27 Amazing Movies That Were Nearly Ruined With Awful Titles
It’s really hard not to judge a movie by its title, especially in today’s age where movies also get their own hashtags and social media names. It may seem hard to imagine, but more often then not, the original title for a film doesn’t quite stick, and with good reason. If Back to the Future would have kept the title, Spaceman from Pluto, we doubt many people would have seen it. This classic film wasn’t the only one to suffer from a terrible original title. Here are 27 amazing movies that were nearly ruined with awful titles.
Titanic - The Ship Of Dreams
"Titanic was called the ship of dreams, and it was, it really was." Though we adore those lines from Old Rose in the iconic 1997 film, we're glad that James Cameron convinced Paramount Pictures to do away with the original cheesy title. Even Leo and Kate wouldn't have been able to save the film with that title.
The Avengers - Group Hug
Before Marvel released it's slate of upcoming films through the year 2019, they had the huge task of keeping the names of their releases under-wraps. While, The Avengers was being shot in NYC, the film worked under the tile, Group Hug which sounds rather porny if you ask us.
Obsessed - Oh No She Didn’t
Though we adore Queen B, we're just going to have to admit that Obsessed wasn't exactly her best performance. Luckily, she had acting veterans Idris Elba and Ali Larter by her side. Also, it's probably best that that the studio scraped the original title of the film which was Oh No She Didn't. How tragic would that have been?
Toy Story - Toyz in the Hood
When you think about Toy Story now, it's hard to imagine the classic '90s Disney/Pixar film as anything else. However, the studio went through at least 200 film titles including, Moving Buddies, The Cowboy & the Spaceman, To Infinity and Beyond and our most favorite, Toyz in the Hood. We're happy the studio settled on the simpler title, mostly.
The Dark Knight - Rory’s First Kiss
With the advent of technology nothing, much is sacred in Hollywood anymore. Sometimes, studios have to get creative with film titles just so avid fans won't go spoiling things before the studio is ready to reveal them. Warner Bros. dubbed The Dark Knight, Rory's First Kiss which sounds like a Gilmore Girls episode in order to throw fans off.
Hitch - The Last First Kiss
Will Smith's wing-man romantic comedy where he stars as the suave Hitch nearly had a title that was about as sexy as a teeth cleaning. The original title for Hitch was The Last First Kiss, and it would have probably also been the last time anyone saw the Fresh Prince in a romantic film as well. Luckily, that terrible title was vetoed before the movie hit the box office.
Casablanca - Everybody Come to Rick’s
It's hard to imagine that a film as iconic as 1942's Casablanca nearly had a title that was reminiscent of family sitcoms. Somebody at Warner Bros. realized that wasn't going to work for their World War II era audiences, and the title was swiftly changed from Everybody Come to Rick’s to Casablanca.
Scream - Scary Movie
Who would have thought that the parody of Scream, Scary Movie would have taken the original title of the 1996 epic teen horror flick. The Weinstein brothers changed the film title from Scary Movie to Scream after being inspired by the Michael Jackson song of the same name.
Blade Runner - Do Androids Dream of Electric Sheep?
Ridley Scott's iconic science-fiction film, Blade Runner was adapted from Philip K. Dick's novel, Do Androids Dream of Electric Sheep? Luckily someone at Warner Bros was like, um no.... and they went with the catchy and chic Blade Runner instead.
Halloween - The Babysitter Murders
We're thinking the original title for Jamie Lee Curtis' breakout film was just a tad too obvious and cheesy with the name The Babysitter Murders. Instead, the good folks at Warner Bros decided to go with the more chilling and ominous, Halloween for the film's title.
Psycho - Wimpy
Wimpy just doesn't have the same ring to it as Psycho, and the master of suspense Alfred Hitchcock realized that well before his classic horror film Psycho hit theaters. After all, you can't be all that wimpy if you're able to stomach murdering folks in cold blood.
Goodfellas - Wiseguy
Nothing worthy of Martin Scorsese, Ray Liotta or Robert De Niro should ever be called Wiseguy, it just isn't timeless enough. Though that was the tile of the book by Nicholas Pileggi of which the film was based, we're thinking Goodfellas packed a bit more of a punch.
Saturday Night Fever - The Tribal Rites of the New Saturday Night
This '70s film starring John Travolta was initially set to be named The Tribal Rites of the New Saturday Night, which was after the article on which the film is based. Luckily, some smart cookie soon realized that cinema goers and article readers aren't necessarily the same crop of people. Also, Saturday Night Fever sounds like a party we definitely want to attend.
