A mockbuster (also known as knockbuster or a drafting opportunity) is a film created to exploit the publicity of another major motion picture with a similar title or subject. Mockbusters are often made with a low budget and quick production to maximize profits. "Mockbuster" is a

portmanteau A portmanteau word, or portmanteau (, ) is a blend of words

Criteria

Unlike films produced to capitalize on the popularity of a recent release by adopting similar genre or storytelling elements, mockbusters are generally produced concurrently with upcoming films and released

direct-to-video Direct-to-video or straight-to-video refers to the release of a film, TV series, short or special to the public immediately on home video formats rather than an initial theatrical release or television premiere. This distribution strategy wa ...

at the same time the film they are inspired by is released. A mockbuster may be similar enough in title and/or packaging that consumers confuse it with the actual film it mimics, but their producers maintain that they are simply offering additional products for consumers who want to watch more films in the same subgenres.

History

Mockbusters have a long history in Hollywood and elsewhere. For example, the 1959 Vanwick film ''

The Monster of Piedras Blancas ''The Monster of Piedras Blancas'' is a 1959 independently made American black-and-white science fiction- monster film. It was produced by Jack Kevan, written and directed by Irvin Berwick, and stars Jeanne Carmen, Les Tremayne, John Harmon, Do ...

'' was a clear derivative of ''

Creature from the Black Lagoon ''Creature from the Black Lagoon'' is a 1954 American black-and-white 3D monster horror film produced by William Alland and directed by Jack Arnold, from a screenplay by Harry Essex and Arthur Ross and a story by Maurice Zimm. It stars ...

'', complete with a creature suit by the same designer, Jack Kevan. ''

Attack of the 50 Foot Woman ''Attack of the 50 Foot Woman'' is a 1958 independently made American science fiction horror film directed by Nathan H. Juran (credited as Nathan Hertz) and starring Allison Hayes, William Hudson and Yvette Vickers. It was produced by Berna ...

'' spawned ''

Village of the Giants ''Village of the Giants'' is a 1965 American teensploitation comedy science fiction film produced, directed and written by Bert I. Gordon. Based loosely on H. G. Wells's 1904 book ''The Food of the Gods and How It Came to Earth'', it contains ...

'' and '' The Land That Time Forgot'' spawned ''

Legend of Dinosaurs & Monster Birds , also known in the U.S. as ''The "Legend of Dinosaurs"'', is a 1977 Japanese kaiju science fiction film produced and distributed by Toei Company. The film was initially unsuccessful in Japan, but later became an overseas blockbuster in the Sov ...

''. Such films fit the B movie model, being produced on a small budget and derivative of the target film and other similar projects. The lower costs of using modern video and computer graphics equipment and the tie-in to the mainstream film's advertising have allowed the mockbuster to become a profitable niche in the home video market.

Blockbuster Blockbuster or Block Buster may refer to: *Blockbuster (entertainment) a term coined for an extremely successful movie, from which most other uses are derived. Corporations * Blockbuster (retailer), a defunct video and game rental chain ** Bl ...

, once the largest DVD rental chain, implied support to the concept by buying 100,000 copies of

The Asylum The Asylum is an American independent film company and distributor that focuses on producing low-budget, direct-to-video films. It is notorious for producing titles that capitalize on productions by major studios, often using film titles and sc ...

's version of ''

War of the Worlds ''The War of the Worlds'' is a science fiction novel by English author H. G. Wells, first serialised in 1897 by '' Pearson's Magazine'' in the UK and by ''Cosmopolitan'' magazine in the US. The novel's first appearance in hardcover was i ...

'' during the theatrical opening week of Steven Spielberg's film based on the same novel starring

Tom Cruise Thomas Cruise Mapother IV (born July 3, 1962), known professionally as Tom Cruise, is an American actor and producer. One of the world's highest-paid actors, he has received various accolades, including an Honorary Palme d'Or and three Go ...

. Most mockbusters capitalize on the popularity of theatrically released movies, but some are derivative of a TV series. The 1979 film ''

Angels Revenge ''Angels Revenge'', or ''Angels Brigade'', is a 1979 American comedy action film directed by Greydon Clark and distributed by Arista Films. It is also known as ''Angels' Brigade'' and ''Seven from Heaven''. The film has major roles for Peter Law ...

'' bore many superficial similarities to the popular TV series '' Charlie's Angels;'' its promotional materials even resembled ''Charlie's Angels graphic style. In reverse, Glen A. Larson was accused of producing mockbusters at the height of his career, with his television series plagiarizing popular films of the time ('' Battlestar Galactica'', for example, capitalized on the popularity of '' Star Wars'', while ''

Alias Smith and Jones ''Alias Smith and Jones'' is an American Western series that originally aired on ABC from January 1971 to January 1973. The show initially starred Pete Duel as Hannibal Heyes and Ben Murphy as Jedediah "Kid" Curry, outlaw cousins who are tryin ...

'' was a take on '' Butch Cassidy and the Sundance Kid'').

Blaxploitation films

In blaxploitation filmmaking, it was a common practice to title blaxploitation films after previously successful films starring predominantly white casts, and produce similarly titled films starring predominantly African American casts, as observed in the films ''

Black Shampoo ''Black Shampoo'' is an American exploitation film directed by Greydon Clark. Released in 1976, the comedy film is considered an example of the blaxploitation and sexploitation subgenres of exploitation film. Produced on a budget of $50,000, the ...

