You may have heard of the term “twin movies,” in which two films with similar plots come out around the same time coincidentally. However, we would like to focus on actual movies about twins, which follow the lives and adventures of two siblings born at the same time and, in most cases, bear a striking resemblance to one another. If you love these kinds of stories, you are in luck because Hollywood has made more than enough twin movies to watch for hours on end until you begin to see double.
Twins (1988)
Despite being one of the most famous twin movies, the stars of the classic Ivan Reitman movie Twins look nothing alike. Arnold Schwarzenegger stars in the comedy as the hulking Julius, the product of an experiment to create the perfect male specimen, who gets to meet his long-lost brother, the 4′ 10″ Vincent (Danny DeVito), who was the unintended second embryo.
Adaptation (2002)
Inspired by his struggles to turn Susan Orlean’s 1998 non-fiction book, The Orchid Thief, into a screenplay, Charlie Kaufman concocted Adaptation. Nicolas Cage stars in the Oscar-winning comedy from director Spike Jonze as both the esteemed writer and his fictional, freeloading twin brother, Donald Kaufman, who helps him with the script.
Double Impact (1991)
The only thing better than an action movie with Jean-Claude Van Damme is an action movie with two Jean-Claude Van Dammes. The Belgian martial artist stars in the fun ’90s action movie, Double Impact, as long-lost twin brothers Chad and Alex, who team up to avenge their parents’ murder.
Stuck On You (2003)
In Stuck on You, Greg Kinnear plays Walt Tenor, who convinces his conjoined twin brother, Bob (Matt Damon), to move to Los Angeles so Walt can pursue an acting career. Brotherly writing and directing duo Peter and Bobby Farrelly claim they did not realize when they were crafting the comedy, which also stars Cher as herself, that it resembles their own origin story but with the caveat that the main siblings are, literally, connected at the hip.
Legend (2015)
Director Brian Helgeland’s Legend is a twin movie in more than one way. Not only does it tell the true story of the rise and fall of notorious, identical gangsters Reggie and Ronnie Kray in 1960s London, but it also shares its title with an entirely different movie: Ridley Scott‘s 1985 fantasy epic starring Tom Cruise.
The Social Network (2010)
In addition to its exploration of the rise of Facebook and legal gray areas in the tech industry, one of the most widely discussed topics surrounding David Fincher‘s The Social Network was the technology used to allow Armie Hammer to portray both Cameron and Tyler Winklevoss. Instead of old-fashioned split-screen photography, the actor’s face was digitally inserted onto the similarly-built body of Josh Pence for scenes in which the twin brothers, and partners-turned-rivals of Mark Zuckerberg (Jesse Eisenberg), are seen together.
New York Minute (2004)
Mary-Kate and Ashley Olsen‘s first theatrically released movie, 1995’s It Takes Two, curiously, does not star the world-famous twins as sisters but as inexplicable lookalikes. Nine years later, the siblings would share the screen as siblings this time in their second (and final) theatrically released movie New York Minute – a box office flop in which their trip to the Big Apple is ruined by a series of mishaps.
The Skeleton Twins (2014)
Despite featuring two hilarious Saturday Night Live veterans, The Skeleton Twins is a movie that gets honest about mental illness, albeit with a few laughs here and there. The twin movie stars Bill Hader as Milo, who reunites with his sister, Maggie (Kristen Wiig), and the estranged siblings work together to help each other through their emotional issues.
Dead Ringers (1988)
One of director David Cronenberg’s best movies, Dead Ringers, stars Jeremy Irons as twin gynecologists Beverly and Elliot Mantle, who often indulge in taking advantage of their identical appearance. The psychological thriller later inspired an even darker miniseries reimagining starring Rachel Weisz in dual roles.
The Parent Trap (1998)
Lindsay Lohan made her feature film debut in the twin movie favorite, director Nancy Meyers’ The Parent Trap, pulling double duty as both Hallie Parker and Annie James. After meeting at summer camp, the previously unwitting twins hatch a plan to reunite their parents (played by Dennis Quaid and Natasha Richardson) by switching lives.
