up vote 47 down vote favorite
4

Two movies with almost same name and plot are released together.

Overlord (2018) was released on 9 November 2018 in USA and produced by J.J.Abrams who is a well known director and producer in Hollywood. A second movie is Nazi Overlord (2018), released on 13 November 2018 in USA and produced by not so well known people.

A similar situation was with Operation Dunkirk (2017) and Dunkirk (2017).

From the synopsis both movies have almost the same plot and name.

This related question is about twin films whereas I am asking about low production studios making intentional releases shortly after the release by a big banner.

What's the point of releasing such similar movies at the same time?

share|improve this question
up vote 79 down vote accepted

To capitalize on the success of its predecessor. Even IMDb said the same in their trivia section:

The movie is being released on November 13th, 2018 to capitalize on the release of 'Overlord', which premieres on November the 9th.

Same applied for Operation Dunkirk (2017) too. And this is not a new thing, there is a category of such movies called Mockbuster.

A mockbuster is a movie created with the intention of exploiting the publicity of another major motion picture with a similar title and/or subject. Mockbusters are often made with a low budget and quick production to maximize profit.

share|improve this answer
  • 57
    The Asylum is notorious for this practice. Their other Mockbusters include Alien Predator, Atlantic Rim, Transmorphers, Triassic World, End of the World, Avengers Grimm Time Wars, Tomb Invader, Troy: The Odyssey, Geo-Disaster, CarGo, The Fast and the Fierce, Independents' Day, Jack the Giant Killer, Abraham Lincoln vs Zombies, etc... – Schwern Nov 19 at 16:43
  • 13
    The popular viewpoint is that the Mockbuster capitalises on DVD sales from confused consumers seeing it in the bargain bin ("oh look, that movie I'd vaguely heard of is out already"). It's conceivable that the move to streaming might kill this. – origimbo Nov 19 at 17:27
  • 4
    In Japan, they put these fake movies right alongside the regular ones in DVD rental stores (these still exist here). I'm sure many people must have been tricked into renting these. – David Nov 19 at 18:30
  • 2
    Supposedly they actually have their own independent business model now - i.e. some people collect them ;) – TomTom Nov 20 at 15:19
  • 2
    @Rahul Done. Also note that MST3K will be doing Atlantic Rim as part of The Gauntlet this Thursday. Best way to enjoy these monstrosities. – Schwern Nov 20 at 18:55
up vote 19 down vote

This is a film by The Asylum. You might know them as the people behind Sharknado and Megashark vs Giant Octopus. As @ankit explained Nazi Overlord is a Mockbuster, a cheaply made copycat rushed to market to capitalize on the popularity and advertising of a big budget film.

Some people get tricked into buying them. Some people watch them deliberately for the joy of bad movies. MST3K: The Gauntlet will be featuring one of their mockbusters, Atlantic Rim. Watch for the submarine. There's always a submarine.

Their other mockbusters include...

  • Alien Predator (The Predator)
  • Atlantic Rim (Pacific Rim)
  • Transmorphers (Transformers)
  • Triassic World (Jurassic World)
  • Avengers Grimm Time Wars (The Avengers)
  • Tomb Invader (Tomb Raider)
  • Troy: The Odyssey (Troy)
  • Geo-Disaster (Geostorm)
  • CarGo (Cars)
  • The Fast and the Fierce (The Fast and the Furious)
  • Independents' Day (Independence Day)
  • Jack the Giant Killer (Jack the Giant Slayer)
  • Abraham Lincoln vs Zombies (Abraham Lincoln Vampire Hunter)
  • War of the Worlds (War of the Worlds)
  • Sinister Squad (Suicide Squad)
  • Snakes on a Train (Snakes on a Plane)
  • I Am Omega (I Am Legend)
  • 2012: Doomsday (2012)
  • 2012: Supernova (2012)
  • AvH: Alien vs Hunter (AvP: Alien vs Predator)
  • Sunday School Musical (High School Musical)
  • The 18-Year-Old Virgin (The 40-Year-Old Virgin)
  • The Day The Earth Stopped (The Day The Earth Stood Still)
  • The Terminators (Terminator)
  • Paranormal Entity (Paranormal Activity)
  • Titanic 2 (That's it, I'm leaving)
share|improve this answer
  • 6
    "The 18 Year-old Virgin" ... but ... that ... like ... defeats the whole point of the joke ... <head explodes> – kingledion Nov 21 at 13:47
  • 5
    I can't believe Snakes on a Train wasn't the official sequel. They missed a great franchising opportunity. I look forward to the prequel, set in the 1800s, Snakes on a Plain. – BruceWayne Nov 21 at 16:06
  • 4
    @BruceWayne "I will not abide these God forsaken snakes on this God forsaken plain!" – Schwern Nov 21 at 18:34

You must log in to answer this question.

Not the answer you're looking for? Browse other questions tagged .