- “Dracula” and “Huckleberry Finn” have been remade numerous times.
- “A Star Is Born” was remade three times after its original release in 1937.
- Many different actors have played Batman over the years, including Michael Keaton, Christian Bale, and Ben Affleck.
- Visit Insider’s homepage for more stories.
Some movies are too good to produce just once.
There’s reportedly an average of 23 years between an original fim and its remake. Numerous movie remakes, reboots, and sequels premiered in 2019, but reimagining classic stories with new movie versions has been happening since the early 1900s.
Here are 20 films that have been remade again and again.
“A Star Is Born” was released four times — in 1937, 1954, 1976, and 2018.
The basic plot of “A Star Is Born” has remained the same over the years – a rising star and a fading celebrity fall in love and grapple with fame – but each remake has put a slightly different spin on the story. Janet Gaynor, Judy Garland, Barbra Streisand, and Lady Gaga each took a turn as the up-and-coming lead.
The first "Phantom of the Opera" movie was a silent horror film released in 1925.
Based on the French novel by Gaston Leroux, other versions of the movie were released in 1943, 1962, and 1989. A movie version based on Andrew Lloyd Webber's Broadway musical in 2004 starred Gerard Butler and Emmy Rossum.
Oliver Twist's famous request for more porridge hasn't gotten old since the first "Oliver" film in 1909.
Based on the novel "Oliver Twist" by Charles Dickens, the story was also made into a musical called "Oliver!" A film version of the musical produced in 1968 contained classic songs from the stage show like "Food, Glorious Food," "Consider Yourself," and "As Long As He Needs Me." There were other remakes in 1922, 1933, 1948, 2005, and 2007.
"The Great Gatsby" was remade four times.
The first "Great Gatsby" movie, based on the book by F. Scott Fitzgerald, premiered in 1926. Four remakes followed, most recently in 2013 with Leonardo DiCaprio and Carey Mulligan.
The first "Jungle Book" premiered in 1942, and became a Disney franchise starting in 1967.
After the first animated musical "Jungle Book" movie in 1967 came "Rudyard Kipling's The Jungle Book" (1994) and "The Jungle Book: Mowgli's Story" (1998). They were followed by the live-action "Jungle Book" in 2016 and "Mowgli: Legend of the Jungle" in 2018.
There were several silent film versions of "Jane Eyre" before the first feature film in 1934.
Other versions of "Jane Eyre" followed in 1943, 1970, 1983, 1996, and 2011.
There have been five film adaptations of "Great Expectations" by Charles Dickens.
The latest version was in 2012 starring Helena Bonham Carter and Ralph Fiennes.
The character of Robin Hood, who steals from the rich to give to the poor, remains timeless after five remakes.
The first "Robin Hood" movie was released in 1922, followed by reimagined tales such as "The Adventures of Robin Hood" (1938) and "Robin Hood: Prince of Thieves" (1991). The most recent remake was in 2018 starring Taron Egerton.
"Treasure Island" tells the tale of Jim Hawkins as he follows a treasure map to find Captain Flint's hidden treasure.
Based on Robert Louis Stevenson's classic novel, there have been several remakes of "Treasure Island," including "Muppet Treasure Island" in 1996 and a made-for-TV movie in 2012.
"The Three Musketeers" has also been remade multiple times — in multiple countries.
Throughout its many remakes, the title of "The Three Musketeers" has always remained the same. After the original was released in 1921, it was remade in years including 1935, 1939, 1948, 1961, 1973, 1993, and 2011. There have been versions from other countries, such as Mexico and Ecuador, too.
"The Hunchback of Notre Dame" was famously reimagined by Disney as an animated movie in 1996.
The first "Hunchback of Notre Dame" came out in 1923. It was remade in 1939, 1956, 1982, 1996, and 1997.
Movie adaptations of Mary Shelley's "Frankenstein" have remained iconic cultural touchstones since the first film in 1931.
The original "Frankenstein" was followed by "The Curse of Frankenstein" (1957), "Frankenstein: The True Story" (1973), "Mary Shelley's Frankenstein" (1994), and "Victor Frankenstein" (2015), among other remakes.
Movie and stage adaptations of "Les Misérables" are based on the novel by Victor Hugo.
In Tom Hooper's 2012 movie version of the stage musical, the actors sang live on set. There were other "Les Misérables" movies in 1934, 1935, 1952, 1978, and 1998.
The first "King Kong" movie was released in 1933, and a new one is planned for 2020.
Aside from several standalone "King Kong" movies in the 1960s and '70s, the giant ape is often pitted against Godzilla in remakes such as "King Kong vs. Godzilla" (1962) and the upcoming "Godzilla vs. Kong" in 2020.
Classic songs in "Annie" make this feel-good musical a popular remake.
"Little Orphan Annie" was released in 1932 and remade in 1938. Then came the classic 1982 "Annie" starring Aileen Quinn as Annie and Carol Burnett as the evil Ms. Hannigan. Disney produced a made-for-TV movie version in 1999 with Kathy Bates, Victor Garber, and Alan Cumming. "Annie" hit the big screen again in 2014 starring Quvenzhane Wallis as the rags-to-riches orphan.
"Brewster's Millions" premiered in 1914 and was remade multiple times.
"Brewster's Millions" follows Montgomery Brewster, who must spend a $1 million inheritance from his grandfather without acquiring any new assets or property in order to inherit $7 million from his uncle. It was remade in 1921, 1926, 1935, 1945, 1961, and 1985.
The amount of money changed in later versions. In the 1985 movie starring Richard Pryor, Brewster had to spend $30 million in order to inherit $300 million.
The first "Batman" movie debuted in 1943, and many different actors have stepped into the famous Batsuit since then.
Adam West played the titular character in "Batman: The Movie," released in 1966, as well as the TV show that preceded it. Michael Keaton took on the role in 1989, and Val Kilmer took over in 1995. George Clooney also played Batman in 1997, and Christian Bale played the role in the "Dark Knight" trilogy from 2005 to 2012. Ben Affleck brought Batman to the DC Comics universe with "Batman v Superman: Dawn of Justice" (2016) and "Justice League" (2017).
Robert Pattinson is slated to take over in "The Batman" in 2021.
"A Christmas Carol" has been remade over 20 times.
Beginning in 1901 with the silent film "Scrooge, or, Marley's Ghost," Charles Dickens' tale of a man visited by the ghosts of Christmas Past, Present, and Yet To Come has been reimagined with the Muppets, animation, and in musical form.
"Huckleberry Finn" has seen numerous film adaptations over the years, including a musical version in 1974.
Sparknotes highlights a list of the seven most historically significant film versions of "Huckleberry Finn," among which are Norman Taurog's adaptation in 1931, the first color adaptation in 1960, and the 1993 film starring Elijah Wood and Courtney B. Vance.
"Dracula" has been scaring movie-goers since 1931.
After the original "Dracula" movie in 1931, there have been countless adaptations and reinterpretations of the iconic vampire. An IMBD user named Cineanalyst even ranked 60 Dracula movies from best to worst.