For all the big budgets and big stars Hollywood boasts at its disposal, it's not often when a "Hollywood remake" is actually better than whatever version came before. But sometimes, it's actually possible for a Hollywood remake to be pretty darn good.
From movies to TV, the American entertainment ecosystem is littered with countless spin-offs, remakes, and reboots. Sometimes, a hit piece of media comes from overseas, even drumming up enough buzz to catch the eye of Hollywood producers. And that's how remakes happen: If it worked there, it can work anywhere. In theory, at least. Because more often than not, the idea of "Hollywood remake" inspires dread or just plain apathy.
Whether it's because the adaptation was made carelessly or there's too much consideration to catering towards American tastes, most Hollywood remakes of foreign-made movies and TV shows fall short of what makes the original so unique. But that doesn't happen all the time. Here are 32 American movie and TV remakes that are actually, really, pretty good.
32. Godzilla (2014)
Exactly 60 years after the 1954 classic Gojira stomped into Japanese theaters, the kaiju icon made his way to American shores – for a second time – in Gareth Edwards' hit summer blockbuster Godzilla. Almost in defiance to Roland Emmerich's sillier 1998 film, Edwards' 2014 epic imbues equal parts suspense, horror, and awe as the world bears witness to the resurgence of ancient titans. Godzilla has its faults, but plenty of it is exquisite, which explains how and why it launched the successful "MonsterVerse" media franchise. All hail the king of the monsters.
31. The Lake House (2006)
Over a decade after blowing up the box office in Speed, Keanu Reeves and Sandra Bullock reunited for the tender romantic fantasy The Lake House. The movie is a remake of the 2000 South Korean movie Il Mare, and shares a similar plot: two strangers live at a scenic seaside/lakeside house two years apart, and grow close as they communicate through letters sent and received by their magical mailbox. Both movies make for excellent date night movie nights, with The Lake House sometimes replicating Il Mare shot-for-shot while transplanting the original story – set around Ganghwa Island and Jeju Province – to Chicago.
30. Ambulance (2022)
Give Michael Bay an unlimited budget, camera drones, a star-studded cast, and the rights to a Danish film, and what do you get? 2022's Ambulance. Based on the 2005 Danish film of the same name (technically, it's Ambulancen in Danish), Bay's American version follows a Marine veteran (Yahya Abdul-Mateen II) who links up with his estranged adopted brother (Jake Gyllenhaal) to pull off a bank heist to pay for his wife's surgery. The heist escalates into a big chase through the streets of Los Angeles in a runaway ambulance. While the Danish original had the same plot, American audiences vibed with Bay's version due to ongoing frustrations with their for-profit healthcare system, which Bay was not shy about criticizing in his summer thriller.
29. Mighty Morphin Power Rangers
When music mogul Haim Saban caught an episode of Super Sentai while in Japan, he knew it was morphin' time. In 1993, Mighty Morphin Power Rangers became a TV and pop culture phenomenon, its story centered on five (later six) California teenagers who metamorph into spandex-clad superheroes. Unbeknownst to most kids at the time, Mighty Morphin Power Rangers actually sourced much of its materials – from the costumes to the monsters to the giant robots called "Zords" – from the 1992 series Kyoryu Sentai Zyuranger, just one installment of Japan's own Super Sentai franchise. As Power Rangers kept on, the American producers kept adapting from Super Sentai until 2023's Power Rangers Cosmic Fury.
28. Speak No Evil (2024)
In 2022, filmmaker Christian Tafdrup co-wrote and directed his psychological thriller Speak No Evil, which tells the story of a Danish family who meet a Dutch family while vacationing in Italy, and accept an invite to see them again at their home in the Netherlands. Upon arriving however, things escalate as the hosts reveal their true, sinister colors. Just two years after Tafdrup's movie racked up critical acclaim, Blumhouse released an American remake starring James McAvoy. Thanks in large part to McAvoy's muscular performance, the American version is worth seeing, although Tafdrup has stated in interviews he's not a fan of the different ending.
27. City of Angels (1998)
Wim Wenders' 1987 German classic Wings of Desire follows immortal angels who wander Berlin and give invisible comfort to those in need. One of them falls for a human woman, and gives up his angelic powers to feel and love like a human. It's a transformative and deeply spiritual picture, which is why it's just a little disappointing how the 1998 remake City of Angels, starring Nicolas Cage and Meg Ryan, is so pedestrian and down-to-Earth. Still, City of Angels has its moments of beauty. And without it, we wouldn't have "Iris" by the Goo Goo Dolls.
