ''The A-Team'' soundly trounced ''The Losers'' at the box office, grossing more in its opening weekend than ''The Losers'' in its full run; however, ''The A-Team'' had an underwhelming run of its own, which illustrates how badly ''The Losers'' flopped. If ''Film/TheExpendables'' is counted, however, then it's a clean win by knockout. ||
|| ''Film/{{Machete}}'' || ''Film/TheExpendables'' ||Both films feature [[RuleOfCool outrageous special effects and stunts]] to tell a barely-there story and feature numerous oldschool actors returning to type of roles that made them famous, gleefully employing the NostalgiaFilter all the while. || ''Machete'' is a loving {{homage}} to over-the-top '70s {{exploitation film}}s directed by Creator/RobertRodriguez and featuring a star-studded cast; ''Expendables'' has the participation of a laundry list of '80s action stars led by Creator/SylvesterStallone (who directed, wrote and plays the lead). || ''Film/TheExpendables''. Though ''Film/{{Machete}}'' enjoyed a slight critical edge, the ''Film/TheExpendables'' had a significantly higher box office gross and made a significantly greater impact on pop culture.||
|| ''Film/RedDawn2012'' || ''Film/TomorrowWhenTheWarBegan'' || Foreign armies invade small-town America/Australia, and a group of teenagers take to the hills to fight back guerrilla-style. || The first is a remake of the classic 1984 UsefulNotes/ColdWar action movie, updating the villains from [[TheGreatPoliticsMessUp the Soviet Union]] to [[ChinaTakesOverTheWorld the People's Republic of China]] (or [[ExecutiveMeddling North Korea]]) and moving the action from Colorado to Washington state. The second is an adaptation of the first book of an Australian YoungAdult [[Literature/TheTomorrowSeries series]] published in the '90s that, while hugely popular in Australia (to the point of being compared to ''Literature/HarryPotter'' in cultural influence), [[AmericansHateTingle never caught on overseas]]. || ''Tomorrow'' got better reviews, but ''Film/RedDawn2012'' made more money. Neither turned a profit.||
|| ''Film/NinjaAssassin'' || ''Ninja'' || Movies about BadAss {{ninja}}s. || ''Ninja Assassin'' was produced by the creators of ''Film/TheMatrix'' and starts Korean pop star Rain, while ''Ninja'' was directed by director Isaac Florentine and was a DirectToVideo release. || While ''Ninja Assassin'' did beat ''Ninja'', the latter is considered a decent action movie on its own merits. It even got a sequel in 2014. The sequel, ''Ninja II: Shadow of a Tear'' is called either, a SurprisinglyImprovedSequel or EvenBetterSequel to its predecessor. Ninja Assassin hasn't gotten a sequel yet, because it barely got back its budget (A budget of $40 million with a box office of $60 million).||
|| ''[[Film/{{Underworld}} Underworld: Evolution]]'' || ''Film/{{Ultraviolet}}'' || Comic book movie sans an actual comic (''Ultraviolet'' even starts with fake comics that the film's based on). A vampire war/rebellion led by a shapely ActionGirl. || It seems that most of ''Ultraviolet''[='s=] vampire references (the heroine and her pals are infected with a virus that mimics vampirism; the MacGuffin is a possible cure) were cut out so as to distance itself from ''Underworld'', which led to some audience confusion. || ''Underworld: Evolution'' did well enough to continue the franchise with at least two more sequels. ''Ultraviolet'', while visually striking, didn't do well enough to start its franchise. ||
|| ''Film/{{Underworld}}'' series || ''Film/ResidentEvil'' series || Both series revolve around an EmpoweredBadassNormal ActionGirl protagonist and her struggles against various supernatural foes. They are both known for their highly stylized cinematography. Both franchises moved to [[ThreeDMovie 3-D]] with their respective fourth entries. Oh, and the lead actresses of each franchise (Creator/KateBeckinsale and Creator/MillaJovovich) later married the respective directors of each series' first film (Len Wiseman and Paul W. S. Anderson). || ''Underworld'' is an UrbanFantasy story about [[FurAgainstFang the war between vampires and werewolves]], while ''Resident Evil'' is a ZombieApocalypse story adapted from [[Franchise/ResidentEvil the video game series]]. || Critically, both series tend to be regarded as cinematic junk food, though ''Underworld'' wins by a small margin given that the ''RE'' films also have a {{hatedom}} from [[AdaptationDecay fans of the games]]. Commercially, on the other hand, ''RE'' wins hands-down, having grossed over twice as much money as the ''Underworld'' films.\\
\\
The ''real'' winner is Creator/ScreenGems, which produces both series and makes lots of money from both of them. They have never had to compete with one another at the box office, with each franchise's films usually coming out in alternating years -- and even in 2012, the first year that they did, ''Underworld: Awakening'' and ''Resident Evil: Retribution'' had release dates at different times of the year. ||
|| ''Film/YouOnlyLiveTwice'' || ''Film/CasinoRoyale1967'' || Film/JamesBond films. || The former is an official Bond film, while the latter is a parody made by the man who held the rights to that particular novel. Bond's production company eventually got the rights to ''Casino Royale'', both novel (which was adapted as [[Film/CasinoRoyale2006 the first Daniel Craig Bond]]) and movie. || ''You Only Live Twice'', which had better reviews and box office. ''Casino Royale'' is widely considered a train wreck whose only lasting appeal is the Burt Bacharach score and its [[WhatDoYouMeanItWasntMadeOnDrugs psychedelia value]]. It wrecked several careers and was a literal CreatorKiller for Charles Feldman; he died the next year.||
|| ''Film/{{Octopussy}}'' || ''Film/NeverSayNeverAgain'' || Again, Film/JamesBond films. Much like the above, the former is official, and the latter is a remake of ''Film/{{Thunderball}}'', done by the guy who had the rights to said novel. || The latter has the return of Creator/SeanConnery as 007, who prior to making it said he would ''never'' play Bond again -- hence the title. Bond's production company eventually got the rights to said movie (its Blu-Ray release is even listed among the official ones!), and halted the production of ''another'' remake in the 90's. || Both were box office successes, but ''Octopussy'' grossed more. However, Never Say Never Again did better critically, thanks in large part to Sean Connery. ||
|| ''Film/TheLeagueOfExtraordinaryGentlemen'' || ''Film/VanHelsing'' || [[{{Crossover}} Characters from multiple stories]] team up to save or destroy the world. [[Literature/TheStrangeCaseOfDrJekyllAndMrHyde Jekyll and Hyde]] feature in both. || [[XtremeKoolLetterZ "LXG"'s]] team comes from classic, mostly public-domain stories while "Van Helsing"'s monsters [[UniversalHorror are all from Universal Studios]]. (Fun fact: the original plan for ''Van Helsing'' was a direct sequel/prequel to "Bram Stoker's Dracula", but Anthony Hopkins was too old). || Both did all right at the box office, but were ravaged by critics, and a sequel to either is highly unlikely. ''League'' is a bigger failure though, as the experience filming it convinced Sean Connery to retire from Hollywood, and not many of the other players in that film came out not in pieces.||
|| ''Film/IronEagle'' || ''Film/TopGun'' || Two 1986 films about cocky young pilots proving their mettle. || The former is about a guy on a secret, unauthorized mission to rescue an Air Force pilot dad trapped behind enemy lines. The latter has its protagonist going through Navy training, encountering love, rivalry, and loss along the way to becoming a hero. || ''Film/TopGun'' was a SummerBlockbuster, the biggest hit of its year, and coronated Creator/TomCruise as a true-blue movie star. It is still fondly remembered today. By comparison ''Iron Eagle'', which came out first, only grossed a few million more than its budget in theaters. That said, perhaps because of the popularity of its dueling movie, it did well enough on video ($11 million in rentals according to the Other Wiki) that it had three BMovie sequels through 1995. ''Top Gun'' wins, but ''Iron Eagle'' gets points for making its own small success story. ||
|| ''Film/{{Dredd}}'' || ''[[Film/TheRaid The Raid: Redemption]]'' || {{Badass}} super-cops raid high-rise apartment blocks controlled by drug lords in order to bring them to justice. || ''The Raid'' is an Indonesian martial arts film, while ''Dredd'' is a Hollywood action film that marks the second theatrical adaptation of the ComicBook/TwoThousandAD comic book ''ComicBook/JudgeDredd'' after the [[Film/JudgeDredd 1995 film]] starring Creator/SylvesterStallone tanked. While ''The Raid'' came first[[note]]It premiered at TIFF in September 2011 and was released in March 2012, while ''Dredd'' was released in September 2012.[[/note]], rumor has it that the makers of the film borrowed its plot from an early, leaked version of the ''Dredd'' script. || Both films were acclaimed by both critics and action buffs as capital-A action movies with little in the way of pretension. Box office-wise, while ''Dredd'' made more money than ''The Raid'', it was a BoxOfficeBomb due to its substantially higher budget, with many observers viewing it as an indictment of the idea that Internet and Comic-Con buzz alone [[AcclaimedFlop could power a film to success]]. Meanwhile, ''The Raid''[='=]s meager (£1.1 million) budget gave it a very low bar to clear. ||
|| ''Film/OlympusHasFallen'' || ''Film/WhiteHouseDown'' || 2013 "''Franchise/DieHard'' [[DieHardOnAnX in the White House]]" movies about a Secret Service agent (Creator/GerardButler or Channing Tatum) fighting to save the President (Aaron Eckhart or Jamie Foxx) from (mostly) terrorists. || Tonally the two films are rather different: ''OFH'' goes for drama while ''WHD'' has a greater focus on comedic moments. Eckhart remains a hostage through most of his film, whereas Foxx and Tatum work together in a WunzaPlot. Another key difference is ThePlan for taking the White House: ''OHF'' does it from outside-in, while ''WHD'' does it from inside-out. || ''OHF'' and ''WHD'' got similar reviews (48% for ''OHF'', 50% for ''WHD'' on Website/RottenTomatoes) and opening weekends ($30M vs $25M). ''WHD'' won out in worldwide box office gross, while ''OHF'' won in the domestic US box office. Since ''OHF'' made a profit (due to a much lighter budget than ''WHD'') and already has a sequel in the works, it would be considered the winner here. ||
|| ''Film/TheLastStand'' || ''Film/BulletToTheHead''\\
\\
''Film/{{Parker}}'' || {{Genre Throwback}}s to '80s RatedMForManly action vehicles, released within a month of one another in winter 2013. || ''The Last Stand'' stars Creator/ArnoldSchwarzenegger, was marketed as his big return to leading man status, and is directed by rising Korean filmmaker Kim Ji-woon, while ''Bullet to the Head'' stars Creator/SylvesterStallone fresh off the success of ''Film/TheExpendables''. Finally, ''Parker'' stars Creator/JasonStatham and is based on Donald E. Westlake's book series. || ''The Last Stand'' received somewhat more positive (if still mixed) reviews than ''Bullet to the Head'' and ''Parker'', but all three films [[BoxOfficeBomb bombed at the box office]]. Between the failures of these films and that of ''Dredd'' the prior year, many observers concluded that, ''The Expendables'' aside, "macho" action movies had lost their allure with moviegoers. ||
|| ''[[Film/RobinHood1991 Robin Hood]]'' || ''Film/RobinHoodPrinceOfThieves'' || 1991 films retelling [[RobinHood the infamous thief of British folklore.]] || ''Prince of Thieves'' was a Hollywood project with then-bankable Creator/KevinCostner leading the cast. The other was a low-profile British film with Creator/UmaThurman as Maid Marian and a low-profile cast. || The Uma version was released first, but went straight to TV in the States, allegedly to avoid competition with Costner's. ''Prince of Thieves'' was a monster hit and the one most remember. ||
|| ''Terminal Velocity'' || ''Drop Zone'' || Films based around Special Forces skydivers, both released in late 1994. || ''Drop Zone'' was supposed to be released first, but reshoots ended up delaying it until after ''Terminal Velocity'' was released. Both films also starred actors who have experienced personal trouble in later years: Creator/CharlieSheen was the star of ''Terminal Velocity'', while Wesley Snipes was the lead for ''Drop Zone''. || Neither of them did particularly well in terms of reviews, but ''Drop Zone'' at least broke even on its worldwide box-office and VHS rentals. ''Terminal Velocity'' only grossed around two-thirds of what ''Drop Zone'' made, while costing even more to produce, making it indisputably the loser.||
|| ''Film/JackReacher'' || ''Film/{{Parker}}'' || Adaptations of a book series featuring AntiHero BadAss protagonists with a SherlockScan and a vendetta against someone who quite recently wronged them. || Right out the gate both studios signed on big name actors in the title roles (Tom Cruise and Jason Statham, respectively). Also each hero teams up with an ordinary, hardworking single woman who serves as TheWatson. And funnily enough, both movies had their release dates pushed back for innocent (and unrelated) reasons.|| Going strictly by box office profits, ''Reacher'' beat out ''Parker'' by a factor of five. Critics met both movies with middle-of-the-road reviews, though, with high forties on Metacritic.||
|| ''Film/TheNovemberMan'' || ''Film/TheEqualizer''\\
\\
''Film/ThreeDaysToKill'' may be a third contender. || 2014 films that feature a middle aged(ish) actor from the looks of things trying to pull a "Liam Neeson" so to speak. (An actor who similarly went for a similr action role at such an age and found something of a major career boost as an action star after the film ''Film/{{Taken}}'') Each playing a successful/veteran government operative. The first two are also adaptions of a preceding series (a book series for the former and a television series for the latter) that center around a former government agent who has gone into retirement but finds himself put back into action. Major components involving him facing off against corrupt Russians and defending a young woman.|| ||''The Equalizer'' had better reviews and a significantly better gross at the box-office than ''The November Man''.\\
\\
If we were to count ''3 Days to Kill'' it also lost out to ''The Equalizer'' but about ties with ''November Man''. As it won on the financial front, but was beaten in terms of reviews.||
|| ''Film/{{XXX}}'' || ''Film/DieAnotherDay'' || 2002 released spy action thrillers. One is, naturally, a Bond film while the other is an attempt to channel the Bond formula for a new series. ||Ironically enough the director of ''Die Another Day'' Lee Tamahori would go on to direct the sequel ''xXx: State of the Union''.||Both received mixed reviews across the board from critics and the general audience, however ''Die Another Day'' made about twice as much at the box office. Being the highest grossing film of its franchise at the time. However notably, it does face more vitriol in certain circles than ''xXx'' from a more hardcore online Bond fanbase for more than a handful of scenes with WillingSuspensionOfDisbelief. It was Pierce Brosnan's final Bond movie, and the mixed reaction plus the influence of Creator/MikeMyers's ''Film/AustinPowers'' [[AustinPowersTheSpyWhoShaggedMe spy]] [[AustinPowersInGoldmember spoof]] trilogy convinced EON to reboot the film series in 2006 with Daniel Craig, which took a very DarkerAndEdgier tone. ''xXx'' earned a sequel in 2005, but Vin Diesel didn't return for it and it [[BoxOfficeBomb bombed]], ending the film series prematurely. Both it and ''Die Another Day'' iced Tamahori's career.||
|| The ''Film/LethalWeapon'' Series || The ''Franchise/DieHard'' Series || Popular cop action film franchises that started with a first installment released in the later 1980's that is considered a seminal film in the genre. Ironically enough, both films were also set around Christmas time. The first couple of films each coming out about a year apart from each other. It is also notable that both films, at least for their first couple of installments, were scored by Michael Kamen.|| A real ironic note is that Creator/BruceWillis, the actor of John [=McClane=] the star of the ''Die Hard'' films, was actually considered for the role of Martin Riggs before it subsequently went to Mel Gibson.\\
\\
Another fun note is that in an early scene of ''Film/DieHard2'' one can see an ad for ''Film/LethalWeapon2'' on a magazine.\\
\\
It is also interesting to note that the script for ''Film/DieHardWithAVengeance'' had started out written to be an original standalone piece called ''Simon Says''. However, that film was ultimately not made but they continued trying to find a way to use the script. At one point before being rewritted into a ''Die Hard'' movie it was at one stage reworked to be an installment of the ''Lethal Weapon'' series. || Most of the films in question got either mixed if not outright positive reviews. The highest rated of them is the original ''Film/DieHard'', followed pretty closely by the first ''Lethal Weapon'' with that film's first sequel being the highest reviewed of all the follow-ups in question. ''Die Hard'' 2-4 each while not without their detractors are generally well liked whilst ''Lethal Weapon'' 3 and 4 are more divisive. However ''Film/AGoodDayToDieHard'' is by a significant margin the least well reviewed. Financially it is close, but each installment of the ''Die Hard'' franchise managed to outdo its ''Lethal Weapon'' counterpart. With all that in mind at the end of the day it would appear that the ''Die Hard'' franchise is the ultimate victor. ||
|| ''Film/UnderSiege'' || ''Film/{{Passenger 57}}'' || 1992 released "''Franchise/DieHard'' [[DieHardOnAnX on an X]]" films, the former on a battleship and the latter on a plane, that star at the time popular martial artist action stars and came out within a month of each other. || || ''Under Siege'' takes it. Though it had a higher production budget, it still made more than three times the profit at the box office. It also had a far more positive critical reception, getting mostly positive reviews in contrast to the mixed-to-negative reception ''Passenger 57'' got. And the reception from the general audience does not look much different. Notably, ''Under Siege'' actually also managed to get a sequel. ||
|| ''[[Film/{{UnderSiege}} Under Siege 2: Dark Territory]]'' || ''Film/SuddenDeath'' || 1995 released "''Franchise/DieHard'' [[DieHardOnAnX on an X]]" films. (On a train and at a sports arena respectively) that star popular martial arts action stars of the time. Playing men caught at the wrong place at the wrong time, and have the added issue of child family members of theirs being caught up in the situation as well. (Casey Ryack's niece and Darren McCord's own children) || || With both critics and audiences ''Sudden Death'' has higher ratings. Having a down the middle response from critics and mixed to positive reception from audiences in comparison to the mixed-to-negative reviews ''Under Siege 2'' got and a down the middle response from audiences. However ''Under Siege 2'' won at the box office by approximately 40 million. ||
|| ''Film/ExecutiveDecision'' || ''Film/TheRock'' || 1996 released action films whose stories are of the "''Franchise/DieHard'' [[DieHardOnAnX on an X]]" mold. (Noticing a pattern here yet?) On a plane for the former and a prison (Alcatraz Island in fact) for the latter. Both films' central characters are not your traditional action hero types but desk/office type of guys thrust into an extremely dangerous field situation, that isn't helped when a tragedy hits their military team at the start. Also notable is that the big threat in both films is a deadly gas/nerve agent.|| || Even though it had a bigger budget, ''The Rock'' still won out at the box office with more than twice the gross of ''Executive Decision''. Neither was considered a masterpiece by critics, and whilst both got mixed-to-positive reviews ''The Rock'' was still a bit higher. And on places like Rotten Tomatoes and IMDB it however seems to be ahead by a good margin. So ''The Rock'' pretty well takes this one. ||
|| ''Film/ConAir'' || ''Film/AirForceOne'' || 1997 released action films that play out as a "''Franchise/DieHard'' [[DieHardOnAnX on a plane]]" scenario that were released only about a month apart. || || ''Air Force One'' had an only marginally higher budget, and even with that in account it still won at the box office by almost an extra $100,000,000. In terms of reviews, ''Con Air'' received very mixed reviews whilst ''Air Force One'' achieved generally positive ones. However in terms of audience reception, based upon cites like Rotten Tomatoes and IMDB ''Con Air'' actually has something of a lead. But at the end of the day, ''Air Force One'' looks to be the winner in spite of that. ||
|| ''Film/{{Speed}}'' || ''Film/BlownAway'' || 1994 released action thrillers that see a good cop go up against a mad bomber in a race against time, with a major plot device of an action needing to be continuous in order to keep a bomb from going off. Whether it be keeping a bus going at a high speed, or needing to repeatedly type on a computer. They came out within less than a month off each other. || || ''Speed'' decisively blew away its opponent so to speak in this match. It made more than ten times as much at the box office, has received significantly better reviews, and is easily the more well known of the two years later. It notably also wound up getting a sequel. Though [[{{Sequelitis}} that's...another story]].||
|| ''Film/GungaDin'' || ''[[Literature/{{TheFourFeathers}} The Four Feathers (1939)]]'' || 1939 released adventure films that center around British military men venturing into colonial land where they must contend with a dangerous group of "natives" looming over. || || Each is considered a classic adventure film, and is well remembered enough to where many would consider it a tie. Further compounded by how ''The Four Feathers'' does marginally edge out it's competitor in terms of reviews, but ''Gunga Din'' however managed to win at the box office.||
|| ''[[Literature/{{TheThreeMusketeers}} The Three Musketeers (1948)]]'' || ''[[Literature/{{DonJuan}} Adventures of Don Juan]]'' || 1948 released swashbuckling adventure films based upon classic pieces of literature/lore that center about heroes who fight to stop a high ranking official from finishing some nefarious plot that would include going to war with England. The two films came out within less than two months of each other. || || On the whole ''The Three Musketeers'' seems to be the more well remembered of the two. And whilst both made it into the Top 10 grossing films of the year, 2nd and 9th respectively, ''The Three Musketeers'' wins it out in how it made almost a full million more a the box office. (At a time before inflation made that difference stop looking impressive mind you) That being said, whilst ''Adventures of Don Juan'' isn't as popular as Errol Flynn's other more famous swashbucklers (''The Adventure of Robin Hood'', ''Captain Blood'') it is still generally well regarded and has its devoted fans. ||
|| ''Film/MadMaxFuryRoad'' || ''Film/TheTransporterLegacy'' || 2015 action films centering around a "road warrior" of sorts that will be the fourth film of their respective franchises. Film series' that had been dormant for awhile. Whilst on the writing level there are returning vets, each film will introduce a new actor to play the leading roles. Featuring Tom Hardy as Max Rockatansky and Ed Skrein as Frank Martin respectively. || || ''Fury Road'' became the most critically revered film in the ''Mad Max'' series after decades in DevelopmentHell, and grossed well more than twice it's budget (it's not quite a profit, but the critical reception should help second-run and home sales.) ''The TransporterLegacy'' TBA. ||
|| ''Film/MissionImpossibleRogueNation'' || ''Film/TheManFromUNCLE2015'' || Big budget action movies based on Cold War era spy TV shows. || ''Mission'' is set in the [[TwentyMinutesIntoTheFuture "present"]] while ''U.N.C.L.E.'' is set in TheSixties. || ''Mission'' is doing ''really'' well so far. ||
[[/folder]]