'' (1976, titled after ''

Shampoo Shampoo () is a hair care product, typically in the form of a Viscosity, viscous liquid, that is used for cleaning hair. Less commonly, shampoo is available in solid bar format. Shampoo is used by applying it to wet hair, massaging the product ...

''), ''

Black Lolita ''Black Lolita'' is a 3D blaxploitation film directed by Stephen Gibson. It was released in 1975 under that title. Some time later, new footage was added to create another film, which was released under the title of ''Wildcat Women''. It is abou ...

'' (1975, titled after '' Lolita''), '' The Black Godfather'' (1974, titled after ''

The Godfather ''The Godfather'' is a 1972 American crime film directed by Francis Ford Coppola, who co-wrote the screenplay with Mario Puzo, based on Puzo's best-selling 1969 novel of the same title. The film stars Marlon Brando, Al Pacino, James Caa ...

'') and ''

Dr. Black, Mr. Hyde ''Dr. Black, Mr. Hyde'' is a 1976 blaxploitation horror film loosely inspired by the 1886 novella '' Strange Case of Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde'' by Robert Louis Stevenson. The film stars Bernie Casey and Rosalind Cash, and was directed by Willi ...

'' (1976, titled after ''

Strange Case of Dr Jekyll and Mr Hyde ''Strange Case of Dr Jekyll and Mr Hyde'' is a 1886 Gothic novella by Scottish author Robert Louis Stevenson. It follows Gabriel John Utterson, a London-based legal practitioner who investigates a series of strange occurrences between his old ...

'').

GoodTimes Entertainment

GoodTimes Entertainment GoodTimes Entertainment, Ltd. was an American home video company that originated in 1984 under the name of GoodTimes Home Video. Though it produced its own titles, the company was well known due to its distribution of media from third parties and ...

was notorious for distributing animated "mockbuster" counterparts to popular Disney films in the 1990s (such as those made by

Golden Films Golden Films is an American production studio founded in 1994 by Diane Eskenazi, previously known as American Film Investment Corporation. The studio has produced a variety of animated films. The company's most notorious films were part of the ...

); because Disney was creating its films based on public domain folk tales and historical stories, GoodTimes' actions were completely legal and survived Disney's legal challenge against it.

Vídeo Brinquedo

Similarly, Vídeo Brinquedo is a Brazilian

CGI animation Computer-generated imagery (CGI) is the use of computer graphics to create or contribute to images in art, printed media, video games, simulators, and visual effects in films, television programs, shorts, commercials, and videos. The images m ...

studio that in 2004 began to produce low-budget direct-to-video films that are for the most part knockoffs of movies from

Pixar Pixar Animation Studios (commonly known as Pixar () and stylized as P I X A R) is an American computer animation studio known for its critically and commercially successful computer animated feature films. It is based in Emeryville, Californ ...

Disney The Walt Disney Company, commonly known as Disney (), is an American multinational mass media and entertainment conglomerate headquartered at the Walt Disney Studios complex in Burbank, California. Disney was originally founded on October ...

, and

DreamWorks DreamWorks may refer to: * DreamWorks Pictures, an American film production company of Amblin ** DreamWorks Television, an American television production company and division of the film studio ** DreamWorks Records, an American record label and f ...

. Their films include ''Little & Big Monsters'' (DreamWorks' '' Monsters vs. Aliens''), ''The Little Cars'' series of cartoons (Pixar's ''

Cars A car or automobile is a motor vehicle with wheels. Most definitions of ''cars'' say that they run primarily on roads, Car seat, seat one to eight people, have four wheels, and mainly transport private transport#Personal transport, people in ...

'' series), ''Ratatoing'' (Pixar's ''

Ratatouille Ratatouille ( , ), oc, ratatolha , is a French Provençal dish of stewed vegetables which originated in Nice, and is sometimes referred to as ''ratatouille niçoise'' (). Recipes and cooking times differ widely, but common ingredients include ...

''), ''Tiny Robots'' (Pixar's ''

WALL-E ''WALL-E'' (stylized with an interpunct as ''WALL·E'') is a 2008 American computer-animated science fiction film produced by Pixar Animation Studios and released by Walt Disney Pictures. It was directed and co-written by Andrew Stanton, pro ...

''), ''What's Up?: Balloon to the Rescue!'' (Pixar's '' Up''), and ''The Frog Prince'' (Disney's ''

The Princess and the Frog ''The Princess and the Frog'' is a 2009 American animated musical fantasy romantic comedy film produced by Walt Disney Animation Studios and released by Walt Disney Pictures. The 49th Disney animated feature film, it is loosely based on the ...

''). In every case Vídeo Brinquedo's knockoff has been released suspiciously close to the release date of the more professional, higher-budgeted film that inspired it.

Dingo Pictures

Dingo Pictures was a German animation company founded in 1992 by Ludwig Ickert and Roswitha Haas and based in

Friedrichsdorf Friedrichsdorf () is a town of the Hochtaunuskreis, some north of Frankfurt am Main in Hesse, Germany. Geography Location Friedrichsdorf is located in the Taunus area, ranking third among the Hochtaunuskreis boroughs after Bad Homburg vor der ...