26. Let Me In (2010)
From the TV show Buffy the Vampire Slayer to Stephanie Meyers' Twilight novels, vampires were back in vogue throughout the 2000s. In 2008, Swedish filmmaker Tomas Alfredson directed his acclaimed young adult romance/horror Let the Right One In, about a bullied schoolboy who befriends his new next door neighbor, oblivious to the fact she's a vampire. The movie's delicate portrait of two adolescents feeling the first bites of love enchanted critics and audiences, which gave the movie buzz for a 2010 American remake, Let Me In, directed by Matt Reeves. To everyone's surprise, including Alfredson, Let Me In garnered similar praise for retaining much of the original's macabre appeal.
25. The Killer (2024)
In 1989, Hong Kong director John Woo revolutionized action cinema with his revered heroic bloodshed flick The Killer, where Chow Yun-fat plays a repentant professional hitman on one last job. Decades later in 2024, Woo remade his own movie for Peacock, with Game of Thrones' Nathalie Emmanuel in the lead role. While it's a bitter pill to swallow that Woo himself can't keep up in an arena he long ago defined, it's still a blessing whenever Woo gets behind the camera. If a classic like The Killer must get remade for American audiences, it's a good thing it's still authored by John Woo.
24. Insomnia (2002)
In 2002, rising director Christopher Nolan worked with Al Pacino, Robin Williams, and Hillary Swank on the searing psychological crime thriller Insomnia. Set in rural Alaska where the sun rarely sets, the movie revolves around a relentless detective (Pacino) who tries to hide his own accidental murder of another officer while pursuing the suspect of a kidnapping (Williams), who knows the truth. The movie takes after the 1997 Norwegian movie of the same name, which stars Stellan Skarsgård. Nolan was a big fan of the original, directed by Erik Skjoldbjærg, and strove to helm an English-language Hollywood remake in the mold of Heat. Insomnia may not rank among Nolan's greatest movies, but it's hard to resist when Pacino and Williams are locked in a life-or-death game of cat and mouse.
23. Shameless
There are Gallaghers on both sides of the pond. In 2004, creator and executive producer Paul Abbott sourced from his own real-life experiences growing up in working class Burnley to make Shameless, the acclaimed comedy-drama about a dysfunctional family with an alcoholic father and the eldest daughter tasked with raising her siblings. In 2011, Showtime transported the story to Chicago, with William H. Macy and Emmy Rossum in the lead roles. The Americanized Shameless drew similar acclaim and cultivated a dedicated fanbase, enough for the show to last 11 seasons.
22. The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo (2011)
The late novelist Stieg Larsson didn't live to see the amazing success of his Millennium book series, which started with the 2005 novel The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo. In the later half of the decade, the series spawned a cinematic trilogy in Swedish with Noomi Rapace as antihero lead Lisbeth Salander. It wasn't long before the inevitable American remake came along in 2011, with none other than David Fincher at the helm. Critics praised Fincher's remake, as well as the performances of Daniel Craig and Rooney Mara (the latter earning an Oscar nomination for Best Actress). While a proper sequel never got off the ground until 2018, and with it a new cast and creative team, Fincher's The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo stands as one of the rare American remakes worth diving into.
21. Three Men and a Baby (1987)
The unexpected hit comedy of 1987, Three Men and a Baby – directed by Star Trek's Leonard Nimoy – stars Tom Selleck, Steve Guttenberg, and Ted Danson as a trio of bachelors whose lives get turned upside down when one of them winds up having to care for their own child. While the movie has gone on to become a classic of the decade, it was actually based on a 1985 French movie, formally titled Three Men and a Cradle, directed by Coline Serreau. While the French version earned some recognition including a nomination at the 1986 Academy Awards (for Best Foreign Language Film), Three Men and a Baby has been a bigger hit, inspiring even more remakes across India and Japan.
