Top 20 Most Copied Movies

“Reservoir Dogs” is a great little movie, but it was “Pulp Fiction” that brought Quentin Tarantino worldwide renown. The movie won the Palme d’Or at Cannes and swept the world throughout the fall of 1994, grossing over $200 million and becoming an immediate cultural sensation. “Pulp Fiction” instantly shook up the movie landscape with its impeccably cool style, creative dialogue, and non-linear structure, and before long, everyone was trying to be the next Tarantino. It also reinvigorated some past loves, including cultural obsessions with neo noir and leading man John Tarvolta, whose waning career was saved by the film. And finally, it legitimized the art of low-budget indie filmmaking - a business that has been riding the coattails of “Pulp Fiction” for decades.

And speaking of indie filmmaking, it doesn’t get much more indie than the first “Saw.” Made mostly in a dingy bathroom set on a miniscule budget, “Saw” helped redefine the horror genre and launched more than a few prominent careers. The film turned a huge profit, grossing over $100 million and inspiring many up-and-coming filmmakers to try their hand at indie horror. It not only inspired the genre to go smaller and more personal, it also gave rise to the “torture focused films” phenomenon of the mid 2000s, resulting in films like “Wolf Creek” and Eli Roth’s “Hostel.”

No, we were wrong. It doesn’t get more indie than “Clerks.” Kevin Smith wrote, directed, and produced this little slacker comedy that inspired a wave of imitators. Smith funded the movie by maxing out various credit cards (not advised) and filmed at the same convenience store in which he worked during the day. Despite a shooting budget of little more than $25,000, “Clerks” had a profound effect on the movie industry. It landed on multiple best-of-the-year lists and was praised for its gritty realism and clever dialogue. “Clerks” also helped popularize day-in-the-life comedies, young slacker protagonists, and even geek culture. Basically, Kevin Smith became the voice of Gen X with his little movie that could.

There were already two James Bond films by the time “Goldfinger” released in 1964, but it was this movie that solidified the “personality” of the franchise. The movie introduced a number of elements to the series, including a cold open, goofy gadgets, a briefing by Q, and a tricked-out car. The basic structure and style of “Goldfinger” became a template for all future Bond movies, and it kickstarted the spy craze of the 1960s. Movies like “Our Man Flint” were made as an answer to James Bond, and most modern spy films have Bond to thank for their existence. Endless parodies have also come throughout the years goofing on the tropes of the spy genre - tropes that “Goldfinger” single handedly established.

Grossing over $140 million, “Animal House” became the most successful comedy film of its time, so you better believe it inspired some imitators hoping to get a piece of the pie. As “Goldfinger” created the spy genre, “Animal House” created the raunchy comedy. Movies like “Porky’s” and “Revenge of the Nerds” were made to capitalize on the new trend, and later films like “American Pie” and “Old School” borrow the “Animal House” DNA. A snowball effect soon occurred, with the movies getting raunchier and raunchier and taboo humor becoming widely accepted. “Animal House” was also a major launchpad for talent, with producer Ivan Reitman, writer Harold Ramis, and director John Landis going on to have major careers in the comedy genre.

This horror masterpiece from Ridley Scott was a product of its time, capitalizing on the success of sci-fi epics like “Star Wars” and slasher movies like “Halloween.” But this is the nature of true artistry - borrow from what came before and make something new. And that’s what “Alien” did, essentially creating the sci-fi-horror hybrid. The early 1980s was inundated with these types of movies, including “Forbidden World,” “Galaxy of Terror,” and “Contamination,” which is basically just a cheaper version of “Alien” that plagiarized its iconic ideas. But despite the numerous imitators, none have managed to recapture the magic of “Alien.” As Roger Ebert brilliantly said, “The films it influenced studied its thrills but not its thinking.”