. They created traditionally-animated films based on fairy tales and concepts similar to those used by Disney, Pixar and DreamWorks. These cartoons are characterized by low-budget animation, small voice casts, and character designs that are very similar to equivalent characters in more high-profile films. The films have been dubbed into Scandinavian languages, notably

Swedish Swedish or ' may refer to: Anything from or related to Sweden, a country in Northern Europe. Or, specifically: * Swedish language, a North Germanic language spoken primarily in Sweden and Finland ** Swedish alphabet, the official alphabet used by ...

, and also into Romance languages, notably

Italian Italian(s) may refer to: * Anything of, from, or related to the people of Italy over the centuries ** Italians, an ethnic group or simply a citizen of the Italian Republic or Italian Kingdom ** Italian language, a Romance language *** Regional Ita ...

. All of them have been released

in Germany in their original languages. European game publishers Phoenix Games and Midas Games released some of them in the early 2000s on home video consoles PlayStation and PlayStation 2. These releases were developed by

The Code Monkeys The Code Monkeys Limited was a British video game developer based in Dewsbury, England and founded in February 1988 by Colin Hogg, Mark Kirkby and Elliot Gay. It was known for porting video games to various platforms. In February 2011, share ...

and included the film, as well as a small collection of mini games. Phoenix Games B.V. declared bankruptcy on August 3, 2010. On March 27, 2012 the bankruptcy was suspended due to a lack of income. On 26 May 2021, the independent label Vier Sterne Deluxe Records announced that it is negotiating with the current owners of Dingo Pictures to release the films as radio plays; the new CEO also want to make new movies and a documentary behind the studio. In August 2021 the first radioplay released.

Other

The 2011 film ''

Aliens vs Avatars ''Aliens vs. Avatars'' is a 2011 science fiction film directed by Lewis Schoenbrun. The film is a mockbuster of ''Alien vs. Predator'' and ''Avatar''. The film follows the intergalactic battle between a quarrelsome alien race and shape-shifting ...

'' was named to market it as a

crossover Crossover may refer to: Entertainment Albums and songs * ''Cross Over'' (Dan Peek album) * ''Crossover'' (Dirty Rotten Imbeciles album), 1987 * ''Crossover'' (Intrigue album) * ''Crossover'' (Hitomi Shimatani album) * ''Crossover'' (Yoshino ...

to ''

Alien Alien primarily refers to: * Alien (law), a person in a country who is not a national of that country ** Enemy alien, the above in times of war * Extraterrestrial life, life which does not originate from Earth ** Specifically, intelligent extrater ...

'' and ''

Avatar Avatar (, ; ), is a concept within Hinduism that in Sanskrit literally means "descent". It signifies the material appearance or incarnation of a powerful deity, goddess or spirit on Earth. The relative verb to "alight, to make one's appeara ...

,'' even though the latter two films have no connection outside of director James Cameron. The film follows the intergalactic battle between a quarrelsome alien race and shape-shifting extraterrestrials, while six college friends find themselves in the middle of the interstellar war. A 1993

science fiction Science fiction (sometimes shortened to Sci-Fi or SF) is a genre of speculative fiction which typically deals with imaginative and futuristic concepts such as advanced science and technology, space exploration, time travel, parallel uni ...

horror film titled ''

Carnosaur Carnosauria is an extinct large group of predatory dinosaurs that lived during the Jurassic and Cretaceous periods. Starting from the 1990s, scientists have discovered some very large carnosaurs in the carcharodontosaurid family, such as ''Gig ...

,'' produced by

Roger Corman Roger William Corman (born April 5, 1926) is an American film director, producer, and actor. He has been called "The Pope of Pop Cinema" and is known as a trailblazer in the world of independent film. Many of Corman's films are based on works t ...

and starring Diane Ladd as a

mad scientist The mad scientist (also mad doctor or mad professor) is a stock character of a scientist who is perceived as " mad, bad and dangerous to know" or " insane" owing to a combination of unusual or unsettling personality traits and the unabashedly a ...

who plans to recreate dinosaurs and destroy humanity, is loosely based on the 1984 novel of the same name by

John Brosnan John Raymond Brosnan (7 October 1947 – 11 April 2005) was an Australian writer of both fiction and non-fiction works in the fantasy and science fiction genres. He was born in Perth, Western Australia, and died in South Harrow, London, fro ...

, but the two have little in common. It was released by New Horizon Picture Corp two weeks before the blockbuster '' Jurassic Park.'' ''Carnosaur'' may be considered a mockbuster. (Diane Ladd's daughter

Laura Dern Laura Elizabeth Dern (born February 10, 1967) is an American actress. She is the recipient of numerous accolades, including an Academy Award, a Primetime Emmy Award, a BAFTA Award, and five Golden Globe Awards. Born to actor Bruce Dern and a ...

starred in ''Jurassic Park'') In some cases, the knockoff film may bear little or no resemblance to the original. In 2012, '' Super K – The Movie'', an Indian fantasy/science-fiction animated film about an artificially created boy named "Super Kloud" with superpowers, was released

in the United States as '' Kiara the Brave''. Its title and cover art focused on an incidental female character with red hair (i.e. Merida), in an obvious attempt to evoke the redheaded female protagonist of '' Brave'', a Disney/Pixar movie set in

medieval Scotland Scotland in the Middle Ages concerns the history of Scotland from the departure of the Romans to the adoption of major aspects of the Renaissance in the early sixteenth century. From the fifth century northern Britain was divided into a series ...