The Shining (1980)
Director Stanley Kubrick’s adaptation of Stephen King’s The Shining – in which a family falls prey to a hotel’s manipulative spirits while serving as caretakers – is not a twin movie by definition. However, the shot of two ghostly, young sisters calling out to young Danny Torrance (Danny Lloyd) from the end of a hallway is one of the horror movie classic‘s most iconic images.
Big Business (1988)
In Big Business, Bette Midler and Lily Tomlin star as two sets of identical twins who were accidentally switched at birth and raised as fraternal twin sisters. Years later, both duos – one with a wealthy upbringing and the other from a working-class family – find themselves at the same hotel in New York and discover each other, leading to some wild shenanigans.
Despicable Me 3 (2017)
The third installment of Illumination’s Despicable Me movies follows the tradition of most trilogies by revealing something previously unknown about the protagonist. In this case, the twist is that reformed supervillain Felonius Gru has a long-lost twin brother named Dru (also voiced by Steve Carell).
The Man In The Iron Mask (1998)
Based on Alexandre Dumas’ novel The Vicomte of Bragelonne: Ten Years Later, The Man in the Iron Mask stars Leonardo DiCaprio as King Louis XIV and his twin brother, Philippe Bourbon, whom he keeps locked away and hidden behind a very uncomfortable mask. Coming to Philippe’s aid with intent to overthrow the corrupt king are the four Musketeers (played by Jeremy Irons, John Malkovich, Gabriel Byrne, and Gérard Depardieu).
Goodnight Mommy (2015)
One of the most unsettling twin movies is Goodnight Mommy, which stars Elias and Lukas Schwarz as siblings of the same name, who suspect their mother (Susanne Wuest), who has returned home from a cosmetic operation, is not what she claims to be. The acclaimed Austrian thriller was remade for American audiences in 2022 and ended in a slightly different manner from the shocking conclusion of the original.
The Spiderwick Chronicles (2008)
The main protagonist of The Spiderwick Chronicles – Mark Waters’ feature adaptation of Tony DiTerlizzi and Holly Black’s series of fantasy novels – is young Jared Grace. However, the English former child star who still acts today also plays Jared’s twin brother, Simon, who becomes more begrudgingly embroiled in the otherworldly adventure they have.
Austin Powers In Goldmember (2002)
Writer and star Mike Myers’ spy movie spoof franchise is anchored by the rivalry between hip secret agent Austin Powers and eccentric terrorist Dr. Evil, who are both played by Myers. However, everything changes at the conclusion of the third installment, Austin Powers in Goldmember, in which it is revealed that Powers and Evil are long-lost twin brothers, which explains their resemblance.
The Boondock Saints (1999)
We actually forgot that The Boondock Saints was a twin movie until recently since the fact that the main brotherly duo are fraternal twins is a minimal detail. The cult favorite crime thriller stars Sean Patrick Flanery and Norman Reedus as Connor and Murphy MacManus, who believe they have been chosen by God to violently punish Boston’s criminal underworld.
Twitches (2005)
Tia and Tamara Mowry became household names as the stars of the sitcom, Sister, Sister, in which they play twin siblings separated at birth who randomly meet each other later in life. That is also the plot of their Disney Channel original movie, Twitches, but with the caveat that their characters, Alex and Camryn, also discover they come from a mystical alternate dimension and possess magical abilities.
Basket Case (1982)
Perhaps the horror genre’s most iconic and definitive twin movie is director Frank Henenlotter’s awesomely cheesy feature debut, Basket Case. The thriller stars Kevin Van Hentenryck as Duane, who travels to New York City with his formerly conjoined brother, Belial – essentially a nonverbal blob with a face and one hand – to exact revenge on the doctor who separated them.