The gangster genre can be split between BG and AG - Before “The Godfather” and After “The Godfather.” This film had a profound influence not just on the gangster genre, but cinema as a whole and the cultural depiction of Italian Americans. A number of imitators came in the wake of “The Godfather,” and it directly influenced future creations like “Goodfellas” and “The Sopranos.” Virtually all aspects of the film’s production helped define the mob genre, including the use of the title “Godfather,” which was made up by the book’s author, Mario Puzo. A study conducted by the Italic Institute of America proved that some 400 movies centered around the Italian American mafia were made after “The Godfather,” proving its undying influence on the industry.

Just as Tolkien’s book had an impact on literature, so too did the movie adaptation have a profound impact on film. A flurry of epic fantasy movies followed Jackson’s trilogy, most of which attempted to capture its sense of grandeur - “The Chronicles of Narnia,” “The Golden Compass,” “Eragon,” and “Beowulf,” to name but a few. They all shared close similarities with “The Lord of the Rings,” with most taking place in fantasy lands with monsters, fictional races, and mythical battles between good and evil. Yes, most of these movies were based on existing stories, but it’s telling that they were greenlit in the wake of “The Lord of the Rings.” And it’s no secret why, with the trilogy combining for nearly $3 billion.

With some movies, you can tell right away that they’re going to be a sensation. That was certainly the case with “The Matrix,” which took the world by storm in the spring of 1999. Many aspects of the movie were instantly noted and endlessly copied in the coming years, including its grungy production design, cool costuming, innovative use of bullet time, and simulation storyline. Movies, video games, comics - the influence was everywhere. Furthermore, the movie’s use of Asian martial arts had a profound impact on action choreography and the popularization of wuxia films like “Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon.” Even Chad Stahelski admitted that “The Matrix” directly governed his “John Wick” films, proving that the influence is still spreading to this day.

Obviously the original “Godzilla” appears quite dated today, but there was nothing like it back in 1954. Part epic monster movie, part social commentary, “Godzilla” was a visual extravaganza with a brain. While “Godzilla” actually received a mixed critical reception upon release, it was instantly popular with moviegoers and, naturally, spawned a host of rip-offs. Godzilla itself became a template for destructive movie monsters, and it birthed the entire kaiju genre which is still going strong to this day. The film also influenced many modern directors, with Steven Spielberg citing “Godzilla” as a major influence on “Jurassic Park.” As film scholar Ryusuke Hikawa has claimed, “[“Godzilla”] created the template for the Japanese movie business.”

Horror fans seeking out the roots of found footage-style fright need look no further than this 1999 film, a low-budget independent picture that managed to make a remarkable amount of noise, thanks to a highly successful marketing campaign. “The Blair Witch Project” scared audiences and filmmakers alike with its shaky, first person camera angles and realistic acting performances replacing a traditional reliance upon special effects or extravagant sets. Indeed, it’s highly likely that we would never have seen the likes of a “Paranormal Activity” or a “[•REC]” without “Blair Witch” and its bold stylistic direction. Whether or not this is a good thing is up for debate, but there’s no question that “The Blair Witch Project” was beyond influential.

Sure, comic book movies weren’t exactly all bright and cheery prior to the release of “The Dark Knight” in 2008 – we’re looking at you, “Blade!” But there’s no denying that the incredible success of director Christopher Nolan’s film resulted in a drastically dark shift in tone when it came to big budget comic adaptations. Much of this success was thanks to the career-defining performance of Heath Ledger as Batman’s arch-nemesis, The Joker, but Nolan’s decision to embrace a comparatively down-to-earth and realistic approach set “The Dark Knight” apart from the broad and occasionally campy direction comic adaptations had been taking before its release. The results were a film that set a seriously high bar for its competition.

We’re gonna need a bigger screen to contain this monster, a frighteningly popular 1975 success story which arguably ushered in the summer blockbuster. Steven Spielberg’s adaptation of Peter Benchley’s novel was an early effort for the director, who until that time was known primarily for the TV movie “Duel.” “Jaws” was fraught with production issues, and was seen at the time as a “make or break” film for Spielberg. In the end, though, it was one that almost single handedly made the man’s career. It also kick-started a legion of “killer animal” imitators in its wake, from killer whales and piranha to the seemingly endless series of shark flicks that would try to hitch their wagons to Spielberg’s gravy train.

