Top 10 Greatest Teen Movie Rivalries

Before she learns that she’s actually a Princess, Mia Thermopolis struggles to fit in at school. Lana Thomas, the popular girl with the boyfriend Mia thinks she wants, relentlessly mocks her. And things don’t exactly improve once Mia’s royal status goes public either. Not only does Lana lie about being friends with her to get free publicity, she actually springs the paparazzi on her while she’s vulnerable! But there finally comes a point where Mia has had enough. With a little help from her ice cream cone, she stands up to Lana. At the end of the day, this mean girl was no match for the Princess of Genovia.

While the main plot of Grease revolves around Sandy and Danny’s love story, the film also incorporates an interesting rivalry between two greaser gangs. Leo Balmudo is the head of the Scorpions, and they don't exactly get along with Danny Zuko’s T-Birds. Balmudo is present as an annoyance throughout the film, talking smack to Kenickie and taking Rizzo to the dance-off, for instance. Things really come to a head at Thunder Road though, as the T-Birds prepare to race Greased Lightning against the Scorpions’ car. After Kenickie gets hurt, Danny takes his place as the driver going up against Leo. Of course, Zuko and the T-Birds emerge victorious, leaving Balmudo and the Scorpions in the dust.

When Olive Penderghast makes up a story about losing her virginity, she’s completely unprepared for the consequences. The holier-than-thou Marianne Bryant overhears her and spreads the rumor, which sends Olive down a messy path. Marianne constantly judges and shames her, as Olive does her best to remain unbothered. They actually make nice at one point, but their friendship is incredibly short-lived. Pretty soon, Bryant and her crew go back to treating Penderghast like she’s the devil incarnate. Even Olive’s former bestie Rhiannon joins in! While we’re used to high school mean girls being popular cheerleaders, Marianne is a different type of rival altogether. She’s stuck up, preachy, and weaponizes her faith to belittle Olive. Fortunately, our witty protagonist comes out on top in the end.

There are five films that make up the Twilight Saga, and Edward and Jacob despise each other for the vast majority of all of them. Their rivalry is actually twofold. Not only do they instinctively loathe each other - vampires and werewolves don’t get along - they also love Bella. Their devotion to her runs about as deep as their hatred for one another. As if high school love triangles weren’t complicated enough on their own, the addition of vampires and werewolves really adds a layer of drama. While Bella briefly has her doubts, she ultimately marries Edward - much to Jacob’s dismay. There is resolution at the end though, when he imprints on their baby Renesmee and thus shifts his focus to her. All’s well that ends well ...

After her father dies, Sam is left with her heinous step-mother Fiona - who treats her like a servant - and her awful step-sisters Brianna and Gabriella. Fiona does everything in her power to belittle Sam, and for a while she succeeds. Plus, when her step-sisters find out about her anonymous online relationship with Austin Ames, they conspire with his ex-girlfriend Shelby to humiliate her. Her identity is revealed, and she’s forced to reckon not only with that, but with the way her step-family treats her. Naturally, it wouldn’t be a good fairy tale without a happy ending. With a little help from her proverbial fairy godmother and her father’s hidden will, Sam defeats her rivals, goes to her dream school, and gets her Prince too!

The rivalry between Jim and Buzz burns fast and bright, but not for very long. A big part of “Rebel Without a Cause” is Jim Stark’s struggle with his identity, as he tries to figure out how he fits into the world. So when rebellious Buzz Gunderson and his friends target him, things are ripe to explode. Following their dramatic knife fight, Jim accepts to face-off with Gunderson in a “chickie run” at the Millertown bluff. After all, the last thing Stark wants is to be seen as weak! But Buzz tragically dies at the showdown, which serves as a catalyst for the rest of the film as Jim, Judy, and Plato deal with the aftermath of what happened.

When Ferris Bueller fakes being sick to take the day off from school, he draws the ire of Edward R. Rooney, the Dean of Students. Ed is determined to apprehend Ferris in order to make an example out of him. He hates the influence Bueller has over the student body, and wants to defeat him. But no matter how hard he tries, Rooney always ends up looking like a fool. Either he’s outsmarted by Ferris and his friend Cameron, the family dog gets the best of him, or he just plain messes up. While Ferris’ sister Jeanie spends most of the movie furious with him, she actually helps her brother defeat Edward Rooney when he’s about to win at the end!

This movie spotlights the rivalry between two cheerleading squads, the Rancho Carne Toros and the East Compton Clovers, led by Torrance and Isis respectively. They face off when Torrance realizes that her squad’s cheers are stolen from the Clovers, a talented bunch that hasn’t been given the same opportunities as the Toros. As tensions rise, it’s clear each captain wants their group to dominate - which also means competing against the best. At Nationals, it’s obvious that both Torrance and Isis want to win. But they also have a mutual respect for one another, which isn’t always the case in teenage feuds. Altogether, this rivalry provides social commentary on racial and socioeconomic dynamics while giving us some classic cheerleading fun!

The rivalry between these two gangs is palpable from the first moments of this 1961 movie. Riff is the head of the Jets, a crew of Caucasian teenagers, while Bernardo is the leader of the Puerto Rican Sharks. They decide to face off once and for all to determine who gets ownership of the streets. But things get much more complicated when Tony and Maria fall in love. He used to be a Jet and she’s Bernardo’s sister. To say they get caught in a tricky situation is an understatement. These star-crossed lovers meet a tragic fate when the animosity and racial tensions between the two gangs reaches a deadly point that they certainly didn’t see coming.

Before we unveil our top pick, here are a few honorable mentions.

Laney Boggs vs. Taylor Vaughan, “She’s All That” (1999)
Taylor Can’t Handle the Attention Laney Gets

Mitchie Torres vs. Tess Tyler, “Camp Rock” (2008)
Tess Can’t Stand Not Being the Best

Bianca Piper vs. Madison Morgan, “The DUFF” (2015)
Madison Is a Typical High School Bully & Bianca is Her Target

Tracy Flick vs. Jim McAllister, “Election” (1999)
A Hostile Student-Teacher Dynamic

Kathryn Merteuil vs. Sebastian Valmont, “Cruel Intentions” (1999)
Two Step-Siblings with a Twisted Relationship

Regina George is your quintessential popular mean girl. She has it all: the looks, the money, and the bad attitude. So when Cady Heron arrives at North Shore as a fresh-faced student with no understanding of high school dynamics, she's in way over her head. She initially joins the Plastics to knock Regina off her metaphorical throne. But in the process, Cady becomes more and more like her nemesis. Their passive-aggressive sparring and shady 3-way phone calls are definitely something to behold. Of course, Lindsay Lohan always does an amazing job bringing teen rivalries to life. Let’s not forget “Confessions of a Teenage Drama Queen”, where her character Lola goes up against Megan Fox’s Carla.