Leaves Of Grass (2009)
Not to be confused with the acclaimed collection of poems by Walt Whitman, Leaves of Grass is a dark comedy from writer and star Tim Blake Nelson, who has a role in the film. The lead actor, however, is Academy Award nominee Edward Norton, who portrays Ivy League college professor Bill Kincaid and his twin brother, Brady, who enlists his help to take down an Oklahoma drug lord. buy posing as him.
House of Wax (2005)
Having shared the screen with Jared Padalecki and Paris Hilton in the film, it is easy to see why Brian Van Holt would become the most overlooked House of Wax cast member. However, he should be celebrated for pulling double duty in the underrated 2000s-era slasher movie as both murderous mechanic Bo and his artistic, formerly conjoined twin brother, Vincent, who makes realistic museum figures by covering his still-living victims in wax.
The Suite Life Movie (2011)
After years of sharing characters (most notably Big Daddy‘s Julian), Cole and Dylan Sprouse each got their own lead roles in Disney Channel’s The Suite Life of Zack & Cody and its spin-off The Suite Life on Deck. In 2011, the franchise gained a feature-length installment called The Suite Life Movie, in which Zack and Cody become involved in a unique experiment involving twins that proves to have a strange effect on the siblings.
Jack’s Back (1988)
James Spader has been known to play a great villain but he gets to be the hero (and a victim) of the late ’80s serial killer movie, Jack’s Back. The Emmy winner plays a man who becomes involved in the investigation of a murderer whose crimes seem to resemble that of Jack the Ripper after the elusive culprit claims the life of his twin brother.
Twin Dragons (1992)
While known for his impressive martial arts skills, Jackie Chan is lesser known for his musical talents but would get to demonstrate both in the same movie. In Twin Dragons, the actor plays two twin brothers – one an esteemed classical concert conductor and the other a mechanic who moonlights as a bodyguard – who find each other years after being separated at birth.
Start The Revolution Without Me (1970)
Gene Wilder and Donald Sutherland make a great comedic duo in the period parody film, Start the Revolution Without Me, in dual roles. They each play a set of identical twins who were accidentally separated at birth, with one of each twin becoming a wealthy aristocrat while the others grow up to be lowly peasants who become mistaken for the infamous Corsican Brothers.
Twin Falls Idaho (1999)
Director Michael Polish co-writes Twin Falls Idaho with his twin brother, Mark Polish, who both also lead the cast of the late ’90s independent drama. The film follows the relationship between conjoined twins Francis and Blake Falls, who are hoping to find and reunite with their estranged mother when one of them falls for a woman named Penny (Michele Hicks).
The Twin (2017)
The good twin, evil twin trope is the main draw of a thriller called The Twin, which premiered on the Lifetime network in 2017. It also incorporates a dark, quas-twist on the plot of The Parent Trap, following Tyler Wells (Timothy Granaderos), who becomes trapped in a psychiatric hospital when his unstable twin brother, Derek (also played by Granaderos), assumes his identity.
Seconds Apart (2011)
Instead of the good twin, evil twin trope, Seconds Apart makes its central siblings up to no good. Edmund and Gary Entin star as Jonah and Seth Trimble, whose sociopathic behavior places them under the suspicion of Detective Lampkin (former MADtv cast member Orlando Jones).
The Identical (2014)
A tragic, lesser-known fact about Elvis Presley is that the music legend had a twin brother who passed away in the womb. The Identical is a film that asks what might have happened if he lived, as told from the perspective of fictional rock sensation Drexel Hemsley and his working-class, unwitting twin brother, Ryan Wade (both played by Blake Rayne).
The Parent Trap (1961)
Disney’s original adaptation of Erich Kästner’s 1943 novel, Das doppelte Lottchen (published as The Parent Trap in English-speaking countries), starred Hayley Mills as Susan Evers and Sharon McKendrick. The classic family film spawned three made-for-TV sequels, all of which saw Mills reprise the twins as grown-ups.
Jack And Jill (2011)
Jack and Jill stars Adam Sandler as both titular roles. The comedy follows a family man whose twin sister comes in for a Thanksgiving visit and then refuses to leave.
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