[[folder:Crime]]
|| Initiators || Followers || Description || Misc || Winner? ||
|| ''Film/OceansEleven'' || ''[[Film/TheItalianJob2003 The Italian Job]]'' || Remakes of movies about a crew of thieves pulling off a complicated heist against dangerous enemies. || || While both had good reviews, ''Ocean's Eleven'' was much more successful and spawned two sequels. ''The Italian Job'''s sequel is still in development hell. ||
|| ''Film/MulhollandFalls (1996)'' || ''Film/LAConfidential (1997)'' || Two [[FilmNoir neo-noir]] crime dramas set in 1950s L.A. with an AllStarCast. || || ''L.A. Confidential'' wins out. ''Mulholland Falls'' had caricatured acting, was too fixated on costumes and production design and overall wasn't well received by the audience. ''L.A. Confidential'' had denser characters, a complex but cogent screenplay, better action and was a commercial success. ||
|| ''Film/TheBlackDahlia'' || ''{{Film/Hollywoodland}}'' || Highly stylized period crime pieces, set in Los Angeles and (loosely) based on real-life, high-profile deaths. Released within a week of one another.|| || The Black Dahlia received more attention before release and had a budget nearly quadruple Hollywoodland's; however, it received largely negative reviews and bombed at the box office. Hollywoodland was well-reviewed and turned a small profit.||
|| ''[[Film/TheGirlNextDoor2007 The Girl Next Door]]'' || ''Film/AnAmericanCrime'' || 2007 crime dramas with a slash of horror based on the [[BasedOnATrueStory real]] 1965 torture and murder of [[http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sylvia_Likens Sylvia Likens]] || ''Girl'', based on a 1989 novel, fictionalizes the story and moves the setting to the 1950s; ''Crime'' stays closer to the facts. || Neither really. Despite its more high-profile cast (Creator/EllenPage as Sylvia and Catherine Keener as her torturer), ''Crime'' failed to find a theatre distributor and was eventually aired in {{Showtime}} in 2008; it received three nominations to TV awards but was generally trashed by critics. If only for that, and because the critics are [[WeWinBecauseYouDidNot more divided in its case]], ''Girl'' wins. ||
|| ''Film/TheFrenchConnection'' || ''DirtyHarry'' || 1971 crime thrillers about a hard-boiled inner city cop who has little regard for the rules, but always gets results. Along the way, he gets into fistfights, gun battles, and car chases, pushing him to the brink of his endurance, amidst his increasingly-strained relationship with his superiors. These two films more-or-less codified the CowboyCop genre. || ''The French Connection'' stars GeneHackman tracking down a French drug smuggler, while ''Dirty Harry'' stars Creator/ClintEastwood hunting a depraved serial killer. || ''The French Connection'' won at the time due to massive success at the Oscars including Best Picture and a Best Actor win for Hackman, but ''Dirty Harry'' has endured more in popular culture thanks to MemeticMutation. ||
|| ''Film/DeathSentence'' || ''Film/TheBraveOne'' || 2007 vigilante movies about previously wimpy people on the hunt for criminals after they kill people close to them. (In ''Death Sentence'' Creator/KevinBacon's son dies. In ''The Brave One'' [[spoiler: Creator/JodieFoster's husband dies.]] Fittingly, the latter can be defined as ''Film/DeathWish'' [[RecycledInSpace but with a woman]], while the former is based off a novel written by the writer of ''Death Wish''. || ''Death Sentence'' was directed by [[Film/TheConjuring James]] [[Film/InsidIous Wan]] while ''The Brave One'' was directed by [[Film/TheCryingGame Neil]] [[Film/BreakfastOnPluto Jordan]]. The former leans more towards Gorn while the latter has the deaths spread out. || ''The Brave One'' made more money and got better reviews than ''Death Sentence'', but still fell short of it's $70 million budget. ||
|| ''Film/{{Goodfellas}}'' || ''Film/TheGodfatherPartIII'' || 1990 released mafia crime films that came out two months apart. || Ironically the film ''The Godfather'' is facing here has an alum from a previous ''Godfather'' film in a leading role as a crime boss. And that is, of course, Robert DeNiro. || Both films on the whole were successes, and big contenders at the Oscars. However, on the financial front ''The Godfather'' takes it, making about three times as much at the box office. However in terms of reviews whilst ''Godfather III'' has generally positive ratings, the ratings of ''Goodfellas'' are still noticeably higher. ''Goodfellas'' has, however, held up much, much better than ''Godfather III'' and is now considered a classic of the genre, often ranked up amongst the best films of all time alongside first two ''Godfather'' films ironically enough. Whilst ''Godfather III'' is more debated, in large part it would seem because it is often compared unfavorably to its predecessors which leads to it receiving more heat. And thus at the end of the day, ''Goodfellas'' would probably be considered the winner. ||
|| ''Film/{{Casino}}'' || ''Film/{{Heat}}'' || Acclaimed crime films that were released within a month of each other in the year 1995. || Notably both films feature Robert DeNiro in a leading role. || Both are very popular with both critics and audiences. As shown on sites like Rotten Tomatoes where critically they received a close ratings from both groups with similar results on IMDB, with ''Heat'' beating it by a minute margin in eac however. That along with its higher box office gross edges out ''Heat'' to victory in this one.||
[[/folder]]

