They Remade That, How Many Times?
Remakes are a fixture of the movie industry. But you’d be surprised as to just how endless a supply certain films have provided for the global market.
The Longest Yard
1974’s The Longest Yard, which functioned as a star vehicle for Burt Reynolds, has proved to be a surprisingly rich intellectual property. It’s, to date, spawned three remakes from across the world.
The Longest Yard (1/7) Movie CLIP - An All-American Son of a Bitch (1974) HD, Movieclips
The Longest Yard
The sports and prison comedy formula extended to an American remake of the same name, a British film about soccer (Mean Machine), and an Egyptian one about that same game (Captain Masr). Who knows what other combinations you could make with the format?
How To Cheat In Football Scene | MEAN MACHINE (2001) Movie CLIP HD, JoBlo Movie Clips
Night Of The Living Dead
It may surprise you to find out that there are seven remakes of George A Romero’s influential horror masterpiece. The reason is that the original is in the public domain, so anyone can remake it if they want, pretty much.
Night of the Living Dead (1968)
Night Of The Living Dead
In terms of a theatrically released remake, a Tom Savini-directed one from 1990 counts, but it hardly made a splash back then. So it’s surprising they kept remaking it, including in 3D and even in animated forms.
NIGHT OF THE LIVING DEAD 1990: Tom Savini’s Forgotten Remake is a Zombie Gem, Matt Draper
Ben-Hur
As Meat Loaf once sang, two out of three ain’t bad. This is the case with the intellectual property of the biblically-tinged Ben-Hur, which provided some of our most enduring epics.
Ben-Hur
1925’s Ben-Hur: A Story of the Christ and 1959’s Ben-Hur were both highly influential blockbusters. The same can not be said for 2016’s big-budget iteration, which was a massive box office bomb.
A Star Is Born
With five iterations and counting, A Star is Born seems to be the definition of a successful formula. Starting with 1932’s What Price Hollywood? and ending with 2018’s iteration, the story seems to have universal appeal.
A Star Is Born
A good question is if it will be done again and how. The answer is likely, and we can imagine more of a hip-hop spin going forward.
Warner Bros., A Star Is Born (2018)
Stagecoach
John Ford’s Stagecoach is considered one of the most influential films of all time. Did the two remakes, released respectively in 1966 and 1986, hold equal presence?
Stagecoach
The simple answer to that question is, well, no. That being said, Stagecoach has such a classic story structure that it’s almost surprising it hasn’t been remade even more times, like, say, in outer space.
Stagecoach (1986), Heritage Entertainment Inc.
The Mummy
Looking past every sequel or rip-off, for which there are too many to count, you can say there are three official The Mummy Remakes. A British one from 1959, an Indiana Jones-influenced remake from 1999, and of course the ill-fated Tom Cruise reboot from 2017.
The Mummy
A new Mummy remake for 2026 just recently went into production, so we can add another one to the list. The 1932 original will always be the strongest, due to its creepy tone and impressive production values.
King Kong
People can’t get enough of the big ape, as evidenced by three iterations of King Kong. That isn’t even counting things like 1986’s King Kong Lives or 2017’s Kong: Skull Island.
Kong: Skull Island | Kong vs. Skullcrawler | Warner Bros. Entertainment, Warner Bros. Entertainment
King Kong
As for the best one, the 1933 original is still probably king. The bloated three-hour remake from 2005 still has its charms, though, including a great ape performance by Andy Serkis.
Seven Samurai
Talking about Seven Samurai and remakes is tricky because the title has never been repeated. But that doesn’t discount there being The Magnificent Seven, Battle Beyond the Star, and 2016’s The Magnificent Seven.
Seven Samurai
With the classic film reimagined in both Western and space opera genres, it’s safe to say the concept is a rich playground. However, one wonders how the 2004 PlayStation 2 game adaptation represents the original material.
Annie
1982’s Annie was considered a bit of a money grab for legendary director John Huston, but regardless, he made a movie that had enough impact to be remade multiple times. It’s not a hard knock life for whoever still gets residuals every time they greenlight a new Annie.
Annie (1982) Original Trailer [FHD], HD Retro Trailers
Annie
Annie remakes count as a 1999 television iteration, a 2014 theatrical reboot, and a 2021 NBC live production, even. We’re sure there’s always room for another remake, maybe animated?
Black Christmas
1974’s Black Christmas basically invented the slasher genre, technically beating Halloween to the punch by four years. The two remakes, from 2006 and 2019, respectively, didn’t exactly have the same impact.
Black Christmas - Official Trailer [HD], Universal Pictures
Black Christmas
It’s actually somewhat surprising Black Christmas didn’t spawn a whole franchise back in the 1970s. But this was a time when films were actually harder to sequelize, even horror pictures.
Telefilm Canada, Black Christmas (1974)
Cheaper By The Dozen
The concept of a family with too many kids was clearly comedy gold, don’t just look at all the iterations of Cheaper By the Dozen, but the similar Yours, Mine and Ours. That 1960s ripoff of Cheaper By the Dozen even spawned its own remake in 2005!