20. Jane the Virgin
In 2002, Jane the Virgin premiered on Venezuelan TV, as a pretty typical telenovela; the show follows the amusing tale of a young virginal woman who accidentally gets pregnant via artificial insemination during a routine examination. In 2014, Jennie Snyder Urman got her hands on the American rights and unleashed the lively, colorful Jane the Virgin on The CW, acting as both a remake of the Venezuelan original while taking on a satirical tone that affectionately satirized telenovela conventions. The series drew acclaim including awards for Gina Rodriguez as well as a prestigious Peabody in 2014. The success of the show led to more adaptations around the world, with versions in Poland, Turkey, Israel, South Korea, and Mexico.
19. Vanilla Sky (2001)
Cameron Crowe's sci-fi psychological drama Vanilla Sky, starring Tom Cruise, Penélope Cruz, and Cameron Diaz, follows a vain magazine publisher and playboy who gets horribly disfigured in a car accident. Amid his recovery, he falls for an enchanting woman, Sofia (Cruz) while noticing cracks in his physical reality. While Vanilla Sky had a lukewarm reception by critics, it was a box office hit upon release in December 2001 and has attained cult classic status. The movie's origins lie in the 1997 film Open Your Eyes, from Spanish director Alejandro Amenábar. Not only do both movies share similar ethereal aesthetics, but Penélope Cruz stars in both movies, playing the same role as Sofía.
18. Man on Fire (2004)
The 1987 French thriller Man on Fire is generally solid action filmmaking, with a little touch of noir. It ain't the greatest action flick you'll ever see, but it's sturdy and muscular in a way that stands apart from the disposable dreck the decade produced. (And as an English-language production from France, it's quite a novelty.) Yet Tony Scott and Denzel Washington working together presents a whole new ballgame. In 2004, Scott – who previously turned down the opportunity to direct the '87 film version, itself based on A.J. Quinnell's 1980 novel – finally got behind the camera for his cranked-up Hollywood adaptation. While Scott's Man on Fire is typical Hollywood bombast, few can resist the allure of Denzel and a master visualist like Tony Scott telling yet another story about redemption and obligation in an unruly world.
17. House of Cards
The modern streaming era began with not a bang, but a knock – the two-hit wrapping of Congressman Frank Underwood in his rise to office as President of the United States. The buzzy political thriller House of Cards, which cemented Netflix as a new power player of original productions saw Kevin Spacey play an ambitious U.S. career politician as he schemes his way to the Oval Office. The show's origins lie in the similarly titled British political thriller, a post-Thatcher drama where Ian Richardson plays the Machiavellian whip of the Conservative Party who secretly orchestrates the downfall of a prime minister. While House of Cards lost steam even before Spacey was mired in accusations of heinous misconduct, few can forget its impact. That Netflix is still going strong is a testament to its one-time power.
16. Brothers (2009)
After years of people everywhere thinking, "Jake Gyllenhaal and Tobey Maguire sure look like brothers," there finally came Brothers. This 2009 dramatic thriller tells of a PTSD-stricken veteran (Maguire) who struggles to reorient to life back home while suspecting that his brother (Gyllenhaal) is engaged in an affair with his wife (Natalie Portman). While the movie touched on anxieties about veteran reacclimation amid America's War on Terror, Brothers actually began life in the 2004 Danish movie Brødre (Danish for "Brother"), directed by Susanne Bier. Both versions received positive reviews, with the American film receiving particular attention for Maguire's absorbing depth.
15. The Ring (2002)
At the turn of the century, Japanese horror enjoyed prominence overseas thanks to the buzzy popularity of pitch black, and sometimes gross-out, horror flicks like 1998's Ringu, 2001's Ichi the Killer, and Dark Water and Ju-On: The Grudge, both in 2002. Meanwhile, also in 2002, Gore Verbinski remade the J-horror classic Ringu into The Ring. Both movies follow the same story – that of a haunted videotape where, upon viewing it, triggers a ticking clock to tag the curse onto someone else – while transplanting the story from Japan to rain-soaked Seattle. While die-hard horror fans panned The Ring upon releasing, believing it to be inferior to the original, the remake has slowly drawn more positive reception as a worthwhile and terrifying movie of its own.
14. Homeland
10 years after 9/11, the Showtime drama Homeland tapped into the lingering fallout. An espionage drama, Homeland tells of a bipolar CIA operative (Claire Danes) who suspects that a returning war hero (Damian Lewis) might have been converted by al-Qaeda. While the show ultimately earned mixed reviews, and was frequently subject to criticisms about its outdated negative portrayal of Muslim and Middle Eastern characters and settings, its first season was widely acclaimed as one of the best of the year. While the show looks and feels profoundly American, it was actually based off the Israeli series Prisoners of War, though Homeland naturally tailored itself to American sensibilities and its own history of foreign affairs.