[[folder:Dance]]
|| Initiators || Followers || Description || Misc || Winner? ||
|| ''Lambada'' || ''The Forbidden Dance'' || Projects from the former heads of [[Creator/TheCannonGroup Cannon Films]] focused on the lambada dance craze. || ''Lambada'' was greenlit first in late 1989 for a May 1990 release. Then, ''The Forbidden Dance'' was greenlit for a release a month earlier. Eventually, both films ended up moving up and were released on the same day (''Lambada'' had finished filming eleven days before release, ''The Forbidden Dance'' was finished a few weeks before). || Neither won as both films flopped at the box office. ''Lambada'' made a little more money though. ||
[[/folder]]

[[folder:Disaster]]
|| Initiators || Followers || Description || Misc || Winner? ||
|| ''Film/TheDayAfter'' || ''Film/{{Threads}}'' || {{Made For TV Movie}}s produced in the mid 1980s about the consequences of [[WorldWarIII nuclear war]] on normal citizens. ''Day'' is set in the continental US state of Kansas and Missouri, while ''Threads'' takes place in the United Kingdom. || ''Threads'' was made as a direct response to the American film. Also, while both movies depict a nuclear exchange, ''Threads'' was even more realistic than ''Day'' in just how horrifying such a scenario would be. ''Day'' was aware of this though, ending with a screen text amounting to "What you've just seen was horrible. However, this is only a toned-down depiction. The real consequences would be even ''worse''." || They both win. Both films received high critical acclaim, were popular with home audiences, and taught a significant part of the public the realities of nuclear warfare. ''Day'' even had an impact on UsefulNotes/RonaldReagan to pursue nuclear disarmament; he reportedly broke down in tears after a private showing. ||
|| ''Film/DeepImpact'' || ''Film/{{Armageddon}}'' || Meteor-strike {{disaster movie}}s. Neither films were imitations of each other ''per se'', but they revolved around different reactions to the same idea, one more dramatic, the other more action-based. || Amusingly, in an early screening of ''Deep Impact'', Creator/MorganFreeman is giving a speech in which he reassures his audience that life will go on after the meteor-hit, declaring, "[[TakeThat There will be no armageddon.]]" Too many viewers at the screening got the in-joke, however, and the [[{{Narm}} uproarious laughter at what was meant as a dramatic scene]] induced the director to cut the line from the final print. || Although ''Film/DeepImpact'' is regarded as the better film, ''Film/{{Armageddon}}'' wins with better box office and the fact that more people are aware of it 10 years after the fact.
|| ''Film/DantesPeak'' || ''Film/{{Volcano}}'' || Movies about volcanoes! The former is set in a small town, and is [[VeryLooselyBasedOnATrueStory very loosely based on the Mt. St. Helens explosion]]. The latter is set in Los Angeles and is therefore much crazier in scale. || As above, not ''exactly'' imitations, but these were both released around the same time and dueled each other with very similar plots. The former, incidentally, is considered notable for being one of the few popcorn disaster movies that actually [[ShownTheirWork tries for scientific accuracy]]. || Surprisingly, ''Dante's Peak'' won, with $6 million more in box office receipts. ''Volcano'' gets the consolation prize of being shown on cable much more often. Heck, it's probably on right now somewhere! (Volcano does lose the duel as far as [[ArtisticLicenseGeology scientific accuracy]] goes, however.) ||
|| ''Film/{{Twister}}'' || ''Tornado[[ExcitedShowTitle !]]''\\
\\
''Film/NightOfTheTwisters'' || Yes, three films all dealing with tornadoes -- ''Twister'' being a major Hollywood production, while the other two were {{made for TV movie}}s. || ''Film/{{Twister}}'' was directed by Jan [=DeBont=] (of ''Film/{{Speed}}'' fame) and co-written by Creator/MichaelCrichton, while ''Tornado!'' was written by [[Film/TheLastSamurai John]] [[Film/TheAviator Logan]]. ''Night of the Twisters'' was based on a novel which was BasedOnATrueStory. || Hollywood won with ''Twister'' grossing over $200 million. The other two faded into footnotes; however, ''Night of the Twisters'' was able to outlast ''Tornado!'' thanks to more repeats on television. ''Twister'' still gets more showings on TV while the others do not. ||
[[/folder]]

[[folder:Documentary]]
|| Initiators || Followers || Description || Misc || Winner? ||
|| ''Inside Job'' || ''I Want Your Money'' || Competing documentaries about the ongoing economics crisis, released one week apart in October 2010. || While the former places the blame on both capitalism and politics, the latter (a DocumentaryOfLies) places all of the blame on UsefulNotes/BarackObama (who wasn't even President when it happened). || ''InsideJob'' was critically acclaimed, became an arthouse hit and won an Oscar, ''IWantYourMoney'' was critically savaged and only lasted a week in most theatres. ||
|| ''Paradise Lost 3: Purgatory'' || ''West of Memphis'' || Documentaries about the West Memphis 3 and the near two decade-long battle to prove their innocence. || ''Purgatory'' is the final chapter of the ''Paradise Lost'' series and is directed by Joe Berlinger, ''West of Memphis'' was directed by Amy Berg, produced by Creator/PeterJackson and actually has Damien Echols (one of the West Memphis 3) as a producer, making that film more or less a first-person account of the events. || ''Purgatory'' has been amassing near-unanimous acclaim and received an Oscar nomination for Best Documentary Feature. ''West of Memphis'' has also received near-unanimous acclaim, but has failed to make in on the 2012 Oscar shortlist. ||
|| ''Religulous'' || ''The God Who Wasn't There'' || Documentaries about atheism and the problems with organized religion. || The former gave a comedic, more light-hearted portrayal of its subject, the latter was much more serious. || ''Religulous'' wins easily, as it had a successful theatrical release and got [[Series/RealTimeWithBillMaher Bill Maher]] a spot presenting the Best Documentary Oscar in 2009. The latter meanwhile was self-distributed and its constant online ads years after release turned its director into a joke and a ShamelessSelfPromoter.
|| ''Fahrenheit 9/11'' || ''Michael Moore Hates America''; ''Fahrenhype 9/11''; ''Celsius 41.11'' || Documentaries released in mid-2004, relating to the UsefulNotes/GeorgeWBush administration, the War on Terror and the 2003 invasion of Iraq. || ''Fahrenheit 9/11'' was very critical of the Bush administration's handling of... well, just about everything. The other three were all, to varying degrees, much more in favor of Bush and the right-wing in general. || Leaving aside the result of the 2004 election, ''Fahrenheit 9/11'' was by far the best-reviewed and most financially successful of the four. None of the remaining three were very well-received, though ''Michael Moore Hates America'' is generally regarded as the best of the trio, thanks to the involvement of Penn Jillette and at least making an attempt to criticize the behavior of both the left and right-wings, instead of being just outright propaganda for one or the other.
|| ''Kurt Cobain: Montage of Heck'' || ''Soaked in Bleach'' || 2015 documentaries about Music/KurtCobain that use previously unseen materials tell their stories || ''Montage of Heck'' is an estate-approved biography that explores Cobain's life and fame, using home movie footage to show his personality outside of his persona. ''Soaked in Bleach'' uses recordings made by private investigator Tom Grant as the basis for a series of recreations arguing that Cobain's death was not a suicide but a murder perpetrated by Courtney Love. || ''Montage of Heck'' was universally acclaimed as a warts and all look at an icon, with a 98% rating on Rottentomatoes. ''Soaked in Bleach'' has a 29% Tomatometer rating, with many critics writing it off due to sloppy filmmaking and logical fallacies in its argument
[[/folder]]