. In other cases, the knockoff film simply renames an already existing film into a name that is similar to a popular film. For example, when

Phase 4 Films Phase 4 Films was a Canadian film distribution company based in Toronto. It had two branches in the United States: Los Angeles, California and Fort Mill, South Carolina. Its subsidiary kaboom! Entertainment markets children's entertainment. Hist ...

acquired the US distribution rights to '' The Legend of Sarila'', the company renamed the movie as ''Frozen Land'' to cash in on Disney's 2013 film, '' Frozen'', complete with a logo that was made to look similar to the official logo to the movie. In another case, a collection of animated shorts from the 90s animated series, ''

Britannica's Tales Around the World ''Britannica's Tales Around the World'' (also referred to as ''Britannica's Fairy Tales from Around the World'' and ''Familiar Tales Around the World'') is a direct-to-video animated educational series that was released in 1990. Premise ''Br ...

'', was rereleased under ''Tangled Up'' by Brightspark to cash in on Disney's 2010 film, ''

Tangled ''Tangled'' is a 2010 American 3D computer-animated musical adventure fantasy comedy film produced by Walt Disney Animation Studios and released by Walt Disney Pictures. Loosely based on the German fairy tale ''Rapunzel'' in the collection of ...

''. Brightspark also rereleased the film ''

The Adventures of Scamper the Penguin ''The Adventures of Lolo the Penguin'' is an animated film from 1986, originally released as a three-part serial film. Its original title and literal translation is ''The Adventures of Small Penguin Lolo''. The film was a co-production between J ...

'' under ''Tappy Feet: The Adventures of Scamper'' to cash in on ''

Happy Feet ''Happy Feet'' is a 2006 computer-animated jukebox musical comedy film directed, produced, and co-written by George Miller. It stars the voices of Elijah Wood, Robin Williams, Brittany Murphy, Hugh Jackman, Nicole Kidman, Hugo Weaving, and ...

''. Asylum CEO David Michael Latt responds to criticisms about loose plot lines by stating that "We don't have spies at the studios. We have a general sense of what the film is and we make our movie completely original, just based on that concept." Mockbusters are low budget, and their revenue is based entirely on the sales of their DVDs. Low budgets also mean that directors need to think of creative yet cheap ways to achieve the endings that they desire. For example, '' Snakes on a Train'' capitalized on the Internet hype surrounding ''

Snakes on a Plane ''Snakes on a Plane'' is a 2006 American action film directed by David R. Ellis and starring Samuel L. Jackson. It was released by New Line Cinema on August 18, 2006, in North America. The film was written by David Dalessandro, John Heffernan ...

''. Consumers wanted what they saw. Latt said, "With only four days left of shooting my partner called and said everyone is really excited about ''Snakes on a Train'', but they’re more excited about the poster, which showed a snake swallowing a train. It was meant to be, you know, metaphorical. But the buyers wanted it, so I was given the mandate that the ending had to have the snake eat the train." At the same time another representative of Asylum, David Rimawi, says that while a handful of their movies do have "artistic elements", that's just not something they're concerned with. The Asylum does not claim to be an "artsy" production house. In 2015, '' Avengers Grimm'' are a mockbuster hybrid with '' Avengers: Age of Ultron'' and ''

Once Upon a Time "Once upon a time" is a stock phrase used to introduce a narrative of past events, typically in fairy tales and folk tales. It has been used in some form since at least 1380 (according to the ''Oxford English Dictionary'') in storytelling in t ...

''. In 2018, '' Tomb Invader'' is a mockbuster based on the

Tomb Raider ''Tomb Raider'', also known as ''Lara Croft: Tomb Raider'' from 2001 to 2008, is a media franchise that originated with an action-adventure video game series created by British gaming company Core Design. Formerly owned by Eidos Interactive, ...

series, made by the American film studio, The Asylum.

Soundalike titling

Mockbusters often use a title with a similar-sounding name to the mainstream feature it intends to piggy-back upon. For instance, the 2006 mockbuster '' Snakes on a Train'' traded on the publicity surrounding the theatrically released ''

''. Besides the aforementioned film,

has also released '' The Land That Time Forgot'', ''

Transmorphers ''Transmorphers'' is a 2007 American science fiction alien invasion film released direct-to-DVD on June 26, 2007. It was written and directed by Leigh Scott and produced by David Michael Latt and The Asylum, "a studio whose work gets slightly mo ...

'', '' AVH: Alien vs. Hunter'', '' The Da Vinci Treasure'', ''

Battle of Los Angeles The Battle of Los Angeles, also known as the Great Los Angeles Air Raid, is the name given by contemporary sources to a rumored attack on the continental United States by Imperial Japan and the subsequent anti-aircraft artillery barrage which ...

'', ''

Atlantic Rim The Atlantic Ocean is the second-largest of the world's five oceans, with an area of about . It covers approximately 20% of Earth's surface and about 29% of its water surface area. It is known to separate the "Old World" of Africa, Europe and ...

