Twin films are films with the same or similar plots produced and released within a proximity of time by two different film studios.Jasper Rees. "Hooray for Bollywood", Evening Standard, 12 October 2001. Retrieved 23 June 2011. The phenomenon can result from two or more production companies investing in similar scripts at the same time, resulting in a race to distribute the films to audiences.Fredrik Strage. "Tvillingfilmer resultatet av ängsliga filmbolag ", , 28 September 2009. Retrieved 22 June 2011. (In Swedish)Henrik Arvidsson. "Först till kvarn i Drömfabriken" , 11 July 2008. Retrieved 22 June 2011. (In Swedish) Some attribute twin films to industrial espionage, the movement of staff between studios, or that the same screenplays are sent to several film studios before being accepted. Another possible explanation is if the films deal with topical issues, such as volcanic eruptions, reality television, terrorist attacks, or significant anniversaries, resulting in multiple discovery of the concept.
While twin films are often big budget films, a mockbuster can be made with a low budget, with similar titles, aesthetics, or theme as blockbuster films.Rolf Potts. "The New B Movie" The New York Times Magazine, 7 October 2007. Retrieved 12 January 2009. Mockbusters are usually given more limited release and marketing, intending to take advantage of the public interest in the topic driven by the major film.
Avoiding twin films Screenwriter Terry Rossio notes that there are always film projects with similar subjects being developed in multiple studios, and that usually only one of them makes it into production in a given period of time, and therefore twin films are better regarded as exceptions to this tendency. For example, the release of the 2015 Whitey Bulger biopic Black Mass led to the abandonment of a planned film about Bulger that would have been produced by Ben Affleck and Matt Damon.
The 2008 film Who Do You Love?, about American record label Chess Records, had its widespread release delayed until 2010 to avoid competing with Cadillac Records, a higher-budget 2008 film on the same subject.
In one case, for the 1974 film The Towering Inferno, the fear of having competing action thrillers, both set in a burning skyscraper, convinced two Hollywood studios to merge their productions into one (all-star) film.
Notable examples
Notable examples of twin films are included in this list:"Double Headers ", mutantreviewers.com. Retrieved 22 June 2011.