Yours, Mine, and Ours (1968) | Official Trailer | MGM Studios, Amazon MGM Studios
Cheaper By The Dozen
Cheaper By the Dozen, though, proved to be a rich intellectual property, as the 1950 original spawned remakes in 2003 and 2022, respectively. Those kids must be getting up to a lot of hijinks between all those movies.
CHEAPER BY THE DOZEN - Clips (2003), JoBlo Movie Clips
Day Of The Dead
Day of the Dead was considered a slight letdown when it was released in 1985, not living up to George A Romero’s two previous zombie classics. That being said, that hasn’t stopped it from being remade multiple times.
Day of the Dead (1985) ORIGINAL TRAILER [HD], HD Retro Trailers
Day Of The Dead
Perhaps the lack of respect for the original Day of the Dead is represented in how its two remakes, respectively from 2008 and 2017, were each straight-to-video affairs. Romero’s respective 1968 and 1978 classics each got theatrical remakes.
Day of the Dead (2008), JASON LIDDLE
Love Affair
Director Leo McCarey remade his own 1939 film Love Affair when making An Affair to Remember in 1959. That being said, it wouldn’t be the last time it was done.
RKO Pictures, Wikimedia Commons
Love Affair
1994’s Love Affair, which paired the real-life offscreen couple Warren Beatty and Annette Bening together, became the third iteration. Could there be another someday, even if romantic melodramas aren’t that popular anymore?
Love Affair 1994 - Official Movie Trailer, HOW2FUN
My Best Friend’s Wedding
The 1997 film My Best Friend’s Wedding helped re-establish Julia Roberts’ popularity with audiences after some stinkers like Mary Reilly. Simply put, the rom-com set-up was just too good for audiences to turn down.
George Sings "Say a Little Prayer" | My Best Friend's Wedding | Love Love, Love Love
My Best Friend’s Wedding
The popularity of the film’s set-up meant it was prime material for remakes. India, China, and Mexico, in particular, all made their own variations on it.
TriStar, My Best Friend’s Wedding (1997)
Nine Queens
The Argentinian crime film Nine Queens has been a surprising source of remakes. Its first was an American one called Criminal, but that certainly wouldn’t be the last.
Nine Queens
India is where there seems to be a particular love affair with Nine Queens, that country alone having produced three separate remakes. Frankly, we wouldn’t be shocked if there’s a fourth.
The Man In The Iron Mask
It might surprise you to know there were six adaptations of Alexandre Dumas’ The Man in the Iron Mask. Impressive for something always in the shadow of either The Three Musketeers or The Count of Monte Cristo.
unknown (Elton Corporation / United Artists), Wikimedia Commons
The Man In The Iron Mask
The 1929 and 1939 adaptations would probably be the best, being that they respectively featured the directorial talents of Allan Dwan and James Whale. The easiest to find would of course be the 1998 iteration, which was Leonardo DiCaprio’s first post-Titanic movie.
Man in the Iron Mask (1998) | Official Trailer | MGM Studios by Amazon MGM Studios
Miss Granny
The South Korean film Miss Granny has proven to be a phenomenon in Asia. If you need proof, just look at the fact that it’s been remade six different times in six countries.
Miss Granny full HD korean movie 2014 ‧ Comedy/Fantasy by Sarang Kim
Miss Granny
Miss Granny remakes span from China to Vietnam to Japan. Now the question arises if Hollywood will ever give it a spin.
Miss Granny full HD korean movie 2014 ‧ Comedy/Fantasy by Sarang Kim
Perfect Strangers
Have you heard of the 2016 Italian comedy Perfect Strangers? If you’re in North America, maybe you haven’t, but judging by the number of remakes, the rest of the globe probably has.
2016 Perfect Strangers Official Trailer 1 - HD - Medusa Film, Klokline Cinema
Perfect Strangers
If you need a count on just how many remakes Perfect Strangers has received: 24. The remakes span from all across Europe and Asia, yet no English-language country has given it a spin.
PERFECT STRANGERS - Larry & Balki Meet for the First Time by A FUSCO - Classic TV
Superman
In Hollywood, “reboot” became the officially sanctioned word, usually in relation to comic book properties, to signal a new iteration of some source material. Let’s be honest, it’s just a fancy way of saying “remake”.
Dovemead Films, Superman (1978)
Superman
1978’s Superman: The Movie introduced the idea that comic book movies could work on screen. Yet with three “reboots” in recent memory of that character, Superman Returns, Man of Steel, and this summer’s Superman, it seems like the formula is harder than it looks.
Man of Steel (2013), Warner Bros.
Spider-Man
Probably the most blatant offender of the “reboot” handle is Spider-Man. A 2012 remake landing only five years after the original trilogy was a sign of a truly cynical direction in the industry.
Columbia, The Amazing Spider-Man (2012)
Spider-Man
Of course, this all came to a big nostalgic conclusion in 2021’s Spider-Man: Far From Home, which featured all three of the Peter Parker actors on screen together. Don’t be shocked if we get a fourth by the end of the 2020s.
Columbia, Spider-Man: Far from Home (2019)
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