‘Hello I’d Like To Report A Poster Theft’: People Showcase 30 Movie Posters That Are Suspiciously Similar
We live in the age of replicas, look-alikes, and stolen ideas. It feels like everything good has been done already, whether it’s a song, a painting, or a clever TV commercial. The fear of being unoriginal is stronger than ever if you’re trying to produce something entirely new.
And while some try their best to come up with fresh ideas, others decide there’s no point in trying too hard. This time, we are looking at some examples of copycats in the film industry, where movie posters are everything but original.
From the suspiciously similar Babel (2006) and Savages (2012) poster designs, to the look-alike Inception (2010) vs. Geostorm (2017), these can’t be just mere coincidences... or can they? Whoever came up with these poster ideas surely has no problem with being unoriginal, and this may as well be somewhat of a liberating feeling.
(h/t: Letterboxd users Bri and Malaine)
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Shrooms (2007) vs. Singular Cay (2012)
This not a copy, the mushrooms are of a different variety :-p
Load More Replies...Unforgiven (1992) vs. Puss In Boots (2011)
Die Hard 2 (1990) vs. Speed (1994)
I have almost forgotten those two heroes were young once. But, must say they are still handsome - Bruce not as much as Keanu, but not bad at all
Bruce is FINE! 😍😍🔥🔥🔥 Keanu is also FINE! Both are killing their ages in totally different ways.
Load More Replies...we need "Speed Hard" about a buss hijack by terrorist in collision course with a building hijack by other terrorist
Hehehe he's looking at the speed poster like: "You copied me."
Bored Panda reached out to filmmaker and entrepreneur Romina to find out if such look-alike movie posters are innocent coincidences or sinister copies. Romina explained that both things can be true in these cases: “Sometimes copies are coincidental and other times they're not. The use of similar design elements, though, is indeed deliberate.”
Romina also said that it’s quite possible that the same graphic designers were used to produce the film posters, and if that happens, “they end up with similar styles.” In that case, a look-alike poster is not a copy, but rather it reflects the style of a particular designer.
Blue Ruin (2013) vs. Happy Hunting (2017)
Gravity (2013) vs. Ad Astra (2019)
Gravity is better movie and have better poster! In my opinion, of course
personally, I didn't like ad astra. I may seem uncultured, but It seemed all over the place and it was hard to decipher what was happening at any given moment
Same font too? I guess (for both) there’s only so much you could put on a space movie poster
It's not the same font. The R in the right poster isn't complete. The poster on the left has a complete R.
Load More Replies...Cats & Dogs (2001) vs. Captain America: Civil War (2016)
Probably not the only two movies with the “someone vs someone” theme I would think
There's an entire book series that is just "someone vs someone".
Load More Replies...Maybe Cats & Dogs was using the visual trope that comics have been using for years - I can think of at least 2 X -Men covers that had opposing characters set out like this.
“It is common to copy or 'take inspiration' from other works. If it isn't broken, why fix it?” Romina said this is part of the storytelling process which is as old as time itself. For example, “Shakespeare's stories have been told over and over again.”
Having said that, Romina assured that people still genuinely care about original ideas. “The possibilities are endless as new ways of storytelling are developed, like VR, for example.” It’s really up to artists and designers to decide which direction they want to go.
Ex Machina (2014) vs. A.i. Rising (2018)
Yesterday I was listening to a podcast on AI and the presenter mentioned one interesting fact - for some reason, AI is always associated with blue color. Search whatever "AI" pic on Google and you will always find blue and its different shades to be the main color.
HAL in 2001: a space oddesy was red. Red 'eye' and the room with his 'brain' was red too. But then evil AI's were red and good/innocent AI's were were blue. Think about I Robot. Blue until they became evil, red.
Load More Replies...I love the way the neo cortex is given it's own tubing, rather than staying with the rest of the body, where it would be better protected. The influence is from many 1950's and 1960's science fiction cover artwork, where the look was never meant to be scientific, but was a convenient genre stamp in case readers were under any illusion that they weren't reading SF.
