20 music videos inspired by movies

Madonna is seen channeling her inner Marilyn Monroe in her 1985 video for “Material Girl.” The pop singer called on actors Keith Carradine and Robert Wuhl as she took inspiration from Monroe’s performance of “Diamonds Are a Girl’s Best Friend” from the 1953 film Gentlemen Prefer Blondes.

Throughout Jennifer Lopez’s career, she’s loved the art of dance and has always incorporated it into her performances. For her 2003 single “I’m Glad,” she wanted to showcase dancing in the video, so director David LaChapelle came up with the concept to recreate the 1983 film Flashdance.

In 1995, 2Pac and Dr. Dre teamed up for the West Coast anthem properly titled “California Love.” Hype Williams directed the video with inspiration from the 1985 action film Mad Max Beyond Thunderdome, an idea reportedly inspired by Pac's longtime friend Jada Pinkett Smith. Several actors make cameos in the video including George Clinton, Chris Tucker, and Tony Cox.

In 2014, Iggy Azalea and Charli XCX released their hit single “Fancy.” Director X directed the video which was inspired by the 1995 teen film Clueless. In the video, Azalea plays the role of Cher Horowitz (played by Alicia Silverstone in the movie) and XCX channels Tai Frasier (Stacey Dash's character) as they remake some of the classic scenes and outfits seen in the film.

Ariana Grande shows love to a number of 2000s teen movies in the video for her 2018 single “Thank U, Next.” She channels different scenes from four films: Bring It On, Legally Blonde, Mean Girls, and 13 Going on 30. Some of the films’ actors also made appearances in the video, such as Jennifer Coolidge from Legally Blonde, along with Jonathan Bennett and Stefanie Drummond who were both in Mean Girls.

Busta Rhymes has always been the type of artist known for being creative and eccentric in his music videos. His 1997 single “Put Your Hands Where My Eyes Can See” was no different. Directed by Hype Williams, the music video is based on the classic Eddie Murphy film Coming to America. In the video, Busta takes on scene inspiration such as wearing African garments, getting chased by an elephant, and being catered to as a prince.

In 2018, pop singer Sabrina Carpenter released her third album Singular: Act 1 which featured the second single “Sue Me.” The track is the perfect title as Carpenter uses the video to channel her inner Elle Woods, the lead character of the 2001 film Legally Blonde. Carpenter adorns herself in pink outfits, while she tries to get over the boyfriend that just dumped her, and follows her dream of going to college to become a lawyer.  

“Lost in Japan” was the second single released from Shawn Mendes’ 2018 self-titled album. In the video, Mendes takes inspiration from the 2003 film Lost in Translation, as he plays the character of Bob, who’s portrayed by Bill Murray in the movie. Mendes is also joined by actress Alisha Boe, who takes on Scarlett Johansson’s character Charlotte.

“Rush Rush” was the lead single of Paula Abdul’s sophomore album Spellbound. In the music video, she recreates the classic James Dean film Rebel Without a Cause. Actor Keanu Reeves plays Dean’s character of Jim, while Abdul plays the role of Judy.

In 2006, Thirty Seconds to Mars released their single “The Kill (Bury Me).” The music video was inspired by the 1980 horror film The Shining. The band brings some of the movie elements into the music video such as entering Room 6277 (which was Room 237 in the film) and a bar scene. 

In 1997, neo-soul singer Erykah Badu released her debut album Baduizm, led by the hit single “On & On.” For the music video, she took scene inspiration from the 1985 film The Color Purple.

In 2017, Jhené Aiko released her sophomore album Trip, which featured the single “While We’re Young.” The video takes inspiration from the Adam Sandler film 50 First Dates. In the video, Aiko is a woman with short-term memory loss and a potential lover is determined to woo her everyday and record their relationship over 100 days.

P!nk is inspired by horror films for her 2009 music video “Please Don’t Leave Me.” Directed by Dave Meyers, the video takes influences from films such as The Shining, Misery, Cujo, and What Ever Happened to Baby Jane?

In 1996, Nas released his sophomore album It Was Written which featured the single “Street Dreams.” Hype Williams was one of the most in-demand music video directors at the time and he took the video to another level as an homage to Martin Scorsese's 1995 mafia film Casino. Actor Frank Vincent, who played the film’s character Frank Marino, made an appearance in the video. 

In 2018, Charli XCX teamed up with Troye Sivan on “1999,” the lead single from her third album Charli. The music video finds Charli and Sivan paying homage to some ‘90s classic films with scenes from American Beauty, The Blair Witch Project, Titanic, and The Matrix (which also inspired the artwork for the single). 

Offset and Cardi know how couples get into heated arguments in their video “Jealousy.” Taken inspiration from the 2001 film Baby Boy, Offset takes on the role of Jody (which was portrayed by Tyrese Gibson) and Cardi takes on the role of Yvette (portrayed by Taraji P. Henson). Henson also makes a cameo in the music video, which made perfect sense.

Action Bronson takes on a life of drugs and status in the video for "Easy Rider." Inspired by the 1969 film of the same name, Bronson is seen doing drugs in the desert before he whips through the road on a motorcycle. 

In 2017, super duo Anderson .Paak and Knxwledge, also known as NxWorries, released their hit single “Scared Money.” The music video is set in the year 1988 as it pays homage to the 2002 film Paid in Full, which was produced by Jay Z and Damon Dash. NxWorries reenacts scenes and fashions from the movie, which featured everything from Gucci slides, bucket hats, and gold chains. 

In 2014, pop-rock band Maroon 5 released their hit song “Maps.” The music video takes inspiration from the 2002 French film Irréversible, in which the events are depicted in reverse. 

Big Sean teamed up with Jhené Aiko and Ty Dolla Sign on his 2020 single “Body Language.” in the music video, Sean shows his inspiration for a ‘90s type of love as he pays homage to classic Black films such as Poetic Justice, Love Jones, and Waiting to Exhale. Sean and Aiko channel Tupac Shakur and Janet Jackson with scenes from Poetic Justice, Larenz Tate and Nia Long in Love Jones, and Aiko portrays Angela Bassett's character from Waiting to Exhale.