[[folder:Fantasy]]
|| Initiators || Followers || Description || Misc || Winner? ||
|| ''Film/TheDarkCrystal'' || ''Film/{{Krull}}'' || Fantasy films from the '80s, each was set in an exotic world ruled by an evil force. A fortress must be penetrated. || ''Film/TheDarkCrystal'' was done by Creator/JimHenson (which meant, of course, [[{{Muppet}} animatronic puppets]]), while ''Film/{{Krull}}'' was live action. || Each have their fans, so let's just say it's a draw and leave it at that. ||
|| ''[[Film/TheLordOfTheRings The Lord of the Rings: The Fellowship of the Ring]]'' (2001) || ''Film/DungeonsAndDragons'' || HighFantasy in a magical land of elves, goblins and other fantastical creatures based off legendary and sacred nerd franchises. (Both distributed by New Line Cinema.) ||''Lord of the Rings'' is an extraordinarily realized version of one of the most important and influential books of the twentieth century. On the other hand, ''Dungeons & Dragons'' has Creator/TomBaker as the King of the Elves. || ''LOTR'' by a landslide. In case you couldn't guess. It's one of the most revered film trilogies in movie history, and inspired ''Literature/TheHobbit'' to be adapted as well a decade later. ''DnD'' became instant SnarkBait for it's plot and acting and tanked, sentencing IT'S sequels to DirectToVideo.||
||''[[Film/TheLordOfTheRings The Lord of the Rings: The Fellowship of the Ring]]'' (2001) || ''[[Film/HarryPotterAndThePhilosophersStone Harry Potter and the Philosopher's/Sorcerer's Stone]]'' (2001) || First installments of high-budget film adaptations of popular and beloved fantasy series, with an overlapping viewer demographic, released within a month's difference of each other. || || A tie, or, better said, both films win. Both ''LOTR'' and ''HP'' were incredible box-office hits, grossing about $900 million each, successfully launching their respective film franchises, [[SugarWiki/VisualEffectsOfAwesome revolutionizing the use of CGI in movies]] and [[GenreTurningPoint greatly raising the prestige of the fantasy genre]]. ||
|| ''[[Literature/TheInkworldTrilogy Inkheart]]'' || ''Film/BedtimeStories'' || Some kid brings stories to life. || Only superficially similar. ''Inkheart'' is a modern-fantasy adventure tale centered around a young teen, while ''Bedtime Stories'' is a more lighthearted Creator/AdamSandler vehicle involving much younger children. The "stories come to life" is played for tension and action in the former while it is played for laughs and poignancy in the latter. || Neither film was well-liked by critics, but Inkheart's reviews were still significantly higher than Bedtime Stories's. However, ''Bedtime Stories'' pulled in over $100 million in the US alone (and $200 million worldwide), while ''Inkheart'' was a flop, earning only $17 million domestically (its worldwide gross of $70 million was barely enough to recoup its budget). ||
|| ''Film/{{Legend}}'' || ''Film/{{Labyrinth}}'' || Big-budget, lavish, special effects-heavy fantasies with a youthful hero/heroine and newfound fantastical companions on a quest to face off with a BigBad and right a terrible wrong. A seductive, LargeHam villain attempts to woo the leading lady. Both films share a cinematographer (Alex Thomson), and their settings might have had more in common[[note]] originally, ''Labyrinth'' was set in a MagicalLand only, and then had a Victorian era wraparound added[[/note]] had the makers of the latter not been made aware of the former. While in the U.K. they were Christmas releases for 1985 and '86, respectively, the North American releases were two months apart in the spring/summer of '86. || The two movies take TheHerosJourney in different directions. Creator/RidleyScott's ''Legend'' is a straightforward FairyTale with a NatureHero saving a PrincessClassic and unicorns from a villain who's effectively {{Satan}}, with the fate of the world at stake. Creator/JimHenson's ''Labyrinth'' is an often-humorous musical take on the DownTheRabbitHole plot, with the PresentDay heroine seeking to rescue the baby brother she wished away into the land of the Goblin King, and the major characters have more complex personalities/development. The former film uses prosthetic makeup for its non-human characters, while the latter uses [[Main/StarringSpecialEffects animatronic puppets]] instead. || Both films were box-office flops in the U.S., the latter only doing a little better than the former with critics, but gained cult followings on the video market. In later years, ''Legend'''s reputation has gone up a bit thanks to a Director's Cut (the U.S. release was significantly shorter and had a completely different score), but ''Labyrinth'' has proven popular enough to spawn several {{meme|ticMutation}}s and an ExpandedUniverse in graphic novel form. Both have become major cult classics, with Labyrinth having developed its slightly faster. ||
|| ''Photographing Fairies'' || ''Film/FairyTaleATrueStory'' || 1997 movies [[VeryLooselyBasedOnATrueStory somewhat based on the real-life story]] of the Cottingley Fairies, about two young cousins who allegedly capture real fairies on film and attract the attention of prominent figures of the time such as Creator/ArthurConanDoyle and Creator/HarryHoudini. || ''Photographing Fairies'' is more of a mystery with elements of romance and intrigue, while ''[=FairyTale=]'' is a family fantasy-drama that focuses on the two young cousins at the centre of the real-life incident. || Both films In addition to being released not very far apart, both films have almost the same score on Website/IMDb, a 6.3 for ''[=FairyTale=]'' and a 6.7 for ''Photographing Fairies''. ||
|| ''Film/JackTheGiantSlayer'' || ''Film/OzTheGreatAndPowerful'' || 2013 movies based on classic stories with heavy doses of special effects. || ''Jack the Giant Slayer'' is based on ''Literature/JackAndTheBeanstalk'', while ''Oz the Great and Powerful'' is based on ''Literature/TheWonderfulWizardOfOz''. Both are directed by superhero movie pioneers, Sam Raimi of Oz for the ''Spider-Man Trilogy'' and Brian Singer of Jack for ''X-Men'' and ''X-2''. Both of those series could be seen as Dueling Movies on their own rights.|| ''Jack the Giant Slayer'' was a box office bomb and received mixed reviews from critics, and had the potential of crippling the DarkerAndEdgier fairy tale films until ''Film/IntoTheWoods'' saved the genre. ''Oz the Great and Powerful'' has mixed reviews as well but was much more successful at the box office. ||
|| ''Film/ChittyChittyBangBang'' || ''Film/TheLoveBug'' || Family films about magical vehicles. || Both films seem to have the Disney touch. ''Chitty Chitty Bang Bang'' even had then-Disney regular Creator/DickVanDyke and Sherman Brothers songs. But only the latter was made in house at the legendary studio. The former was produced by Albert Broccoli of ''Film/JamesBond'' fame and was based on a novel by Creator/IanFleming (also of ''Bond'' fame). || ''Chitty Chitty Bang Bang'' had mixed reviews and modest financial success. ''The Love Bug'' was released a few months later and eclipsed the other film and spawned a number of sequels starring the car Herbie. It was assumed that ''The Love Bug'' did better than ''Chitty'' because it was set in contemporary times but the other was not (unlike Fleming's novel). ||
|| ''Disney/TheJungleBook'' (Disney 2016) || ''Jungle Book: Origins'' (Warner Bros., 2017) || New adaptations of Rudyard Kipling's classic novel, done in a hybrid of live action and CGI and both featuring an AllStarCast of actors for the animal parts. || Disney's version (their third take on the material) will be directed by Creator/JonFavreau and star Creator/BillMurray, Creator/LupitaNyongo, Creator/ChristopherWalken, Creator/BenKingsley, Creator/ScarlettJohansson, and Creator/IdrisElba. ''Jungle Book: Origins'' will be directed by Creator/AndySerkis and will star Serkis, Creator/ChristianBale, Creator/NaomiHarris, Creator/CateBlanchett, and Creator/BenedictCumberbatch || It remains to be seen ||
|| ''Film/ConanTheBarbarian'' || ''Film/TheBeastmaster'' || 1982 released barbarian swords and sorcery films that center around a hero whose village winds up decimated by a band of raiders, leading to the death of his parents. The lead hero vows revenge, and thus goes up against the powerful and corrupt theocrat behind it.|| || ''The Beastmaster'' continues to have a strong cult following to this day, but ''Conan the Barbarian'' remains the more well known, has garnered greater acclaim from critics, and made about ten times as much money at the box office.||
|| ''Film/StarWarsEpisodeIIAttackOfTheClones'' || ''Film/HarryPotterAndTheChamberOfSecrets'', ''Film/TheLordOfTheRings'' ''Film/TheTwoTowers''||2002 released fantasy adventure films that served as the second chapter in a contemporary string of competing franchises. || Granted some would argue whether or not ''Star Wars'' should count as a fantasy or sci-fi franchise, many agree on it essentially being both. As it still has the major mystical element of the Force, and in terms of character plays more with fantasy archetypes than sci-fi ones.|| Overall the winner is ''The Two Towers'', followed by ''Chamber of Secrets'' and then ''Attack of the Clones'' in terms of both financial and critical reception. However, none of them was a complete failure in any of those regards. Though like the rest of the ''Star Wars'' prequels, ''Attack of the Clones'' remains starkly divisive within the core fanbase however.||

[[/folder]]