'' and ''

Paranormal Entity ''Paranormal Entity'' is a 2009 American supernatural horror film written, directed by and starring Shane Van Dyke (in his feature directorial debut) and produced by The Asylum in 2009. It is one of many films dubbed as a "mockbuster", a movie de ...

''. In a much earlier example,

Astor Pictures Astor Pictures was a motion picture distribution company in the United States from 1930 to 1963. It was founded by Robert M. Savini (29 August 1886 – 29 April 1956). Astor specialized in film re-releases. It later released independently ma ...

compiled a collection of early Bing Crosby short films to create '' Road to Hollywood'', a mockbuster of Paramount Pictures' '' Road to...'' buddy comedies that featured Crosby with

Bob Hope Leslie Townes "Bob" Hope (May 29, 1903 – July 27, 2003) was a British-American comedian, vaudevillian, actor, singer and dancer. With a career that spanned nearly 80 years, Hope appeared in Bob Hope filmography, more than 70 short and ...

Foreign knockoffs and illegitimate sequels

Mockbusters and ripoffs can be filmed and released outside of the original films’ countries. Low-budget studios in foreign countries may produce illegitimate sequels to pre-existing higher budgeted films series that began in other countries. These sequels are unofficial, and often even unknown to the creators and producers of the original films. These unofficial sequels are rarely, or never, released in the original country, usually due to licensing issues. In other cases, a film released in other countries is renamed as a sequel to another film in contrast to the original title. Two Italian directors directed unofficial sequels to George A. Romero's 1978 '' Dawn of the Dead'':

Lucio Fulci Lucio Fulci (; 17 June 1927 – 13 March 1996) was an Italian film director, screenwriter, and actor. Although he worked in a wide array of genres through a career spanning nearly five decades, including comedies and Spaghetti Westerns, he ga ...

's ''

Zombi 2 ''Zombi 2'' is a 1979 Italian zombie film directed by Lucio Fulci. It was adapted from an original screenplay by Dardano Sacchetti to serve as a sequel to George A. Romero's '' Dawn of the Dead'' (1978), which was released in Italy with the ...

'' sold itself as the sequel to that film (which was called ''Zombi'' in Italy) and even used a line originally written for ''Dawn of the Dead''. In a similar, more infamous Italian example, the 1990 goblin-themed ''

Troll 2 ''Troll 2'' is a 1990 horror film directed by Claudio Fragasso (under the pseudonym Drake Floyd) and starring Michael Stephenson, George Hardy, Connie McFarland, and Jason Wright. Although produced under the title ''Goblins'', the American ...

'' was hastily marketed as a sequel to ''

Troll A troll is a being in Nordic folklore, including Norse mythology. In Old Norse sources, beings described as trolls dwell in isolated areas of rocks, mountains, or caves, live together in small family units, and are rarely helpful to human be ...

''. The Philippine film industry is also known for its unauthorised adaptations of popular Western films. The popularity of the '' Batman'' films, most especially the 1966 TV series, has led to numerous unauthorised remakes and pastiches, such as ''

James Batman ''James Batman'' is a 1966 Filipino Batman/James Bond cinematic spoof produced by Dolores H. Vera and released by Sampaguita Pictures. It stars the Philippine comedian Dolphy as Batman and James Bond and Boy Alano as "Rubin". Premise An evil o ...

'' starring comedian

Dolphy Rodolfo Vera Quizon Sr. (; July 25, 1928 – July 10, 2012), better known by his stage names Dolphy, Pidol, and Golay, was a Filipino comedian and actor. He is widely regarded as the country's "King of Comedy" for his comedic talent embodied ...

, '' Batman Fights Dracula'', and ''

Alyas Batman en Robin ''Alyas Batman en Robin'' () is a 1991 Filipino musical-comedy film which spoofs the titular superheroes from DC Comics, Batman and Robin. It stars Joey de Leon as Batman, Rene Requiestas as the Joker, Dawn Zulueta as Angelique Legarda, Vina ...

''. Dolphy also played leading roles in other mockbusters, including ''Wanted: Perfect Father'', a comedy-drama based on the 1993 film ''

Mrs. Doubtfire ''Mrs. Doubtfire'' is a 1993 American comedy-drama film directed by Chris Columbus. It was written for the screen by Randi Mayem Singer and Leslie Dixon, based on the 1987 novel ''Alias Madame Doubtfire'' by Anne Fine. Robin Williams, who also s ...

'', and ''Tataynic'', a 1998 parody of James Cameron's ''

Titanic RMS ''Titanic'' was a British passenger liner, operated by the White Star Line, which sank in the North Atlantic Ocean on 15 April 1912 after striking an iceberg during her maiden voyage from Southampton, England, to New York City, Unit ...

''. Other Filipino knockoffs include ''

Bobo Cop ''Bobo Cop'' () is a 1988 Filipino action comedy film directed by Tony Y. Reyes and starring Joey Marquez as the titular cop, alongside Alice Dixson, Matet, Kristina Paner, Cris Villanueva, Atoy Co, Amy Perez, Willy Revillame, Panchito and Ca ...

'' (a parody of '' RoboCop'') and ''Rocky Plus V'' (a spoof of the ''

Rocky ''Rocky'' is a 1976 American sports drama film directed by John G. Avildsen and written by and starring Sylvester Stallone. It is the first installment in the ''Rocky'' franchise and stars Talia Shire, Burt Young, Carl Weathers, and Burge ...