Boston Dynamics spends a whole year coding a Spot to operate a forklift.
Load More Replies...it seems not just the poster was a rip-off, but the entire movie's plot also!
Star Wars: The Force Awakens (2015) vs. Dark Phoenix (2019)
There's oodles of these orange and blue posters, normally with protagonist, rival, love interest etc in similar locations too
I thought the bad guy's (can't remember) makeup looked really clunky and stupid.
Load More Replies...Warm and cool colors are kind of obvious nowadays, blame Michael Bay XD
Winter's Bone (2010) vs. A Dark Place (2018)
I like much more that one with Jennifer Lawrence, must say. And movie was great also
Wayne's World is all I can think of when I hear "Winter's Bone". Thanks Mike Myers.
the movies are also almost the same… - missing father/missing little boy...
Creating a captivating movie poster that will draw people to the cinema theaters is not as simple as you may think. The successful ones often follow a time-proven sales formula that can be traced in any movie poster you’d like to hang on your wall. It’s known as AIDA.
The first A in the AIDA formula stands for "attention." A good movie poster is one that grabs your attention on the street and steals it for some time. Whether it features the film’s main characters, establishes an intriguing level of plot, or presents a major plot point, it should be captivating.
The second part of the formula stands for iconography, which is basically showing without telling. The use of strong imagery and visual cues is what makes the design effective.
Drive Angry (2011) vs. Breaking Loose (2014)
what are you talking about, it's tilted the other way that makes it totally different
Load More Replies...Black Swan (2010) vs. Ghostland (2018)
It's similar, or at least it have the same idea, the poster of Aronofsky's "Mother!" with Jennifer Lawrence
IMO this is fine. A close-up of a woman's face with cracks isn't particularly unique and the execution is different enough.
i think this one is a slight stretch. different shot angle, different makeup, different concept, really. it's similar, but not super.
Anatomy Of A Murder (1959) vs. Clockers (1995)
Anatomy of a Murder is an INCREDIBLE movie! They just dont make them like that anymore!
Another important feature in a good film poster design is "interest." This means that your poster should offer a fresh perspective or an unusual point of view. Sometimes it puts the viewers into the middle of a scene from the film. Often, it sparks an inner curiosity as you wish to find out more.The last bit of the magic AIDA formula stands for appeal, which combines both creative and aesthetic efforts to produce a poster that will serve as a form of art on its own.
On the other hand, there’s always a danger of making your poster too artsy, as it should carry appeal for both die-hard fans and passersby on the streets alike. Long-lasting appeal in poster designs is usually found in classical movies and high-budget blockbusters.
Shrek (2001) vs. The Incredibles (2004)
The more I look, the more similarities I see. I'm surprised Pixar would do something this blatant.
The Ruins (2007) vs. Wake Wood (2008)
Originally the movie was called Morning Wood, but then they realized the error of their ways 😂
Hot Pursuit (1987) vs. Disturbia (2007)
Me too!! I totally forgot about it! EDIT: Love your name! Is it a ASoIaf/GoT reference
Load More Replies...Babel (2006) vs. Savages (2012)
There are a billion movie posters with this theme - especially indie ensemble films.
Tower of Babel = stacking up of letters. Can't remember a Savages Tower from anywhere, though.
The Breakfast Club (1985) vs. The Texas Chainsaw Massacre 2 (1986)
yep thats what i thought like its just too perfect
Load More Replies...No Country For Old Men (2007) vs. Fright Night (2011)
Was Fright Night re-made in 2011? I didn’t even realize. The original poster is much better
The poster for the 1985 original is one of the best movie posters ever.
Load More Replies...I think the author of the second poster is not hiding the source of his inspiration
Shame (2011) vs. The Delinquent Season (2018)
The Night Eats The World (La Nuit A Dévoré Le Monde) (2018) vs. The Rental (2020)
Both posters make me curious about the movies though. I haven’t seen either one, but I’d like to now, lol, it worked
The one on the right makes me wonder if he “rented” a dodgy parachute. 😂
Load More Replies...How can a graphic artist, or the people who approve the design, not see the distinct likenesses between the two posters?