[[folder:Musical/Concert]]
|| Initiators || Followers || Description || Misc || Winner? ||
|| ''Theatre/ThePiratesOfPenzance''|| ''Film/ThePirateMovie'' || Both are adaptations of the famous Creator/GilbertAndSullivan operetta ''Theatre/ThePiratesOfPenzance'' released around 1982-1983. The former is a filmed rendition of the then-running Broadway revival with much of the same cast; the latter is a very-loose rendition of the story with a few of the same songs (and some [[MovieBonusSong extras]]) and a generally 80s feel. || ''The Pirate Movie'' got to theaters first, in the midst of ''Penzance'''s Broadway run, and quickly faded away. Although a box-office bomb itself, the failure of ''Penzance'' was caused by ExecutiveMeddling, not lack of interest. ''Theatre/ThePiratesOfPenzance'' actually enjoyed a long run in ''one'' of the '''''92''''' theaters that showed it. || ''Theatre/ThePiratesOfPenzance'', with a higher Website/RottenTomatoes score and a Golden Globe nom for Best Actress. ''The Pirate Movie'' bombed critically and earned a few Razzie nominations. ||
|| ''Music/{{U2}} 3D'' || ''[[Series/HannahMontana Hannah Montana & Miley Cyrus: Best of Both Worlds Concert]]'' || 3-D concert films from early 2008. || The U2 concert was shown at IMAX, while the ''Hannah Montana'' concert was shown in digital 3-D only. And one year later came the cheaper [[Music/TheJonasBrothers Jonas Brothers]] 3-D concert, which was also shown at IMAX. || ''Hannah Montana'' had a much bigger box office, but ''U2 3D'' was better received by critics. ||
|| ''Can't Stop the Music'' || ''Film/{{Xanadu}}'' || 1980 disco musicals, each with a $20 million budget, that double as [[Main/NonActorVehicle non-actor vehicles]]. Both involve alumni of the 1978 blockbuster ''Film/{{Grease}}'': producer Allan Carr and screenwriter Bronte Woodard with the former, and lead actress Olivia Newton-John with the latter. (Carr wanted Newton-John for the female lead in ''Can't Stop'', but it didn't work out.) || The former fictionalizes the creation and rise to stardom of the Music/VillagePeople and intertwines it with a romance between an uptight lawyer (Bruce Jenner) and a feisty ex-model (Valerie Perrine). The latter is a fantasy about a Greek Muse (Newton-John) who inspires a struggling artist (Michael Beck) to open a lavish roller disco; complications ensue when she falls in love with him. || ''Can't Stop'' opened in June, ''Xanadu'' in August -- either way, they were victims of the [[DeaderThanDisco "Disco Sucks" backlash]]. Both received wretched reviews and [[Main/StarDerailingRole derailed the film careers]] of several of their leads. They inspired the very first UsefulNotes/{{Golden Raspberry Award}}s when they ran as a double feature; the former "won" Worst Picture and Screenplay, and the latter Worst Director. But ''Xanadu'' barely made back its budget, had a hit soundtrack, became a {{camp}} classic via cable, and received an intentionally tongue-in-cheek ScreenToStageAdaptation in 2007. ''Can't Stop the Music'' only grossed $2 million and sounded the death knell for the Music/VillagePeople's popularity. ||
|| ''Film/{{Grease}}'' || ''Film/SgtPeppersLonelyHeartsClubBand'' || From record and film producer Robert Stigwood, via different studios (Paramount and Universal): Two SummerBlockbuster musicals aiming at the teenybopper market with name performers from both the film and music spheres. Both were adapted from stage productions, and both involve key alumni of ''Film/SaturdayNightFever'' -- lead actor Creator/JohnTravolta in the former, and band Music/TheBeeGees in the latter (getting to act as well as provide tunes). The latter's director, Michael Schultz, turned the former down when it was initially offered to him. || The former is a cheery, {{Camp}} take on TheFifties; the latter is a fantasy JukeboxMusical based on songs of Music/TheBeatles. || Stigwood focused on the latter film, as he was sole producer on it (as opposed to co-producer, with Allan Carr, on the former) and it had a budget three times as big, but ''Grease'' proved to be the biggest movie of 1978. While it didn't receive glowing reviews, they were '''much''' better than what ''Sgt. Pepper'' received when it opened the following month. The box office receipts barely covered the budget and many of the performers in the film suffered [[Main/StarDerailingRole career setbacks]] for their association with it. ||
|| ''Rags'' || ''Film/LetItShine'' || TV movie about a teen boy who wants to be a singing star but has a disapproving father. Elsewhere, successful African-American female pop star wishes to sing her own music her own way. The two meet up and (presumably) achieve their respective goals. Both are also based off of classic stories. (''Literature/{{Cinderella}}'' for ''Rags'' and ''Theatre/CyranoDeBergerac'' for ''Let It Shine.''|| ''Rags'' is Creator/{{Nickelodeon}} and ''Let It Shine'' is Creator/DisneyChannel. || ''Film/LetItShine'', although ''Rags'' did pretty decently as well, especially on iTunes. ||
|| ''Film/{{Footloose}}'' || ''Film/StreetsOfFire''\\
\\
''Film/PurpleRain'' || 3 movies released in 1984 with music as the recurring theme. || ''Footloose'' was based on true events of a ban on dancing in Nebraska, ''Streets of Fire'' was more action-oriented, and ''Purple Rain'' was the one with Music/{{Prince}}. These movies were released by Paramount, Universal, and Warner Bros. respectively. || Financially, ''Footloose'' did better than the other two, but all 3 of these movies managed to be {{Cult Classic}}s in their own right, although ''Streets Of Fire'' bombed, and the circumstances surrounding it's greenlighting destroyed producer Larry Gordon's relationship with Paramount/Disney head Michael Eisner for 2 years.
|| ''TheHollywoodRevueOf1929'' (1929, ({{MGM}}) || ''TheShowOfShows'' (1929, Creator/WarnerBros) and ''ParamountOnParade'' (1930, {{Paramount}}) || All three films are plotless revues (musical numbers interspersed with sketches), designed to showcase the studios contracted stars and demonstrate how far they had come in talkie technology (and how much Technicolor they could afford). || By 1929, audiences showed every sign of preferring sound films to {{silent|Film}}s. Each of these films was its producing studios declaration of intent, stating their claim to the future of film. || ''TheHollywoodRevueOf1929'' has the highest score on IMDB, but modern viewers should remember that none of these movies survive in the format that audiences originally saw (missing soundtracks, missing color footage, [[MissingEpisode completely lost segments]]). ||
[[/folder]]