'' series). Turkish cinema was known, particularly in the 1970s and 1980s, for knockoff films done at a cheap, amateur level. '' The Man who Saved the World'' became infamous for its theft of clips and songs from '' Star Wars'' and '' Raiders of the Lost Ark'', so much so that the film is popularly known as "Turkish Star Wars" in English-speaking realms, where it typifies the concept of

so bad, it's good A cult film or cult movie, also commonly referred to as a cult classic, is a film that has acquired a cult following. Cult films are known for their dedicated, passionate fanbase which forms an elaborate subculture, members of which engage i ...

. '' Three Giant Men'' involved a battle between

Marvel Comics Marvel Comics is an American comic book publishing, publisher and the flagship property of Marvel Entertainment, a divsion of The Walt Disney Company since September 1, 2009. Evolving from Timely Comics in 1939, ''Magazine Management/Atlas Co ...

characters Spider-Man and Captain America, both unauthorized and dressed in cheap costumes, decades before '' Captain America: Civil War'' covered the same concept to greater success.

Legality

Mockbusters based on popular animated films are known as a " drafting opportunity". For example, ''Kiara the Brave'' (a mockbuster of

's ''Brave'') and ''Puss in Boots: A Furry Tale'' (a mockbuster of ''

Puss in Boots "Puss in Boots" ( it, Il gatto con gli stivali) is an Italian fairy tale, later spread throughout the rest of Europe, about an anthropomorphic cat who uses trickery and deceit to gain power, wealth, and the hand of a princess in marriage for ...

'') use soundalike titling to "draft off" the marketing success ("slipstream") of popular films. "Can you trademark an actual noun? The idea of a battleship?", asks Boxoffice magazine editor Amy Nicholson. The original ''Puss in Boots'' was made by DreamWorks Animation by 300 people working for four years at the cost of $130 million. The mockbuster, with nearly exactly the same name was made by 12 people, in six months, for less than $1 million. For these large production houses, it wasn't just a question of free riding on the marketing success of these more popular films; mockbusters have become a source of bad publicity. Customers who had accidentally bought the mockbuster ''Puss in Boots: A Furry Tale'' but did not know that it was a mockbuster gave the original movie bad reviews. Mockbuster producers have had no legal troubles with drafting off as a result of Disney losing a case against GoodTimes Entertainment, which had used similar packaging for their own version of ''Aladdin''. Mockbusters have also had legal complications with false advertising. They supposedly tweak the plot lines and the titles just enough to skirt legal trouble and yet ride on the publicity of major blockbusters. Until the ''Hobbit'' case, mockbuster production houses have been able to achieve soundalike titling to such an extent that even actors in the movies have been confused about which movie they are starring in. Some actors starring in the original have gone on to become fans of the mockbuster model. Kel Mitchell was the star in the mockbuster ''

'', the mockbuster to the original '' Battle: Los Angeles''. His friend was in the original and they began promoting both movies together. Kel has since then became a fan of the studio's formula: "I laugh out loud when I see that a film is coming out; I wonder what The Asylum is going to do with it. They're going to remix that name and put it out." In December 2013,

The Walt Disney Company The Walt Disney Company, commonly known as Disney (), is an American multinational mass media and entertainment industry, entertainment conglomerate (company), conglomerate headquartered at the Walt Disney Studios (Burbank), Walt Disney Stud ...

filed in California federal court to get an injunction against the continued distribution of the Canadian film '' The Legend of Sarila'', retitled ''Frozen Land''. In their suit, Disney alleges: "To enhance the commercial success of Sarila, the defendant redesigned the artwork, packaging, logo, and other promotional materials for its newly (and intentionally misleadingly) retitled film to mimic those used by

for '' Frozen'' and related merchandise." The suit was filed against distributor

Intent to deceive

Because mockbusters are deliberately similar to more famous movies, some movie studios have sued mockbuster studios for allegedly tricking consumers into renting or purchasing the wrong movie through intentionally deceptive marketing. In one such lawsuit,

Walt Disney Pictures Walt Disney Pictures is an American film production company and subsidiary of Walt Disney Studios, which is owned by The Walt Disney Company. The studio is the flagship producer of live-action feature films within the Walt Disney Studios unit ...

sued the UK-based studio Brightspark, complaining that the studio was "misleading consumers with numerous releases that confuse and undermine the trust those consumers have in Disney". Among Brightspark's films mentioned in the lawsuit were ''Braver'', ''Tangled Up'', ''The Frog Prince'', and ''Little Cars'', which resemble Disney's '' Brave'', ''

'', ''

'', and ''

'', respectively.

Warner Bros. Warner Bros. Entertainment Inc. (commonly known as Warner Bros. or abbreviated as WB) is an American film and entertainment studio headquartered at the Warner Bros. Studios complex in Burbank, California, and a subsidiary of Warner Bros. D ...

similarly sued

over their release of ''Age of the Hobbits''. The judge ruled in favor of Warner Bros., writing that "There is substantial likelihood that consumers will be confused by Age Of Hobbits and mistakenly purchase the film intending to purchase '' The Hobbit: An Unexpected Journey''." Most mockbusters follow the trend of releasing their movies close to the release dates of the original: * '' Jack the Giant Killer'' came out on March 12, 2013, ''

Jack the Giant Slayer ''Jack the Giant Slayer'' (previously titled ''Jack the Giant Killer'') is a 2013 American heroic fantasy, fantasy adventure film directed by Bryan Singer and written by Darren Lemke, Christopher McQuarrie and Dan Studney, from a story by Lemke a ...