Mystic River (2003) vs. Dusk (2010)
Straw Dogs (1971) vs. Cold Fish (2010)
Lolita (1962) vs. American Strays (1996)
Vampire (2011) vs. Forgotten (2017)
The Ides Of March (2011) vs. Nancy (2018)
....you intentionally mixed up the last names.... right?
Load More Replies...Yeah, the left one is really kinda disturbing.
Load More Replies...The People vs. Larry Flynt (1996) vs. The Kill Team (2013)
The Silence of the Lambs poster is in this same family. They all say "We have secrets."
"We have secrets" is not really fitting the people vs larry flynt tho
Load More Replies...Death Ship (1980) vs. Ghost Ship (2002)
Why is the first thing I think of when I see these the orangutan and the ship from JJBA: Stardust Crusaders?
the ghost ship looks cooler though and not as cheap and corny - also its pretty much guaranteed to be better as in graphics wise because its newer at least
Ghost Ship was so very very bad, but it scared the heck out of me. Gotta check out DeathShip now.
Either way, you're screwed. Haunted cars on land, phantom ships cruising the oceans, and herpetocultural aircraft in the skies.
Body Snatchers (1993) vs. Berberian Sound Studio (2012)
Inception (2010) vs. Geostorm (2017)
Not similar: there's a tsunami in Geostorm, aka pretty tall wave :) Whereas in Inception there is a 90 degree landscape bending.
heres a thing - geostorm is more of the copy of the plot of the day after tomorrow - almost the same movie
Deepwater Horizon (2016) vs. Murder On The Orient Express (2017)
The goal of the post is exactly show similar, not the same. Similar
Load More Replies...Smoke expands when it rises. This is a law of nature, not a copy cat poster.
Both plumes of smoke are traveling diagonally upward to the left and are both coming off of methods of transportation which are shown in small size in the bottom right corner. Also, a medium size font is used for the title of the film over the smoke.
Load More Replies...Fatal Attraction (1987) vs. Serenity (2019)
My favorite part of the second movie is when she uses her psychic abilities to save the day in bada$$ fashion.
Guardians Of The Galaxy Vol. 2 (2017) vs. Avengers: Infinity War (2018)
Does it count, though? It's both Marvel, they're famous for crossovers and mixing up characters from one universe to another and vice versa, of course they'd have similar posters....
It's not even that; "throw all of your characters in front of a space background" has been a sci-fi poster trope for ages. Think Star Wars, for example. It's just a convenient general composition and in that sense it's quite unlike some of the straight-up rip-offs from this thread.
Load More Replies...they all actually have similar posters. marvel has a certain aesthetic that they like to keep.
A Star Is Born (2018) vs. I Still Believe (2020)
The Frighteners (1996) vs. The Pact (2012)
I can't help but imagine the figure in The Pact has a whiny voice and is saying "but we had a PAAAAAAACT!"
The Dark Knight Rises (2012) vs. Star Trek Into Darkness (2013)
That Star Trek Into Darkness poster looks very similar to the Dunkirk poster, tbh…they should’ve done that
The Tall Man (2012) vs. Astral (2018)
Baby Driver (2017) vs. Cut Throat City (2020)
My Cousin Rachel (2017) vs. Winchester (2018)
Nothing in common! According to this, all the posters with female portraits are similar to each other. Here we have completely different views
Face/Off (1997) vs. Replicas (2018)
The Notebook (2004) vs. Safe Haven (2013)
There's a whole genre of Nicholas Sparks or similar called "White people almost kissing".
Gee. A romance. A couple kissing. Yeah. Total copy. A someone said above, this is a cliché, not a copy.