[[folder:Sword and Sandal]]
|| Initiators || Followers || Description || Misc || Winner? ||
|| ''Film/{{Troy}}''\\
\\
''Film/KingArthur''\\
\\
''Film/{{Alexander}} ''\\
\\
(all 2004) || ''Film/KingdomOfHeaven''\\
\\
''Film/ThreeHundred''\\
\\
''Film/RobinHood2010''\\
\\
''{{Film/Centurion}}''\\
(respectively) || {{Demythtifi|cation}}ed SwordAndSandal (would be) {{epic|Movie}}s [[FollowTheLeader inspired by success]] of ''Film/{{Gladiator}}'' using cinematography from ''[[Film/TheLordOfTheRings LOTR]]'' and [[ShakyCam stuttercam]] from ''[[Film/SavingPrivateRyan SPR]]'' to capture massive battle scenes, seasoned lightly with a single tasteful [[ShirtlessScene love scene]]. The hero employs the ancient sword technique of [[AdrenalineTime ramping]]. || ''Troy'' and ''300'' seem doomed to comparison, despite having little in common besides being about Greeks. Same with ''King Arthur'' and ''The Last Legion'' as both are films set during the TheSiege in the 2004 flicks fell victim to [[SeinfeldIsUnfunny Seinfeld Fatigue]] in the wake of a certain '03 [[Film/TheLordOfTheRings film]] and those ''Capital One'' ads. ''Kingdom'' was heavily [[ExecutiveMeddling cut up]] for the [[VindicatedByCable theatrical release]]. || ''Film/ThreeHundred'' wins due to [[FountainOfMemes popularity]]. ''Film/{{Troy}}'' places thanks to [[JustHereForGodzilla that one fight scene]] everyone wants to see. ''Film/{{Kingdom|OfHeaven}}'' draws, due to the stellar Director's Cut. ''Film/KingArthur'' loses, and it was one of at least 5 major flops that helped lead to Disney CEO Michael Eisner getting dethroned from his position at the company. ''Film/Alexander2004'' loses out as well, even though some of its director's cut versions have received marginally better feedback. ''Film/RobinHood2010'' is ''Gladiator'' [[AC:[[RecycledInSPACE with Robin Hood!]]]] "{{Film/Alexander}}'' loses as well even though it had marginally better received cuts on home video.. ''{{Film/Centurion}}'' gets a leg up for being [[BMovie deliberately cheesy]].
|| ''[[Film/PercyJacksonAndTheOlympians Percy Jackson and the Lightning Thief]]'' || ''Film/ClashOfTheTitans'' || Two action-adventure movies with very different target audiences (''Percy Jackson'' is based on a YA book series; ''Clash'' is a remake of the [[Creator/RayHarryhausen 1981 movie]]). Both are [[SadlyMythtaken very loosely]] based on Myth/ClassicalMythology, up to having an overlapping character roster. Which Zeus do you prefer, Creator/SeanBean or Creator/LiamNeeson? || The sequel for the ''Percy Jackson'' movie was announced ''before'' the release... and yet languished in DevelopmentHell for a while. (and will come out one year after the sequel to the other one, ''Wrath of the Titans'') || Both films received lukewarm reviews, but ''Clash'' did much better financially. ||
|| ''Film/{{Centurion}}'' || ''Film/TheEagle'' || Adventure movies set in 2nd Century Roman Britain with the "[[HistoryMarchesOn mysterious disappearance]]" of the [[LostRomanLegion Ninth Legion]] as their inspiration.|| ''Centurion'' is an original, {{Gorn}}asmic chase movie reminiscent of ''Film/{{Apocalypto}}'' that follows a group of legionaries stranded in enemy territory after their legion is massacred by the Picts. ''The Eagle'' is a DarkerAndEdgier PragmaticAdaptation of the 1954 classic children historical novel ''Literature/TheEagleOfTheNinth'', that follows the son of the disgraced general of the Ninth and his Brittonic slave in a mission to recover the Legion's eagle and restore the honor of his family years after the Legion disappeared.|| Both films received mixed reviews. ''Centurion'', directed by NeilMarshall and starring Creator/MichaelFassbender, DominicWest and OlgaKurylenko, was most criticized because of its script, while ''TheEagle'''s critics targetted Kevin [=MacDonald=]'s direction and ChanningTatum's uninspired performance as the lead. Nonetheless, only ''TheEagle'' made its budget back, despite costing twice as much as ''Centurion''. ||
|| ''Film/TheLegendOfHercules'' || ''[[Film/{{Hercules2014}} Hercules]]'' || Adaptations of the Hercules myth made for the modern audience.|| ''The Legend of Hercules'' has an original story and stars [[Film/{{Twilight}} Kellan Lutz]]. The other ''Hercules'' is based on [[ComicBook/HerculesTheThracianWars a comic miniseries]] and stars Wrestling/DwayneJohnson aka The Rock. || ''The Legend of Hercules'' was a critical and commercial failure. In its first weekend, ''Hercules'' already earned more at the box office than ''The Legend of Hercules'' and although reviews were mixed, it still did noticeably better with critics. ||
|| ''Film/{{Noah}}'' || ''Film/ExodusGodsAndKings'' || Big budget - and controversial - epics based on stories from Literature/TheBible by highly respected filmmakers (The former has Creator/DarrenAronofsky while the latter is by Creator/RidleyScott). || ''Noah'' has gone for more of a fantasy angle while ''Exodus'' is much more grounded. Funnily enough, the latter's [[Creator/ChristianBale lead]] was suppose to be in the former but dropped out. Regarding the controversies, ''Noah'' was criticized for the Biblical accuracy while ''Exodus'' received more complaints on the race casting on the main cast. Both films got banned in several Islamic countries because Noah and Moses were considered prophets of Allah and any portrayal of them is forbidden.|| ''Noah'' wins. It got positive reviews than ''Exodus'' which got mixed to negative reviews. Regardless that both films got banned in several Islamic countries, Noah was considered to be a hit while ''Exodus'' is said to be a flop. ||
|| ''Literature/BenHur'' || ''Film/{{Spartacus}}'' || Both are Golden Age Hollywood era epics that center around a great hero who stands up to and faces the might of the Roman Empire.|| Kirk Douglas desperately desired the role of Judah Ben-Hur that ultimately went to Charlton Heston, and though offered the role as the film's chief antagonist Messala he declined. Shortly after, Edward Lewis, a vice president in Douglas's film company, Bryna Productions, had Douglas read Howard Fast's novel, Spartacus, which had a related theme—an individual who challenges the might of the Roman Empire—and Douglas was impressed enough to purchase an option on the book from Fast with his own financing. Universal Studios eventually agreed to finance the film after Douglas persuaded Olivier, Laughton, and Ustinov to act in it. At the end of the day both films came out within a year of each other, and given all that backstory were in essence born to be rivals.|| This one looks close enough that some may consider it be a draw, but if one had to choose it would probably lean more towards ''Ben-Hur''. But regardless, both films are nowadays considered classics. Being adored by critics and audiences alike. And both making AFI's Top 10 Film Epics list at the #2 and #4 spots respectively. ''Ben-Hur'' at the time had a higher box office gross and did bigger at the Oscars. Though ''Spartacus'' won 4 at the awards in the ceremony the year after, ''Ben-Hur'' holds the record with ''Titanic'' and ''The Lord of the Rings: The Return of the King'' for the most awards won at 11 including Best Picture. Though ''Spartacus'' started out with a more mixed reception, very likely due to the political climate of the time, it has gone on to have its reputation become much greater than stature. Coming to have a slightly higher critical reception that its counterpart, at least if Rotten Tomatoes is to be taken into account.||
|| ''Film/BlackDeath'' || ''Film/SeasonOfTheWitch'' || Two films released within a year of each other, the former in late 2010 and the latter in early 2011. Both are action/adventure/horror films take place during the Dark Ages as the Black Plague is in full force. Both films are about how a company led by a knight is tasked by the Church to go to a far off village in order to essentially to tackle/investigate potential witchcraft. || Director Christopher Smith himself rewrote the latter half of the script to ''Black Death'' in order to present the supernatural forces at play in a more ambiguous fashion. On the other hand ''Season of the Witch'' lays it all out in the open so to speak.|| ''Black Death'' wins by a country mile. ''Season of the Witch'' received near unanimous negative reviews from critics and also a generally bad reception with audiences. On the other hand ''Black Death'' received generally positive marks from critics though a divided reception with audiences.||
|| ''Film/KingArthur'' || ''Film/TheLastLegion'' || Both are Post-''Gladiator'' Roman Era epics that came out within a few years of each other take place during the decline of the Roman Empire, with them either having abandoned Britannia or are in the process of doing so. Both center around a band of heroes, led by a veteran Roman commander, who are set on a mission to escort a boy of important status to safety. They have to face a powerful "barbarian" force, culminating in a final battle at Hadrian's Wall. Both films also firmly link the King Arthur mythology to Rome.|| The author of the original novel ''The Last Legion'' Valerio Massimo Manfredi himself is aware of the similarities between the two stories and has pointed them out before.||Both films have their fans among general audiences, but neither did particularly well with critics. However ''King Arthur'' still did better on that front and made eight times as much at the box office (though it still helped kill Michael Eisner's career at Disney). Ultimately doing modestly well, whilst ''The Last Legion'' did not manage to recoup its budget.||
|| ''Film/KingdomOfHeaven'' || ''Film/ArnTheKnightTemplar'' || Both are Medieval battle epics released during the grand revival of the genre Post-''Gladiator'' that centers around a young man who is disgraced in some way and subsequently goes on a journey to the Holy Land where he becomes a knight and participates in the Crusades. The famous and popular Muslim leader Saladin plays a prominent role in both.||The historical figures Balian of Ibelin, Guy of Lusignan, and Raynald of Châtillon who are major players in ''Kingdom of Heaven'' were actually featured in the ''Arn'' novels by Jan Guillou. || This is a tough one given the differences in their releases. ''Kingdom of Heaven'' is probably the more well known of the two, but ''Arn'' seemed to receive a more positive initial reception on first run. However after the release of its Director's Cut ''Kingdom of Heaven'' has received a massive boost in notoriety.||
|| ''Film/RobinHood2010'' || ''Film/{{Ironclad}}'' ||Medieval era battle epics released within a year of each other that center around a disillusioned warrior that fought in the crusades who returns home to England where he must fight for his nation's freedom and security. Both even having a love interest in a woman of nobility. The famous English monarch King John plays a prominent role in both.||Interestingly enough the lead character of ''Ironclad'' Thomas Marshall has been said to have based on one of the William Marshals of the time. The father and son who were the 1st and 2nd Earl of Pembroke respectively. William Marshal the 1st is featured prominently in ''Robin Hood'' and portrayed by William Hurt.|| Neither film was a huge success, with both receiving mixed reviews from both critics and audiences. Though ''Robin Hood'' still did a bit better on at least the front of the latter. ''Robin Hood'' also wound up grossing more at the box office, but was also a bit more than six times as expensive as ''Ironclad''. ''Robin Hood'' was intended to be the start of a series, but ultimately the box office numbers did not justify it for the studio, whilst ''Ironclad'' wound up actually getting a sequel in ''Ironclad: Battle for Blood'' in spite of all that preceding data. ||
|| ''Film/{{Troy}}'' || ''Film/{{Alexander}}'' || 2004 released historical battle epics set during the era of Ancient Greece and deal with themes concerning legacy and immortality. || Ironically enough there is reference to Achilles and Patroclus in ''Alexander''. Alexander's close-friend and lover Hephaestion compares him to Achilles, followed-up with Alexander stating that if he is Achilles, than Hephaestion must be his Patroclus. Ironically enough both got some controversy in certain circles with regards to their characters' sexuality. Some criticized ''Troy'' for apparently going out of its way to establish that Achilles and Patroclus' relationship was purely platonic and he a heterosexual. In contrast ''Alexander'' would get criticized by some for so much as suggesting that Alexander the great was not heterosexual.||''Troy'' wins this one. While ''Alexander'' received generally negative reviews from critics and mixed from audiences, ''Troy'' by comparison got generally mixed reviews from critics and mostly positive from audiences. Financially speaking ''Troy'' made more than twice as much at the box office, and had only started with a slightly higher budget to begin with. Both films have received Director's Cuts on home video. ''Troy'' received a director's that most agree improved on the film, whilst ''Alexander'' has received three different cuts itself. The latter two in particular have garnered more praise, but have not elevated the film too drastically in such a way that something like say the ''Kingdom of Heaven'' Director's Cut did.||
|| Ridley Scott ''Film/KingDavid'' Movie||Warner Bros. ''Film/KingDavid'' Movie|| As one would expect they are both planned large scale historical epics centering around the Biblical figure King David. Though of course, that is if one of them does not wind up getting cancelled first as was the case with Steven Spielberg's ''Gods & Kings'' which was originally set to go head-to-head with Ridley Scott's ''Exodus'' that, ironically enough, is now known as ''Film/ExodusGodsAndKings''.|| || TBA ||
|| ''Film/HelenOfTroy'' || ''Film/AlexanderTheGreat'' || Both were battle epics released in 1956 set during the time of Ancient Greece about famous figures/events of the era. || Ironically enough there would be a rematch of sorts decades later in 2004 when Wolfgang Petersen's ''Troy'' and Oliver Stone's ''Alexander'' would be released close to each other in 2004. That match-up naturally even has its own slot on this list. || Neither is particularly popular or well-known, and seem to largely have been forgotten by this point. However ''Helen of Troy'' did manage to make about a million more at the box office and got mixed-to-positive reviews from critics in comparison to the mostly negative one received by ''Alexander the Great''. Whilst not glowing, it also has higher audience ratings, which are generally mixed but lean towards positive.||
|| ''Film/TheConqueror'' || ''Film/AlexanderTheGreat'' || Both were battle epics released in 1956, their wide releases both falling exactly upon March 28 ironically enough, that center around one of history's most famous conquerors and military leaders. (Genghis Khan and Alexander the Great) || || Well, the winner of this match depends on what fate one considers to be a worse one. An eternity of infamy or virtual oblivion as it is for each film respectively. Both films did very poorly with critics, however with the general audience whilst ''The Conqueror'' has a generally negative reaction ''Alexander'' has a more divided response. Counter-balancing that though is the fact that ''The Conqueror'' did better at the box office. ||
|| ''Film/{{Outcast}} '' || ''Film/DragonBlade'' || Both are films set in the past where characters from Ancient China have to team up with Europeans, with Crusaders in the former and Romans in the latter. || || TBA ||


[[/folder]]