13. The Italian Job (2003)
It may not measure up to the original 1969 British heist classic, but F. Gary Gray's 2003 American version of The Italian Job holds its own as good old popcorn fare. While both movies center around a heist to steal gold in colorful Mini Coopers, the star-studded American version – with Mark Wahlberg, Charlize Theron, Edward Norton, Jason Statham, Mos Def, Donald Sutherland, and Seth Green – adds a revenge storyline that really makes the movie go full throttle. Sure it might look like a flashy car commercial at times, but no matter what version of The Italian Job you sign up for, you're in for a treat.
12. Funny Games (2007)
It's quite something when a director remakes their own movie. John Woo did it with The Killer, Cecil B. DeMille did it with The Ten Commandments, and Michael Haneke did it with Funny Games. In 1997, Haneke wrote and directed Funny Games, a satirical thriller in which two young men break into a family vacation home and subject their victims to sadistic torture. The movie, an Austrian production with dialogue in German and French, drew controversy for its level of graphic violence. 10 years later, Haneke remade Funny Games shot-for-shot, with English-speaking American actors. Impossibly, the experiment turned out quite good, arguably even better than Haneke's own original work, being a delectable psychological exercise that defiantly stood apart from its torture porn contemporaries.
11. Gracepoint
In 2013, David Tennant had put Doctor Who totally behind him (at the time, at least) when he slipped into the shoes of morose detective Alec Hardy in the acclaimed British mystery-drama Broadchurch. Tennant, along with Olivia Coleman, spend the first season investigating the murder of an 11-year-old boy in a tight-knit coastal town. In between Broadchurch's first and second seasons, Tennant reprised his role – now renamed Emmett Carver – for an American retelling on FOX, titled Gracepoint. While Gracepoint didn't draw anywhere near the same attention as its UK predecessor, it's still an engrossing murder mystery with Tennant acting as his own cover band and Breaking Bad's Anna Gunn, as his co-star, giving it her all.
10. The Talented Mr. Ripley (1999)
Matt Damon is a major Hollywood star today due in large part to the lasting charms he swayed over Jude Law and Gwyneth Paltrow in the late '90s classic The Talented Mr. Ripley. While the movie, about a con man who is hired to bring a shipbuilding magnate's son back home only to become intoxicated by their lavish lifestyle, is based on Patirica Highsmith's 1955 novel, it wasn't the first movie to adapt the story. In 1960, the French movie Purple Noon, by René Clément, was the first to adapt Highsmith's book, with Alain Delon in the lead role. But while Purple Noon has its fans (including one Martin Scorsese), the lingering profile of The Talented Mr. Ripley speaks to its spellbinding qualities.
9. Euphoria
The 2012 Israeli miniseries Euphoria chronicled the lives of several 17-year-old students engulfed in an uncaring world of sex and drugs. In 2019, that story was given an American makeover for HBO, under the guidance of producer Sam Levinson. Mired in taboo themes, ranging from child abuse, self-harm, toxic masculinity, mental illness, and substance abuse, Euphoria is a mature dramas that totally expects an audience of impressionable young people and addresses them accordingly – and sometimes honestly. Adding to the show's profile is its collection of stars on the up and up, including Zendaya, Sydney Sweeney, Jacob Elordi, and more.
8. 12 Monkeys (1995)
Can you remake a movie without seeing the original? That's the challenge director Terry Gilliam undertook when he was tapped to remake the 1962 short film La Jetée, an experimental French New Wave piece about a World War 3 survivor who is sent back in time. Gilliam's 12 Monkeys elaborates on La Jetée, with Bruce Willis playing a convict who is sent from the year 2035 to 1990 to gather information on a virus that wipes out most of mankind. While few have seen La Jetée – again, not even Gilliam did before making his movie – many have seen 12 Monkeys, a movie that further cemented the likes of Bruce Willis and Brad Pitt as movie stars and adapted into a similarly acclaimed TV show on Syfy in 2015.