Pretty Woman - 3000
Originally the script for Julia Roberts and Richard Gere's 1990 romantic drama Pretty Woman was extremely dark. The title was even supposed to be called, 3000 named for the amount of money that Robert's character Vivian charged for her services. However, the studio quickly decided that the movie was too dark so they changed the title and the ending to something a bit more magical.
Bring It On - Jump
Um..... we don't even know where Universal got Jump from but we are certainly pleased that they quickly dumped that stupid name for Bring It On, giving the teen cheerleading flick the chance that it deserved to go down in teen movie history.
Not Another Teen Movie - Ten Things I Hate About Clueless Road Trips When I Can’t Hardly Wait to Be Kissed
We're all for parodies and teen flicks, but sometimes things just go a bit too far. 2001's Not Another Teen Movie was almost stuck with the outrageously long title, Ten Things I Hate About Clueless Road Trips When I Can’t Hardly Wait to Be Kissed which is a combo of some super popular teen films from the '90s. Luckily someone realized that the title was beyond too long and they scrapped it for the catchier shorter title.
Fatal Attraction - Affairs of the Heart
Affairs of the Heart sounds like trashy romance novel. (Not that there is anything wrong with those.) It certainly doesn't sound like a psychological thriller worthy of Glenn Close and Michael Douglas. Someone over at Paramount obviously felt the same way, and delivered the haunting title Fatal Attraction instead.
Back To The Future - Spaceman from Pluto
Where would we be without Steven Spielberg? We certainly wouldn't have Back to the Future and its sequels. Apparently, Spielberg's co-executive producer Sidney Sheinberg wasn't to keen on the film's title so he suggested, Spaceman from Pluto instead. Befuddled, Spielberg decided to take Sheinberg's suggestion as if were an hilarious joke. He responded by saying, "Dear Sid, thank you for your most humorous memo. We got a big laugh out of it. Keep ‘em coming.” ICON.
Tomorrow Never Dies - Tomorrow Never Lies
It may seem hard to believe, but this James Bond classic starring Pierce Brosnan, actually got its name by accident. The original title of the film was Tomorrow Never Lies, but "Lies" was changed to "Dies" in a typo on a fax. When the MGM executives spotted the error they decided to keep the new title, and the rest is history.
Alien - Star Beast
Alien is such a straightforward and striking name for a film, that it's befuddling that 20th Century Fox almost gave the film the ridiculously corny name Star Beast. Seriously, it sounds like the name of a terrible action figure. Luckily, Ridley Scott's classic became Alien.
Big - When I Grow Up
Snakes On A Plane - Pacific Flight 121
Anytime that you have an idea that you're unsure about, its probably best that you ask one of the highest grossing actors of all time. Samuel L. Jackson came onto the set of Snakes on a Plane one day to learn that the studio had changed the hilarious film title to Pacific Flight 121. He spoke to the studio who were afraid the original title gave too much away. Jackson told them, "That’s exactly what you should do. When audiences hear it they say, ‘We’re there!'" And that is how Snakes on a Plane went down in cinematic history.
Stand By Me - The Body
Though Stand By Me is an adaptation of Stephen King's novella The Body, the film would have seemed much more gruesome if the studio had chosen to keep that same title. Deciding that the title was way too creepy to have children involved, the film became the timeless classic Stand By Me.
The Breakfast Club - The Lunch Bunch
We can see why John Hughes quickly changed the title to one of his best films. The Lunch Bunch sounds like a cornier version of The Brady Bunch, if that's even possible. Though The Breakfast Club isn't exactly the most clear title when it comes to the film's plot, it just sounds a hell of a lot better.
The Texas Chainsaw Massacre - Head Cheese
1974's The Texas Chainsaw Massacre's original title was almost as gruesome as the film's plot. The horror flick was originally called, Head Cheese which quite frankly reminds us of the pork aisle at the grocery store. Luckily the film was given the title, The Texas Chainsaw Massacre and the rest is history.
Hancock - Tonight, He Comes
Apparently, someone in the universe loves slapping terrible names onto Will Smith projects. Like Hitch's awful first title, Tonight, He Comes was scrapped in favor of a much better title, Hancock. At least someone realized that an off-beat superhero film didn't also need a terrible name.
Annie Hall - It Had To Be Jew
Director Woody Allen had a number of titles up his sleeve for his 1977 romantic comedy. Allen initially wanted to call Annie Hall, Anhedoniaafter, a super complicated medical term that means the inability to experience pleasure. The folks at United Artists quickly vetoed that mega complicated title and the rest of Allen's ideas including, It Had To Be Jew, Rollercoaster Named Desire, Me and My Goy, Anxiety and Alvy, Annie Hall was obviously the best choice.
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