Harry Potter And The Goblet Of Fire (2005) vs. How To Train Your Dragon 2 (2014)
Léon: The Professional (1994) vs. Nightcrawler (2014)
The Professional is still one of my all time favorites. And was also Natalie Portmans film debut.
Kramer vs. Kramer (1979) vs. Dinner With Friends (2001)
There are tons of movies and series displaying families in a similar posture. It´s cliché rather than copycats.
Lincoln (2012) vs. For The Love Of Spock (2016)
Lol! Looks to me like somebody made parody of "Lincoln" and is kidding with Daniel Day-Lewis
TIL this comparison exists. My life is just a little bit better for it.
House On Haunted Hill (1999) vs. Identity (2003)
Walkabout (1971) vs. Tangerine (2015)
Seeking A Friend For The End Of The World (2012) vs. A Case Of You (2013)
I think we're getting pretty desperate to prove the point here. SImilar does not mean copycat.
I'd say very few of these are similar enough to be "copied" - and in the cases where they ARE similar it is sometimes obviously intentional, sometimes probably warranted by the story (like those women in veils or the two ships) and perhaps sometimes the old poster is just somewhere at the back of the mind when a new poster is made... And as has been mentioned, some compositions and colour schemes are basically standard.
I think a few months back we had a posting here showing that there is a small number of stereotypical movie poster "templates" only. Thus, similarity is no coincidence, but even likely, without ripping other works off. That with much similarity something the lightning and colour is similar would be a result of graphic design best practices...
Some look similar, a few look like copycats (one at least on purpose like Puss in Boots). You have to realize that there is a formula or set of unofficial guidelines that the art departments follow and that is why the posters look similar. Especially if you look back at the different decades the movie poster all look similar.
very interesting list - but i could tell that some of the really good ones were intentional
Eh, as someone who basically grew up in a movie theater a lot of these are genres/formula and even parodies. The enigmatic character in shadow looking over their shoulder, the eye staring/something over the eyes, red lips, the couple standing back to back to each other, the large moon background etc. Like many things in the entertainment industry, rehashes happen plus it's playing on your emotions. You really liked Die Hard, wait'll you see Speed. Wanna see something like Pretty Woman? How about How To Lose A Guy in 10 Days and so on.
Film publicity is all about marketing. A lot of these similar posters are after the same audience. I can practically hear a marketing muck instructing artists to "Do something like this."
And apparently still don't realise that everyone is watching a selection from maybe a dozen movies over, and over, and over, and over...
I'd say very few of these are similar enough to be "copied" - and in the cases where they ARE similar it is sometimes obviously intentional, sometimes probably warranted by the story (like those women in veils or the two ships) and perhaps sometimes the old poster is just somewhere at the back of the mind when a new poster is made... And as has been mentioned, some compositions and colour schemes are basically standard.
I think a few months back we had a posting here showing that there is a small number of stereotypical movie poster "templates" only. Thus, similarity is no coincidence, but even likely, without ripping other works off. That with much similarity something the lightning and colour is similar would be a result of graphic design best practices...
Some look similar, a few look like copycats (one at least on purpose like Puss in Boots). You have to realize that there is a formula or set of unofficial guidelines that the art departments follow and that is why the posters look similar. Especially if you look back at the different decades the movie poster all look similar.
very interesting list - but i could tell that some of the really good ones were intentional
Eh, as someone who basically grew up in a movie theater a lot of these are genres/formula and even parodies. The enigmatic character in shadow looking over their shoulder, the eye staring/something over the eyes, red lips, the couple standing back to back to each other, the large moon background etc. Like many things in the entertainment industry, rehashes happen plus it's playing on your emotions. You really liked Die Hard, wait'll you see Speed. Wanna see something like Pretty Woman? How about How To Lose A Guy in 10 Days and so on.
Film publicity is all about marketing. A lot of these similar posters are after the same audience. I can practically hear a marketing muck instructing artists to "Do something like this."
And apparently still don't realise that everyone is watching a selection from maybe a dozen movies over, and over, and over, and over...