7. Suspiria (2018)
Dario Argento's mystifying 1977 movie Suspiria, a giant in the giallo genre, followed an American ballet student (Jessica Harper) who joins a prestigious school only to find it run by a coven of witches. Decades after Argento's movie came Luca Guadagnino's 2018 remake, which was released by Amazon Studios at a time when the e-commerce giant had become serious about making a mark in Hollywood (and streaming). Guadagnino's version tells the same story, mostly, with some of the finer details altered (modern dance instead of ballet, for example). Somehow both more grotesque and funnier than Argento's classic, Guadagnino's Suspiria enchants completely on its own terms.
6. True Lies (1994)
In James Cameron's '90s classic True Lies, Arnold Schwarzenegger is a suburban family man who obscures his true profession as a top secret U.S. government hero-spy, only for both sides of his life to intertwine in inconvenient and hilarious ways. While True Lies is exactly what you'd expect from mid-'90s Schwarzenegger, its beginnings trace back to the 1991 French comedy La Totale!, directed by Claude Zidi. La Totale! is a good time, in a quirky French way. But True Lies is too big to ignore, due to both Schwarzenegger's bulging physique and Cameron's go-for-broke sense of showmanship.
5. Some Like It Hot (1959)
A true blue American classic, Tony Curtis, Jack Lemmon, and Marilyn Monroe are unforgettable in Billy Wilder's Some Like It Hot. Widely considered one of the greatest movies of all time – and a driving force behind the irrelevance of the parochial Hays Code – Some Like It Hot endures thanks to its vivacious sense of humor and outrageous personality. But did you know? Some Like It Hot is actually a remake of the 1935 French comedy Fanfare of Love, which also follows two male musicians who disguise themselves as women to join an all-female troupe. Fanfare of Love is plenty of fun too, but nothing compares to Monroe strutting her stuff in front of a bewildered Lemmon and Curtis.
4. The Departed (2006)
After a long and prolific career, Martin Scorsese at last took home the Oscar for Best Director in 2007, when he won for his 2006 crime epic The Departed. The star-studded gangster flick, which stars Leonardo DiCaprio, Matt Damon, and Jack Nicholson, was actually a remake of the Andrew Lau/Alan Mak film Infernal Affairs, released in 2002. While The Departed's story about cops and gangsters embroiled in a game of presumed identities spoke to post-9/11 confusions, Infernal Affairs underscored Hong Kong's identity crisis amid handover. Both films are classics of the crime genre, but there's a reason Scorsese took home a trophy for The Departed. It's that good.
3. The Magnificent Seven (1960)
Shortly after Akira Kurosawa made waves in the U.S. with his towering classic Seven Samurai, an Americanized version wound up at United Artists with director John Sturges at the helm. Trading katanas for revolvers, the story of seven noble samurai who lend their services to a helpless village gets an Old West spin as seven gunfighters loan out their skills to a Mexican village to ward off a ruthless bandit. Darlings of the era like Yul Brynner, Steve McQueen, Charles Bronson, and James Coburn are just a few among the movie's cast. Although Seven Samurai maintains its undisputed place in the canon of world cinema, The Magnificent Seven rides high as a classic of the gunslinger Western genre.
2. The Office
Before Michael Scott, there was David Brent. While The Office is recognized today as a staple of American pop culture, it began life as a droll British comedy that premiered in 2001 and ran for just 14 episodes, plus specials. (A pretty good run in terms of British TV, albeit.) In 2005, The Office was remade for American audiences on NBC, with Steve Carell – having just broken out with the comedy The 40-Year-Old Virgin – at the show's center, as short-sighted but well-meaning manager Michael Scott. While a number of localized Office remakes sprung up in branches like Brazil, Canada, Czech Republic, France, Germany, and Australia (proof that the show's universal premise hinges on the fact everyone hates their job), the massive profile of the American version, with nine seasons and over 200 episodes, is simply impossible to ignore.
1. The Sound of Music (1965)
Maria Augusta von Trapp was a stepmother and matriarch to a family of singers, the Trapp Family, who fled their native Austria to the United States in the years leading up to World War 2. Maria never believed her story was worth writing until a friend begged her to do so. Maria's story became a memoir, and that memoir became a movie… twice. In 1956, Maria von Trapp's story was told in the German comedy The Trapp Family, which spawned a 1958 sequel The Trapp Family in America. After it became a stage musical in 1959, the beloved American adaptation came to life in 1965, with the indelible Julie Andrews as Maria von Trapp. Since then, we've all heard how the hills are alive with the sound of music…