[[folder:Superhero]]
|| Initiators || Followers || Description || Misc || Winner? ||
|| ''Film/TheGreenHornet'' || ''Film/GreenLantern''\\
\\
''Comicbook/GreenArrow'' (on hold) || Green-themed superheroes.\\
\\
It isn't easy being green for [[DevelopmentHell would-be]] third contender, ''Green Arrow: Escape From Super Max''. || One is based on a long-running second-tier ''[[InternetBackdraft (perhaps)]]'' DC icon, one is based on a [[Franchise/TheGreenHornet cult TV show]]. Both had to correct for [[WeaksauceWeakness silly weaknesses]] (yellow and [[SidekickExMachina reliance on]] Creator/BruceLee, respectively). || ''{{Website/Cracked}}'' made [[http://www.cracked.com/article_19015_green-lantern-vs.-green-hornet-telling-them-apart-5Bchart5D.html a chart]] pointing out how similar the two movies were. In the end, ''Lantern'' got thrashed by critics and proved to be a total disaster at the box office for Creator/WarnerBros, who had banked on it being their big movie for the summer of 2011. By contrast, ''Hornet'' got mixed reviews but made back its budget nearly twice over, so it looks to be the winner. ||
|| ''Film/SkyHigh'' || ''Film/ZoomAcademyForSuperheroes'' || Kid superheroes learn to use their powers. || ''Very'' different, if you give ''Zoom'' a chance. There's very little substance hung on ''Zoom''s plot scaffold. Notably, ''Zoom'' is one former superhero employed by the military training youngsters, instead of the full-fledged institution implied by the title. || ''Sky High'' made back over double its budget and earned favorable reviews, while ''Zoom'' flopped and earned Tim Allen a Razzie nom.
|| ''Film/IronMan'' || ''Film/TheDarkKnight''\\
\\
(''Film/TheGreenHornet'') || Two movies that came out the same summer (and one that [[DevelopmentHell would have]]) in which, after traumatic events, wealthy sons become masked super heroes with pimped-out mechanical aids; they also have butlers and/or a leggy SassySecretary (well, two out of three) and a really [[CoolCar Cool]][=/=]WeaponizedCar. The heroes pose as [[RichIdiotWithNoDayJob apathetic playboys]] who own their own corporations and have a close friend/business partner who is also a minority. || Not only were ''Iron Man'' and ''The Dark Knight'' dueling movies, but they were also dueling between Creator/{{Marvel|Comics}} and Creator/{{DC|Comics}} respectively during their release in 2008. ''Green Hornet'', on the other hand, was pushed back to January 2011 due to the studio converting to 3-D. || Both ''Iron Man'' and ''Dark Knight'' received huge critical acclaim and did great at the box office, but ''The Dark Knight'' wins on a slight edge. ''Iron Man'' got a sequel sooner, but ''The Dark Knight'' did better critically and financially. And that's not to mention ''Film/TheDarkKnight'' winning the first ever acting Oscar for a Comic Book movie with Creator/HeathLedger winning posthumously for his portrayal of SelfDemonstrating/TheJoker. However, ''Iron Man'' launched the Franchise/MarvelCinematicUniverse, which has made over $7 billion. With a "B." ''Green Hornet'', when it [[SavedFromDevelopmentHell finally was released]], received mixed reviews and modest box office, which, in all fairness, is probably better than it would have done if it was released on time to compete with the other two. ||
|| ''Film/{{Thor}}'' || ''Film/GreenLantern'' || Superhero movies with the involvement of forces from beyond our world, whether alien or divine. || Another Marvel vs. DC duel. || ''Thor'' got much better reviews, and performed better at the box office. ''Green Lantern'' became a stillborn attempt to launch the DC Cinematic Universe when it flopped critically and commercially.||
|| ''Film/{{Defendor}}'' || ''Film/KickAss''\\
\\
''Film/{{Super}}'' || Three indie superhero movies about average people trying to become gadget-based, low-budget vigilantes and end up having brushes with local organized crime. || The major difference definitely falls in the personalities of the superheroes. Kick-Ass is an average nerdy teen, while Defendor is a mentally-disturbed homeless man that has delusions of certain supervillains. ''Super''s Crimson Bolt suffers similar deranged illusions, but is slightly more stable. ''Kick-Ass'' becomes more stylized as it goes along, while the other two have a more realistic look to them. This could be chalked up to budget differences, as ''Kick-Ass'' (while low budget by Hollywood standards) cost over ten times as much as either of the other two. || ''Super'' received mixed reviews and was released only on select arthouse theater screens, limiting its mainstream marketability, but it was a success on VOD. ''Defendor'' had a limited release and will likely have a cult status. ''Kick-Ass'' was the big winner, a commercial success that received mostly positive reviews (Creator/RogerEbert didn't like it at all, but most others were kinder) and made stars out of Creator/AaronJohnson and Creator/ChloeMoretz.
|| ''Film/TheAvengers'' || ''Film/TheDarkKnightRises''\\
\\
''Film/TheAmazingSpiderMan'' || Superhero films released in 2012 and showcasing some of the biggest characters in ComicBooks. || ''The Avengers'' and ''The Dark Knight Rises'' are the culmination of their respective franchises spanning over several years. ''The Avengers'' is the climax of phase one of the Franchise/MarvelCinematicUniverse (phase two launched with ''Iron Man 3'', with more films to come), while ''Film/TheDarkKnightRises'' is the definite end of Creator/ChristopherNolan's [[Film/TheDarkKnightSaga Dark Knight Saga]]. ''The Amazing Spider-Man'', meanwhile, is a reboot of the ''Spider-Man'' film series, and is part of a separate continuity from the MCU, what with it still being owned by Creator/{{Sony}}. || ''The Avengers'' made $1.5 billion at the box office (it's the third-highest-grossing movie of all time) and a higher rating on Website/RottenTomatoes, giving it the win. ''Rises'' is a close second, with $1.1B (7th-highest by gross), a higher rating on Metacritic, and a higher IMDB score. ''The Amazing Spider-Man'' was a clear third-place finisher, though it still did well with both critics and audiences, but it's first sequel prematurely short-circuited the series and led to Spider-Man getting absorbed into the MCU. ||
|| ''Film/MysteryMen'' (1999) || ''Film/TheSpecials'' (2000) || Semi-{{deconstructive parod|y}}ies about loser/inept/oddly-abled underdog superheroes. || || Probably ''Mystery Men'' because it seems better-known and had that whole Music/SmashMouth tie-in; both movies have their moments, though. ||
|| ''Film/IronMan3'' || ''Film/ManOfSteel'' || Battle of the ferrous metal themed Superhero Franchises, 2013. Also, DC vs. Marvel, Again || ''Iron Man 3'' is the third in its series and features a new director at the helm. ''Man of Steel'' is a reboot of the Superman franchise, 27 years after ''Film/SupermanIVTheQuestForPeace,'' Directed by Zack Snyder and starring Henry Cavil in the title role. || While both movies managed to [[BrokenBase split the fanbase in two]] ''Iron Man 3'' was much more well-received by critics and grossed $1.2 billion in the box office, becoming the fifth highest grossing movie of all time. ''Man Of Steel'' grossed over $600 million at the box office, so they were both successful. However, ''Iron Man 3'' wins. ||
|| ''[[Film/IronMan Iron Man film series]]'' || ''Film/TheDarkKnightSaga'' || To summarize a few of the above entries, both are superhero franchises by Marvel and DC starring a gadget-using billionaire (Comicbook/IronMan and Franchise/{{Batman}}, respectively). || Both franchises consist of a trilogy with a final installment where [[spoiler: the hero ditches all his gadgets and decides to retire, to enjoy a peaceful life with his significant other]]. Also, although Batman was possibly DC's most famous hero to begin with, Iron Man was mostly a B-lister until his movies elevated him to near-Franchise/SpiderMan status.|| ''The Dark Knight Saga'' wins as it is widely considered by many to be the greatest superhero series of all time, with all three films (particularly the second one) receiving critical acclaim (however, with the third one being considered not exactly great). While the first and third ''Iron Man'' films also received acclaim, the second one was significantly less praised. ||
|| ''Film/CaptainAmericaTheWinterSoldier'' || ''Film/TheAmazingSpiderMan2'', ''Film/XMenDaysOfFuturePast'' || It's 2012 all over again as Creator/MarvelComics movies by three different studios (Disney, Sony and Fox respectively) compete for the 2014 summer box-office crown. || ''Winter Soldier'' is part of the Franchise/MarvelCinematicUniverse, and follows ComicBook/CaptainAmerica and his allies after the events of 2012's ''Film/TheAvengers''. ''[=ASM2=]'', meanwhile, is a direct sequel to 2012's ''Film/TheAmazingSpiderMan''. ''DOFP'' follows from [[BrokenStreak 2011]]'s ''Film/XMenFirstClass'', which was praised for putting the franchise back on track, and follows characters from the original trilogy (including main character ComicBook/{{Wolverine}}) in a time-travel plot. Notably, the character Quicksilver appears both in ''DOFP'' and in TheStinger of ''Winter Soldier'', in two separate incarnations. || Both ''Winter Soldier'' and ''DOFP'' have received excellent reviews, while ''[=ASM2=]'' got mixed reviews. In terms of box office, while it's a close race for all three, ''DOFP'' ranks first and ''Winter Soldier'' is a close second, with ''[=ASM2=]'' as a slightly more distant third. Sony dropped out of the Marvel race after ''[=ASM2=]'', instead joining Disney in the MCU.||
|| ''Film/GuardiansOfTheGalaxy'' || ''Film/TeenageMutantNinjaTurtles2014'' || 2014, Round Two. Also, both movies revolve around some rather weird concepts (one has a trigger-happy talking space raccoon and a [[PokemonSpeak sort-of-talking]] tree; the other is about [[ExactlyWhatItSaysOnTheTin ninja mutant turtle teenagers]]). || ''Turtles'' is the big-screen reboot of a franchise that's been around for thirty years, while ''Guardians'' is part of the Franchise/MarvelCinematicUniverse but otherwise relative newcomers; with their comic book barely older than the MCU itself.[[note]]The "Guardians" name and individual characters have been around since the Sixties and Seventies, but they've never been A-listers and have spent most of that time in ComicBookLimbo.[[/note]] || Both took turns being the highest-grossing movie and both immediately on release got green-lit for sequels in a few years. However, ''Guardians'' got ''much'' better reviews and a larger gross overall, becoming the biggest movie of the year on both counts, even beating out the bigger names from earlier in the summer.||
|| ''Film/DickTracy'' || ''Film/TheRocketeer'', ''Film/TheShadow'', ''Film/ThePhantom'' || Superhero films following up on the success of Tim Burton's ''Batman''. Each similarly using a 1930's/40's retro/noir aesthetic and pulp feel. All based on a classic/established hero. All being released within only a few years of each other in 1990, 1991, 1994, and 1996 respectively. However it is notable that ''Dick Tracy'' is an exception in how it was in development before ''Batman'' came out even though it was released later. However it is notable that they did try to copy the success of Burton's film's marketing campaign. ||Three of the characters were based upon actual pulp fiction from the era they are set it. The exception being ''The Rocketeer'' which was created in the 1980's as a throwback to such stories. || ''Dick Tracy'' and ''The Rocketeer'' both did general well with critics, the former doing marginally better in that category. ''The Shadow'' and ''The Phantom'' both received mixed-to-negative reviews from that group. Whilst ''Dick Tracy'' made the most money at the box office it still wasn't considered a groundbreaking success but ultimately was the only one that didn't lose out. Largely due to how much they spent on the aggressive advertising campaign for the film. The other three films either flopped or bombed financially. All four being quickly forgotten by the mass audience. However each film has managed to gain and sustain a strong cult following.
|| ''Film/TheDarkKnightRises'' || ''Film/{{Skyfall}}'', ''Film/IronMan3'' || All of three of them are the third installments in their line of films, that center around a popular hero that is known for not having superpowers but using his skills, wits and technology in order to get by and combat his foes. All three of these stories have the hero torn down to his lowest and have to rise again from the ashes in order to combat a foe deeply rooted in his past. All three films were released within a year of each other between July 2012 and May 2013. || || All of them were huge successes. Each breaking a billion at the box office and getting glowing reviews from critics. As well as attaining popularity with audiences. Financially the order goes ''Iron Man 3'' > ''Skyfall'' > ''The Dark Knight Rises''. Critically however it would go ''Skyfall'' > ''The Dark Knight Rises'' > ''Iron Man 3''. ''Dark Knight Rises'' and ''Iron Man 3'' though have to varying degrees gotten more flack from fans than ''Skyfall'' online, particularly the latter for its treatment of a major character from the classic mythos.
|| ''Film/BatmanVSupermanDawnOfJustice'' || ''Film/CaptainAmericaCivilWar'' || Installments to popular superhero franchises that reportedly are both going to feature a pair of their company's most well known characters, one who is a patriotic tried and true Boy Scout type and the other a wealthy man without superpowers but has his wits and a lot of money, who are supposedly going head to head against each other. Both scheduled for release in 2016. ||From the sounds of things ''Batman v Superman'' will be taking a great deal of influence from the seminal Frank Miller Batman story ''ComicBook/TheDarkKnightReturns'' whilst ''Captain America 3'' will take a great deal of the ''ComicBook/CivilWar'' Marvel crossover event. || TBA ||
|| ''Film/SinisterSix'' || ''Film/SuicideSquad'' || 2016 comic book supervillain team-up movies. || ''Sinister Six'' was originally going to be part of ''Film/TheAmazingSpiderManSeries'' until that series was dropped in favor of integrating Spider-Man into the Franchise/MarvelCinematicUniverse. It's said to still be in production, but its fate and release date are now up in the air. || ''Sinister Six'' hasn't officially been announced as cancelled, but it's been MIA since the MCU announcement. Even if Sony pulls something out of nowhere, it's probably too late for a 2016 release and so ''Suicide Squad'' will likely win by default. ||
|| ''Wonder Woman'' || ''Captain Marvel'' || 2017 and 2018 female-led comic book-based superhero movies; hoping to break the long string of failures such films have had. (''Supergirl'', ''Catwoman'', ''Elektra'', etc) || ''Film/TheAmazingSpiderManSeries'' beat both to the punch in announcing a female-led spinoff (even if ''which'' female characters was never decided on), but those plans fell through when Sony cancelled the series in order to bring Spider-Man to the Franchise/MarvelCinematicUniverse. || TBA ||
|| ''Film/AvengersInfinityWar: Part II'' || ''Justice League Part Two'' || Both are the conclusion of [[MovieMultipack a two-part]], superhero CrisisCrossover. Both are the result of a decade-spanning cinematic universe and will continue the Marvel/DC rivalry. The two will be released within a month of each other. || While ''Avengers'' is aiming to be the GrandFinale of the original Avengers line-up, ''Justice League'' will finish up the team's first feature-length outing. || TBA ||
|| ''Film/{{Daredevil}}'' || ''Film/{{Hulk}}''\\
\\
''Film/{{X2}}'' may be a third contender. || 2003 superhero films. The main contenders here are both origin stories for Marvel superheroes making their theatrical debut. || While both films had started production by the time Sam Raimi's ''Film/SpiderMan1'' came out, it's success and popularity is often attributed to having influenced how these films were perceived. Both intended to be darker and more psychological films, though ''Film/{{Daredevil}}'' wound up getting cut down and edited on the mandate of Avi Arad in order to try and make it feel more like ''Spider-Man'' which most will agree was to its detriment. ''Film/{{Hulk}}'' was not altered in such a way, but many theorize that the general audience had a hard time gravitating to its darker tone and psychological approach because of it. || Both films opened up well, but by the second weekend each of their box office intakes dropped staggeringly, and on the whole received mixed reviews. Though ''Hulk'' wound up actually doing alright with critics. Both films, whether fairly or not, have often been given derision, sometimes showing up on "Worst Superhero Movies" lists, but they each do have staunch defenders. ''Daredevil'' especially started getting this after its generally agreed to be vastly superior Director's Cut was released on home video. Financially speaking ''Hulk'' made a somewhat good portion more at the box office, though notably had a larger budget to begin with. Both were intended to be the start to a franchise, however their sequels were put into limbo and never really happened. ''Film/TheIncredibleHulk'' was originally intended to be a sequel, or at least one of sorts, but was eventually rewritten by Edward Norton to disregard Ang Lee's film. Whilst ''Daredevil'' never go a true sequel, the film's major character Elektra got a loose spin-off film that followed for what it's worth.\\
\\
If one were to count ''X2'', as it is another Marvel Comics based superhero film that came out the same year, than it is the clear winner. It both made far more at the box office and was well received across the board. Considered both an improvement upon the original film, and many consider it one of the best films of the genre.
|| ''Film/XMenTheLastStand'' || ''Film/SupermanReturns'' || 2006 released superhero movies from a popular string of films. || Ironically enough the director of ''Superman Returns'' Creator/BryanSinger was the director of the first two ''X-Men'' films but jumped ship when he saw the chance to do a Superman film. As that was a character he had a fondness for long prior. || Both films have had extremely mixed reviews from audiences, though many fans online claim them to be some of the worst, or at least most disappointing, comic book films. ''The Last Stand'' got mixed marginally skewed towards positive reviews from critics whilst ''Superman Returns'' interestingly enough had a generally positive response from critics. Financially speaking neither was a failure, but the gross for ''Returns'' was less than hoped for by the studio and ''The Last Stand'' wound up making twice as much at the box office. ''Superman Returns'' also failed to revive the franchise after a 19 year hiatus following the disasterous ''Superman IV: The Quest For Peace'', and Warner/DC would have to reboot the series with ''The Man Of Steel'' 7 years later. ||
||''Film/AntMan'' || ''Film/FantasticFour2015'' || 2015 released Creator/MarvelComics-based superhero movies || Both movies had a lot going for it. For ''Ant-Man'', it was another untested Marvel franchise like ''Film/GuardiansOfTheGalaxy''. For ''Fantastic Four'', it was more or less an attempt to keep the right away from Marvel. If ''Ant-Man'' failed, it would be the first major stumbling point for the Franchise/MarvelCinematicUniverse. If ''Fantastic Four'' failed, it could lead to Fox losing one of their two remaining comic franchises. || ''Ant-Man'' by a longshot. While ''Ant-Man'' didn't have the same underdog power ''Guardians'' did (it was the second lowest film in the MCU after ''Film/TheIncredibleHulk'') it was still a money maker for Marvel and winning over audiences that they hadn't expected. ''Fantastic Four'', however, crashed and burned at the box office in it's opening weekend, losing to holdover ''Mission: Impossible: Rogue Nation'' and ''Ant-Man'', and even more concerning, the reviews for the movie placed it's popularity in the same low category that earlier films ''Batman & Robin'', ''Catwoman'', ''Howard The Duck'', and ''Superman IV: The Quest For Peace'' inhabit. Marvel left the movie off their website in favor of ''Howard'', and the Fantastic Four reboot earned THE lowest CinemaScore rating ever for a comic book movie, as well as becoming the worst perfoming Marvel branded movie since ''Howard''. Fox, as of this writing, is still determined to make a sequel, but time will tell.
[[/folder]]