'' on March 1, 2013. * ''

Hansel & Gretel "Hansel and Gretel" (; german: Hänsel und Gretel ) is a German fairy tale collected by the German Brothers Grimm and published in 1812 in ''Grimm's Fairy Tales'' (KHM 15). It is also known as Little Step Brother and Little Step Sister. Hanse ...

'' came out January 8, 2013, '' Hansel & Gretel: Witch Hunters'' came out January 17, 2013. * ''

Grimm's Snow White ''Grimm's Snow White'' is a 2012 American fantasy film produced by The Asylum and directed by Rachel Lee Goldenberg. Loosely based on the Brothers Grimm fairy tale ''Snow White'', the film stars Jane March, Eliza Bennett and Jamie Thomas King. ...

'', ''

Snow White and the Huntsman ''Snow White and the Huntsman'' is a 2012 American fantasy film based on the German fairy tale "Snow White" compiled by the Brothers Grimm. The directorial debut of Rupert Sanders, it was written by Evan Daugherty, John Lee Hancock and Hossein ...

'' and '' Mirror Mirror'' were all released in 2012. * 2009's '' Sherlock Holmes'' was followed by 2010's '' Sir Arthur Conan Doyle's Sherlock Holmes'' from The Asylum. The Asylum defend this practice, stating their intention is not to dupe customers. The Asylum cites reports from both

Blockbuster LLC Blockbuster LLC, formerly known as Blockbuster Video, was an American-based provider of home video and video game rental services. Services were offered primarily at video rental shops, but later alternatives included DVD-by-mail, streaming med ...

and

Hollywood Video Hollywood Entertainment Corp. ( Nasdaq: HLYW), more commonly known as Hollywood Video, was a home video and video game rental shop company started in 1988. The chain was the largest direct competitor to Blockbuster Video until it was purchase ...

that show that less than 1% of customers who rent one of their films ask for a refund. That the low return rate of their films has been used to argue that consumers are renting The Asylum's films deliberately. "There's a segment of people who watch them because they know they're bad and they're funny, and they're fun to make fun of with their friends", says Kyle Ryan, the managing editor of ''

The A.V. Club ''The A.V. Club'' is an American online newspaper and entertainment website featuring reviews, interviews, and other articles that examine films, music, television, books, games, and other elements of pop-culture media. ''The A.V. Club'' was cre ...

'', a sister publication of ''

The Onion ''The Onion'' is an American digital media company and newspaper organization that publishes satire, satirical articles on international, national, and local news. The company is based in Chicago but originated as a weekly print publication on ...

''.

''The Asylum v. Warner Bros.'', 2012

In 2012,

Warner Bros. Pictures Warner Bros. Pictures is an American film production and distribution company of the Warner Bros. Pictures Group division of Warner Bros. Entertainment (both ultimately owned by Warner Bros. Discovery). The studio is the flagship producer of ...

New Line Cinema New Line Cinema is an American film production studio owned by Warner Bros. Discovery and is a film label of Warner Bros. It was founded in 1967 by Robert Shaye as an independent film distribution company; later becoming a film studio after ...

Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer Studios Inc., also known as Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer Pictures and abbreviated as MGM, is an American film, television production, distribution and media company owned by Amazon through MGM Holdings, founded on April 17, 1924 ...

WingNut Films WingNut Films, Inc. is a New Zealand production company based in Wellington, with other offices in Hollywood, United States, London, United Kingdom, and Melbourne, Australia. It is notable for producing and collaborates predominantly with filmma ...

, and The

Saul Zaentz Saul Zaentz (; February 28, 1921January 3, 2014) was an American film producer and record company executive. He won the Academy Award for Best Picture three times and, in 1996, was awarded the Irving G. Thalberg Memorial Award. Zaentz's film p ...

Company (SZC) sued The Asylum for trademark infringement, false designation of origin, trademark dilution, false advertising, and unfair competition. Plaintiffs alleged that defendant's movie title ''Age of the Hobbits'' infringed the registered trademarks held by SZC in the designation "Hobbit". Unlike fairytales, which are in the public domain, the

J. R. R. Tolkien John Ronald Reuel Tolkien (, ; 3 January 1892 – 2 September 1973) was an English writer and philologist. He was the author of the high fantasy works ''The Hobbit'' and ''The Lord of the Rings''. From 1925 to 1945, Tolkien was the Rawlins ...

novels have been exclusively licensed to Warner Bros. and SZC for production and film adaptation. The court described Global Asylum (the defendant in this case) as a low-budget company that makes "mockbusters" of popular movies with similar titling. Warner Bros. and SZC submitted evidence to prove that consumers would be confused by the identical title and that they would lose not only ticket sales but also DVD revenue. The evidence included a survey showing that 48 percent of 400 surveyed respondents associated the term “Hobbit” with SZC, d/b/a “Tolkien Enterprises” and Tolkien properties. A separate survey conducted by Nielsen National Research Group showed that approximately 16 to 24 percent of survey respondents were confused about the source of ''Age of the Hobbits''. The Asylum claimed that they were justified in using the word "

Hobbit Hobbits are a fictional race of people in the novels of J. R. R. Tolkien. About half average human height, Tolkien presented hobbits as a variety of humanity, or close relatives thereof. Occasionally known as halflings in Tolkien's writings, ...

