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M any of the most iconic films and TV shows of the past century were originally called something completely different – and in many cases, something much funnier.
The title of a project can be make or break in terms of box office success and viewing figures, and some movies and shows have gone through a dozen different names before the right one has been settled upon.
Choosing a name isn’t just a creative decision, though, and some projects have been forced to switch titles for legal reasons or because the name is already taken.
It begs the question – would classics such as Titanic Back to the Future Friends Dynasty
Check out 27 movies and series that changed their names, and the brilliant stories behind them…
Show all 27 1 /2727 films and TV shows that were forced to change their title 27 films and TV shows that were forced to change their title Annie Hall (1977) Original title: Anhedonia
Annie Hall began life as Anhedonia, which is the scientific term for the inability to experience pleasure. But the title Annie Hall was eventually settled on, inspired by actress Diane Keaton's real name, Diane Hall, and her nickname, Annie.
United Artists
27 films and TV shows that were forced to change their title Dynasty (1981-89) Original title: Oil
The hit series, which revolves around the family of an oil magnate, was originally supposed to be titled… wait for it… Oil. But it was then changed to Dynasty to compete with rival soap Dallas.
CBS Television Distribution
27 films and TV shows that were forced to change their title Back to the Future (1985) Original title: Spaceman from Pluto
Steven Spielberg genuinely thought the title Spaceman from Pluto was a joke suggestion, so it didn’t last long, and was soon replaced by the now iconic name Back to the Future. He contacted the Universal Studios head Sid Sheinberg who had suggested the Pluto title, with a message thanking him for sending his wonderful "joke" name, saying the office "got a kick out of it". Ouch.
Universal Pictures
27 films and TV shows that were forced to change their title The Breakfast Club (1985) Original title: The Lunch Bunch
The original script for this classic high-school movie went by the very naff name The Lunch Bunch, but thanks to the son of one of director John Hughes's friends, who had a school detention class called The Breakfast Club, the title was changed.
Universal Pictures
27 films and TV shows that were forced to change their title Fatal Attraction (1987) Original title: Affairs of the Heart
The much friendlier sounding Affairs of the Heart wasn’t a great match for the psychological thriller that brought us the bunny boiler, and after it received a poor reception from audiences, the film’s title was changed to Fatal Attraction.
Paramount Pictures
27 films and TV shows that were forced to change their title Licence to Kill (1989) Original title: Licence Revoked
This Bond film was, at one time, called Licence Revoked, but test audiences associated the title too much with driving, so thankfully it was changed to something far punchier.
United Artists
27 films and TV shows that were forced to change their title Saved by the Bell (1989-93) Original title: Good Morning, Miss Bliss
NBC’s Good Morning Miss Bliss centred on Hayley Mills as the eponymous teacher but, after the comedy briefly moved to the Disney Channel and then back to NBC, it was re-tooled to focus on the teenage students instead, therefore taking on a new name: Saved By The Bell.
CBS Studios International
27 films and TV shows that were forced to change their title Goodfellas (1990) Original title: Wiseguy
The Scorsese classic is an adaptation of a mobster novel called Wiseguy, which was originally also the title of the film, but the name had to be changed because it had already been taken for an 80s TV series.
Warner Bros
27 films and TV shows that were forced to change their title Pretty Woman (1990) Original title: 3000
Originally a dark drama about class and sex work, Pretty Woman’s first title was 3,000 – the amount of money that Richard Gere's character Edward spends on a week of Vivian's (Julia Roberts) time. Disney changed the name as it came across as “too science-fictiony”, as well as the tone of the movie which was turned into a rom-com fairytale.
Buena Vista Pictures
27 films and TV shows that were forced to change their title Friends (1994-2004) Original title: Six of One
The beloved sitcom went through many different name changes, with all the following titles considered: Friends Like Us, Six of One, Across the Hall, Once Upon a Time in the West Village, and Insomnia Cafe. It’s now hard to imagine the show becoming such a monumental hit with any of those names.
Warner Bros Television Distribution
27 films and TV shows that were forced to change their title Pulp Fiction (1994) Original title: Black Mask
Pulp Fiction was initially inspired by the detective crime stories in the seminal magazine Black Mask, hence its first name. The publication was a pulp magazine, which goes some way to explaining the new title.