[[folder:War]]
|| Initiators || Followers || Description || Misc || Winner? ||
|| ''Film/SavingPrivateRyan'' || ''Film/TheThinRedLine'' || Both films were released in 1998 to rave reviews. Both featured an all-star cast of actors clambering over each other to appear in bit parts; both featured a 30-minute extended bloody assault on a bunker in the first half of the film followed by a long tramp across the countryside punctuated by violence. Both had HBO SpiritualSuccessor miniseries. || ''SPR'' was set in Europe, ''TTRL'' was set in the Pacific. ''SPR'' came out several months ahead and had the natural crowd appeal of Spielberg, while reclusive director Terence Malick spent extra time on ''TTRL''. Veterans groups complained ''TTRL'' was insufficiently sympathetic to the Allied cause, while critics complained that the second half of ''SPR'' was too mawkish. || ''Saving Private Ryan'' by far among the general public, while ''The Thin Red Line'' is still in heated contention with ''SPR'' among critics and film buffs. \\
\\
Of related series, ''Series/ThePacific'' is more often compared to ''Series/BandOfBrothers'' than ''TTRL''. ||
|| ''Literature/CatchTwentyTwo'' || ''Film/{{MASH}}'' || Deconstructive black comedy war movies released in 1970, with not much combat but a surprising amount of blood, starring ensemble casts of screwballs, [[{{Anvilicious}} and most certainly not using earlier wars as stand-ins for Vietnam]]. || If suicide is painless, perhaps that is the answer to the Catch-22. || ''Catch-22'', despite an all-star cast, got tepid reviews and flopped. ''M*A*S*H'' was a huge success, made Creator/RobertAltman famous, inspired an [[RecycledTheSeries even more successful TV series]], and helped usher in the [[NewHollywood '70s auteur era]] in general. ||
|| ''Seal Team Six: The Raid on Osama Bin Laden'' || ''Film/ZeroDarkThirty'' || Films released in 2012 about the hunt for UsefulNotes/OsamaBinLaden. || ''Seal Team Six'' was produced by Harvey Weinstein for the Creator/NationalGeographicChannel, directed by the guy who made ''Turistas'', and features a mostly small-name cast. ''Film/ZeroDarkThirty'' was directed by Creator/KathrynBigelow, stars Creator/JessicaChastain, Joel Edgerton, James Gandolfini, and Mark Strong, and is being given a limited release in December 2012 for qualification for the UsefulNotes/{{Academy Award}}s. || ''Seal Team Six'' got fairly good ratings, but the reviews were mixed. ''Film/ZeroDarkThirty'', while [[FlameBait incredibly controversial]], still received unanimously good reviews and was nominated for the UsefulNotes/AcademyAward for Best Picture. ||
|| ''Lost Command'' || ''Film/TheBattleOfAlgiers'' || Films about the Algerian War for Independence. Both movies were produced in 1966, though ''Command'' beat ''Algiers'' to American theaters by over a year. || Two films about the same subject could hardly be more different. ''Lost Command'' draws on Jean Larteguy's novel ''The Centurions'', about Frnech paratroopers fighting in Vietnam and Algeria. It's unreservedly pro-French, albeit with a token WarIsHell message added. ''Battle of Algiers'' is a docudrama produced by Italian director Gillo Pontecorvo and sponsored by the Algerian government. Though intended as Algerian propaganda, it provides a relatively even-handed treatment of the conflict. || ''Lost Command'' was a modest box office success but earned terrible reviews and is largely forgotten. ''Battle of Algiers'' received almost universal acclaim, and today is considered an all-time classic. ||
[[/folder]]

[[folder:Western]]
|| Initiators || Followers || Description || Misc || Winner? ||
|| ''Film/{{Tombstone}}'' || ''Wyatt Earp'' || Historical [[TheWestern westerns]] about... [[ExactlyWhatItSaysOnTheTin Wyatt Earp]]. ''Tombstone'' starred Creator/KurtRussell, while ''Wyatt Earp'' starred Creator/KevinCostner. || Costner was originally involved with ''Tombstone'' but left over disagreements regarding the script, deciding to make his own Earp pic. He even put pressure on studios to refuse distribution of ''Tombstone'', but guess which one made more money in the end... || ''Tombstone'' proved to be a hit and earned the better reviews, while ''Wyatt Earp'' flopped at the box office and got nominated for five Razzies. ||
[[/folder]]

----

|| ''Film/MissionImpossibleRogueNation'' || ''Film/TheManFromUNCLE'' || Big budget action movies based on Cold War era spy TV shows. || ''Mission'' is set in the [[TwentyMinutesIntoTheFuture "present"]] while ''U.N.C.L.E.'' is set in TheSixties. || ''Mission'' is doing ''really'' well so far. ||

||''Film/AntMan'' || ''Film/FantasticFour2015'' || 2015 released Creator/MarvelComics-based superhero movies || Both movies had a lot going for it. For ''Ant-Man'', it was another untested Marvel franchise like ''Film/GuardiansOfTheGalaxy''. For ''Fantastic Four'', it was more or less an attempt to keep the right away from Marvel. If ''Ant-Man'' failed, it would be the first major stumbling point for the Franchise/MarvelCinematicUniverse. If ''Fantastic Four'' failed, it could lead to Fox losing one of their two remaining comic franchises. || ''Ant-Man'' by a longshot. While ''Ant-Man'' didn't have the same underdog power ''Guardians'' did (it was the second lowest film in the MCU after ''Film/TheIncredibleHulk'') it was still a money maker for Marvel and winning over audiences that they hadn't expected. ''Fantastic Four'', however, crashed and burned at the box offices.

||

|| ''Film/YouOnlyLiveTwice'' || ''Film/CasinoRoyale1967'' || Film/JamesBond films. || The former is an official Bond film, while the latter is a parody made by the man who held the rights to that particular novel. Bond's production company eventually got the rights to ''Casino Royale'', both novel (which was adapted as [[Film/CasinoRoyale the first Daniel Craig Bond]]) and movie. || ''You Only Live Twice'', which had better reviews and box office. ''Casino Royale2006'' is widely considered a train wreck whose only lasting appeal is the Burt Bacharach score and its [[WhatDoYouMeanItWasntMadeOnDrugs psychedelia value]]. It wrecked several careers and was a literal CreatorKiller for Charles Feldman; he died the next year.||

|| ''Film/YouOnlyLiveTwice'' || ''Film/CasinoRoyale1967'' || Film/JamesBond films. || The former is an official Bond film, while the latter is a parody made by the man who held the rights to that particular novel. Bond's production company eventually got the rights to ''Casino Royale'', both novel (which was adapted as [[Film/CasinoRoyale the first Daniel Craig Bond]]) and movie. || ''You Only Live Twice'', which had better reviews and box office. ''Casino Royale'' is widely considered a train wreck whose only lasting appeal is the Burt Bacharach score and its [[WhatDoYouMeanItWasntMadeOnDrugs psychedelia value]]. It wrecked several careers and was a literal CreatorKiller for Charles Feldman; he died the next year.||

''Film/PurpleRain'' || 3 movies released in 1984 with music as the recurring theme. || ''Footloose'' was based on true events of a ban on dancing in Nebraska, ''Streets of Fire'' was more action-oriented, and ''Purple Rain'' was the one with Music/{{Prince}}. These movies were released by Paramount, Universal, and Warner Bros. respectively. || Financially, ''Footloose'' did better than the other two, but all 3 of these movies managed to be {{Cult Classic}}s in their own right, although ''Streets Of Fire'' got the worst reviews and bombed, and the circumstances surrounding it's greenlighting destroyed producer Larry Gordon's relationship with Paramount/Disney head Michael Eisner for 2 years.