Top Ten Pairs of Dueling Movies

It's not too common that this happens, but every now and then two movies, that have a lot in common and are looking to attract the same basic audience, are released very close to each other (or even, maybe, at the same time). When this happens, the two movies involved are called "dueling movies". This list compiles the most famous examples of movie parings that dueled it out in theatres.
The Top Ten
1 'Batman v Superman: Dawn of Justice' and 'Captain America: Civil War'

It looked like it would be the ultimate film showdown, A movie about batman fighting superman and one about Captain America battling iron man.

When the movie came out however, it wasn't much of a fight. Civil war not only outgrossed BVS, but Civil war was also critically acclaimed, while BVS was universally panned.

The most recent (as of Jan, 2017) duelling film combo. It's no surprise to say that 'Civil War' won the battle against 'Dawn of Justice'.

2 'Antz' and 'A Bug's Life'

DreamWorks' first animated film also ended up becoming their most controversial upon its announcement. You see, 'A Bug's Life' (then titled 'Bugs' before its completion) was already known to the animation community as Pixar's upcoming second animated film (after 'Toy Story', of course). John Lasseter and everyone over at 'Pixar' felt betrayed (as they knew and had previously been in business with the executives over at DreamWorks) and the months that followed were ripe with feuding and competition. In the end, both films were unique in their storytelling approaches (with most dismissing that there was any reason to accuse either company of plagiarizing each other) and the critical and financial results were positive for both films. Everyone won (except 'Antz' has not had the same success 'A Bug's Life' has had on home video in the years since).

3 'Octopussy' and 'Never Say Never Again'

Both Bond films. Both released in 1983. One was an official EON Production starring Roger Moore (in his penultimate installment), the other was the return of the original Bond, Sean Connery (in his last reprisal). It's complicated, explaining how this came to happen, but I can tell you that the official film, 'Octopussy ' earned slightly more than 'Never Say Never Again', and, as a result, technically "won" the battle.

4 'Dante's Peak' and 'Volcano'

Both are 1997 disaster films that are centred around volcanoes. 'Dante's Peak', starring Pierce Brosnan and Linda Hamilton, is arguably the better film, and made more money at the box office than the Tommy Lee Jones-led 'Volcano', which was released 2 months later.

5 'Olympus Has Fallen' and 'White House Down'

They're both 2013 action films about terrorists attacking the White House. Neither was really a huge success, although 'Olympus Has Fallen' did well enough to get a sequel ('London Has Fallen') in 2016 (which, while more financially successful, was a critical failure) and is slated to get a second sequel, 'tentatively titled 'Angel Has Fallen', which will begin filming in 2017.

6 'Despicable Me' and 'Megamind'

The winner of this 2010 animated death match was clearly 'Despicable Me'. It received much higher reviews and fared far better at the box office (while 'Megamind' ended up becoming one of DreamWorks' lowest-grossing animated films).

Megamind personally is a much better movie than Despicable Me

7 'The Black Cauldron' and 'Fire & Ice'
8 'Deep Impact' and 'Armageddon'

Again, both are disaster films. This time, they both focus on apocalypse-level events occurring where asteroids are at risk of colliding with the earth. Both films were released in 1998 and received mixed-to-negative reviews (with 'Armageddon' getting the shorter end of the stick despite earning considerably more at the box office than the more scientifically-realistic 'Deep Impact').

9 'The Truman Show' and 'EDtv'

Both of these films have to do with the main character's life being broadcast, live, on television 24/7. While they have a number of differences (the primary one being that, in 'The Truman Show', Jim Carrey's character is totally unaware that he is the star of a television show, while Matthew McConaughey's 'EDtv' character has completel

10 '127 Hours' and 'Soul Surfer'

Even though '127 Hours' was released in 2010 and 'Soul Surfer' was released in 2011, they're both based on true stories of courageous human beings who suffered the loss of a limb and still managed to come out on top. There's a lot more to it than that but I haven't seen either film (yet) so I'm not the guy to tell you about them.

The Contenders
11 'Fantasia' and 'Valley of The Sun'

This was during Fantasia's first wide-release in January/February 1942. Believe it or not, Fantasia was on the lower half of the double bill with Valley of The Sun, with the latter being the "A" film because it was more conventional for the time.

12 'Star Wars' and 'Star Trek'

Despite being the 'offspring' of Star Trek - Star Wars obviously gained the most popularity. Star Wars also being the more iconic franchise in comparison.

13 'The Spongebob Squarepants Movie' and 'The Rugrats Movie'
14 'Oblivion' and 'Elysium'

2013 had a lot to offer, where science-fiction was concerned. While most people will remember films like 'Gravity', 'Star Trek Into Darkness', 'The World's End' and 'Pacific Rim' (and, perhaps, even the unacknowledged 'Eurpoa Report'), there are three lesser sci-fi films that will probably only end up being remembered for being terrible ('After Earth' comes to mind) or for being forgettable (that's where 'Oblivion' and 'Elysium' come in). The two films above were released a number of months apart, so they never shared theatres, but one could forgive someone for thinking their both the same movie. You have a big-time movie star lead (Tom Cruise and Matt Damon, respectively), a desolate planet setting, a lot of high-tech gadgetry to look at, and an obscure, three syllable title. Oh, and both are surprisingly boring. I'd bother to look up which film made more money but I just don't care enough to do so.

15 'The Angry Birds Movie' and 'Minions'
16 'Zootopia' and 'Trolls'
17 'The Lion King' and 'Balto'

Although not released in the same year (Balto came out in 1995, whereas TLK was released in 1994), so many fans compare the two for no reason, and it's especially bad when people prefer The Lion King and call Balto a ripoff of The Lion King, which is false. Not every non-Disney animated movie is a ripoff/cash-in of an earlier Disney flick, and I worry about Balto because of this, knowing how I feel about The Lion King like I said before many times.

Why do the TLK fans think that Balto is a rip-off of TLK? Balto is underrated.

18 'Finding Dory' and 'Zootopia'

Zootopia wins for having an original story, great animation, and unique characters.

19 'Flight 93: The Movie' and 'United 93'
20 'The Land Before Time' and 'Oliver and Company'

This was all the way back in 1988 so I understand why people might scratch their heads at this one.

21 'The Prestige' and 'The Illusionist'
22 'Excess Baggage' and 'The Godfather Part II'
23 'Rough Night' and 'Girls Trip'

Girls Trip beat out Rough Night!

24 'The Lost World: Jurassic Park' and 'Godzilla'
25 'Iron Man' and 'The Dark Knight'

They were both amazing, but the Dark Knight is the superior.

BAdd New Item