Younger movie fans may not recognize the Zucker Brothers for their contributions to comedy cinema, but the duo - along with co-director Jim Abrahams - were right there at the forefront with “Airplane!,” a riotous and raunchy satire of 1970s disaster flicks. The Zuckers had already proved their boundary-pushing abilities with 1977’s “The Kentucky Fried Movie,” but it was “Airplane!” that saw the siblings firing on all creative cylinders, creating a film that still works remarkably well today. So influential was “Airplane!” that films still copy its style today, from “Movie 43,” to “Disaster Movie,” to the “Scary Movie” franchise, two of which feature Zucker brother David as director.

The odds are probably pretty fair that you’ve seen a sports movie about a plucky underdog who rises to the top of his or her field to challenge the top dog. It’s highly unlikely, however, that you’ve seen one constructed with as much heart, soul, and passion as Sylvester Stallone’s 1976 triumph, “Rocky.” From that iconic theme music by composer Bill Conti, to the cast’s tremendous performances to the film’s powerful ending, “Rocky” not only laid the groundwork for a franchise that continues to this day, it also set the gold standard for all sports films that followed.

Out of all the films on this list, it’s quite possible that this one has the most shameless rip-offs to its credit. Of course, when you’re one of the most important and financially successful films in the world, it’s easy to measure your success in imitators. In fact, the influence of “Star Wars” is so massive that it’s effectively gone on to become part of our cultural lexicon, as evidenced by the legions of films that have sought to set their space operas in a galaxy far, far away. Some have been more successful than others, but, as the saying goes, you just can’t improve on perfection.

It’s more than an action movie. It’s more than a Christmas movie. It’s “Die Hard,” and it serves as the template for the explosive, engaging summer action blockbuster. The film may have started life as an adaptation of Roderick Thorp’s book, “Nothing Lasts Forever,” but director John McTiernan and Co. ended up with the archetypal survival story of one man standing tall against insurmountable odds. The role of John McClane was actually offered first to Frank Sinatra, who had starred in an earlier Thorp adaptation, “The Detective.” But of course, the job was eventually taken on by Bruce Willis, resulting in one of the actor’s most classic and defining performances – and one helluva copied movie.

“2001: A Space Odyssey” (1968) Cheesy sci-fi? Forget about it. Stanley Kubrick was never a filmmaker to do anything by half measures, and the proof of that is in the proverbial pudding with his 1968 masterpiece, “2001: A Space Odyssey.” Drive-in, B-movie science fiction tales were forgotten in the face of Kubrick’s mixture of heady, hard sci-fi screenwriting and ultra-expansive, boundary pushing visuals. The legacy of the film is one whose impact continues to be felt in films like “Interstellar” and “ex_machina,” as Kubrick and “2001” managed to re-write the book on just how well intelligent science fiction could be brought to the silver screen.

Just as director Tobe Hooper’s “The Texas Chain Saw Massacre” turned horror on its ear in 1974 with its deadly serious atmosphere and grime, so too did John Carpenter’s iconic “Halloween” change the game when it debuted four years later. Carpenter’s film served as a jumping off point for the modern slasher movie, which, alongside such like “Black Christmas,” “Friday the 13th” and Mario Bava’s “A Bay of Blood,” set up many of the established tropes utilized by the genre to this day. First-person camera work, a mysterious masked killer, and an ultra-classic musical score all combine to create cinema history in “Halloween,” a time-tested effort that put Carpenter and his crew on the horror movie map.

Psychological horror starts here. Director Alfred Hitchcock begged audiences not to reveal the devilish twist that occurred during this 1960 classic, a black and white creep fest that’s since gone on to become one of the most influential and inspiring films in the world. “Psycho” not only served as the template for showcasing police procedural drama, evocative cinematography and a tortured, disturbed antagonist, it also made history with Hitchcock’s promotional tactics. Taglines accompanied the film stating that “no one will be seated after the start,” while audiences were also implored to not give away the film’s classic ending, melding together creativity and showmanship in a way that would go on to inspire generations of filmmakers.

Do you prefer these original films or their copycats? Let us know in the comments below!