" as a fair use of scientific terminology after some scientists borrowed the term from the ''Hobbit'' stories a few years prior to describe a

human species Humans (''Homo sapiens'') are the most abundant and widespread species of primate, characterized by bipedalism and exceptional cognitive skills due to a large and complex brain. This has enabled the development of advanced tools, culture, an ...

Indonesia Indonesia, officially the Republic of Indonesia, is a country in Southeast Asia and Oceania between the Indian and Pacific oceans. It consists of over 17,000 islands, including Sumatra, Java, Sulawesi, and parts of Borneo and New Guine ...

. The Asylum argued that it provided warnings stating that this was not the Tolkien creature. The films also featured major plot differences: "In an ancient age, the small, peace-loving Hobbits are enslaved by the Java Men, a race of flesh-eating dragon-riders. The young Hobbit Goben must join forces with their neighbor giants, the humans, to free his people and vanquish their enemies." The Federal Court found that Warner Bros. had a valid trademark on the word "Hobbit". The court rejected The Asylum's scientific fair-use claims since there was no evidence to suggest that the movie was about a prehistoric group of people who lived in Indonesia. The court rejected all of The Asylum's defenses: (i) that it was permitted to use “Hobbits” in the title of its film pursuant to the free speech test of the Second Circuit’s decision in ''

Rogers v. Grimaldi ''Rogers v. Grimaldi'', 875 F.2d 994 (2d Cir. 1989) is a trademark and intellectual freedom case, known for establishing the "''Rogers'' test" for protecting uses of trademarks that implicate intellectual freedom issues. Factual background Act ...

'', (ii) that its use of the mark constituted nominative fair use to indicate plaintiffs' movies and (iii) that the “Hobbits” mark was a generic name. The court decided that The Asylum had failed to prove its defenses and on December 10, 2012, found in favor of the plaintiffs and entered a temporary restraining order. This restraining order prevented the use by Global Asylum of the title ''Age of the Hobbits''. The Ninth Circuit court of appeals affirmed in 2013. The film was then released under the name ''

Clash of the Empires ''Clash of the Empires'' (also known as ''Lord of the Elves'') is an American fantasy/ adventure film produced by The Asylum and directed by Joseph Lawson. It stars Christopher Judge, Bai Ling and Sun Korng. It was originally titled ''Age of th ...

''.

Notable studios and directors

Jetlag Productions Jetlag Productions was an American animation studio that, like the similar studio Golden Films, has created a number of animated films based on different, popular children's stories, while creating a few original productions. Produced mainly for ...

* Vídeo Brinquedo * Dingo Pictures *

* Bruno Mattei * WowNow Entertainment *

Film Ventures International Film Ventures International (FVI) was an independent film production and distribution company originally located in Atlanta, Georgia, during the 1970s. FVI garnered a notorious reputation within the industry for producing films that were highly de ...

From Grizzly to Great White: The Death of Film Ventures International - Paste
/ref>

In other media

The 2022 adaptation of ''

Chip 'n Dale Rescue Rangers Chip 'n Dale: Rescue Rangers may refer to: * ''Chip 'n Dale: Rescue Rangers'' (TV series), 1989 television series * ''Chip 'n Dale: Rescue Rangers'' (film), 2022 film * ''Chip 'n Dale Rescue Rangers'' (video game), 1990 game based on the TV series ...

'' spoofed the nature of animated mockbusters with "bootlegged" titles like '' Flying Bedroom Boy'' and '' Spaghetti Dogs''. The cult television show '' Mystery Science Theater 3000'' had episodes featuring mockbusters of other movies (eg. ''

'', '' Pod People''). Two of Vídeo Brinquedo's productions were parodied in an episode of ''

The Amazing World of Gumball ''The Amazing World of Gumball'' is an animated sitcom created by Ben Bocquelet for Cartoon Network. The series concerns the lives of 12-year-old Gumball Watterson, an anthropomorphic blue cat, and adoptive goldfish brother Darwin, who attend ...

'' called "The Treasure", in which Gumball picks up a mockbuster DVD called ''How to Ratatwang Your Panda''. The film is a cross between ''The Little Panda Fighter'' and ''Ratatoing'', which themselves reference ''Kung Fu Panda'' and ''Ratatouille''."The Amazing World of Gumball" The Treasure (TV Episode 2012) - Connections - IMDb
/ref>

References

{{Film genres Films by type Film genres Exploitation films 1990s in animation 2000s in animation 2010s in animation

History

Blaxploitation films

GoodTimes Entertainment

Vídeo Brinquedo

Dingo Pictures

Other

Soundalike titling

Foreign knockoffs and illegitimate sequels

Legality

Intent to deceive

''The Asylum v. Warner Bros.'', 2012

Notable studios and directors

In other media

See also

Further reading

References