Miramax Films
27 films and TV shows that were forced to change their title Titanic (1997) Original title: The Ship of Dreams
In a line from the classic 1997 film, the older version of Rose says: "Titanic was called the ship of dreams, and it was, it really was." It was also the original title of the film, before the simpler name of Titanic was chosen.
20th Century Fox
27 films and TV shows that were forced to change their title That '70s Show (1998-2006) Original title: Teenage Wasteland
Early ideas for the 70s sitcom’s name included Teenage Wasteland and The Kids Are Alright, but because the creators couldn’t get song title rights from The Who, they were forced to change the name of the show.
Carsey-Werner Distribution
27 films and TV shows that were forced to change their title American Pie (1999) Original title: Teenage Sex Comedy That Can Be Made For Under $10 Million That Your Reader Will Love But the Executive Will Hate
It was a bold move from screenwriter Adam Herz when he submitted his spec script to studios under the title Teenage Sex Comedy That Can Be Made For Under $10 Million That Your Reader Will Love But The Executive Will Hate. But the risk paid off, with the film, eventually named American Pie, grossing nearly a quarter of a billion dollars worldwide.
Universal Pictures
27 films and TV shows that were forced to change their title Drop Dead Gorgeous (1999) Original title: Dairy Queens
The black comedy was originally supposed to be called Dairy Queens. However, the company that owns fast food chain Dairy Queen apparently didn't love the idea of being associated with the movie, so they filed a lawsuit and, lo and behold, Drop Dead Gorgeous was born.
New Line Cinema
27 films and TV shows that were forced to change their title 8 Simple Rules (2002-03) Original title: 8 Simple Rules for Dating My Teenage Daughter
This family sitcom originally had a longer name, but when star John Ritter – who played the concerned father in the show – suddenly died after filming the third episode of the second series, the show changed its format and name to 8 Simple Rules and Ritter’s death was written into the plot.
Buena Vista International Television
27 films and TV shows that were forced to change their title Cars (2006) Original title: Route 66
The animated hit was initially called Route 66 after the iconic road in America, but the title was changed to Cars to avoid confusion with a 60s TV show of the same name.
Buena Vista Pictures
27 films and TV shows that were forced to change their title Hannah Montana (2006-11) Original title: Alexis Texas
Miley Cyrus’s Disney comedy was originally called Alexis Texas but, because a porn actor shares the same name, it had to be changed in case children looked up the show’s title and accidentally found pornography.
Disney-ABC Domestic Television
27 films and TV shows that were forced to change their title The Big Bang Theory (2007-19) Original title: Lenny, Penny and Kenny
The Big Bang Theory’s original rhyming title was forced to change after the character Kenny’s name switched to Sheldon, who was then brought to life by Jim Parsons.
Warner Bros Television Distribution
27 films and TV shows that were forced to change their title Samantha Who? (2007-09) Original title: Sam I Am
Clearance issues with the estate of Dr Seuss led ABC to change the name of its Christina Applegate-led show, as the original title, Sam I Am, drew on the first lines of Dr Seuss’s classic Green Eggs and Ham.
Disney – ABC Domestic Television
27 films and TV shows that were forced to change their title The Good Wife (2009-16) Original title: Leave the Bastard
The Good Wife’s creators got a call from CBS pushing them to change the title just as it went into production. The network did actually consider Leave the Bastard, but ultimately decided to play it safe with The Good Wife.
CBS Television Distribution
27 films and TV shows that were forced to change their title Shutter Island (2010) Original title: Ashecliffe
Ashecliffe, the name of the hospital in Martin Scorcese’s thriller starring Leonardo DiCaprio, was originally going to be the film’s title before it was changed to Shutter Island.
Paramount Pictures
27 films and TV shows that were forced to change their title New Girl (2011-18) Original title: Chicks and Dicks
New Girl was initially pitched as "a young ensemble comedy about the sexual politics of men and women”, hence its original, provocative title: Chicks and Dicks. Not only did this name attract the wrong kind of attention, but New Girl better reflected the content of the sitcom, which ended up revolving around Zooey Deschanel’s Jess.
20th Television
27 films and TV shows that were forced to change their title Edge of Tomorrow (2014) Original title: All You Need Is Kill
The Tom Cruise action movie was originally known as All You Need Is Kill, the title of the book on which the movie is based, but filmmakers changed the title because they felt the word "kill" was too problematic. "I think the word 'kill' in a title is very tricky in today's world…" producer Edwin Stoff said. “We see it enough in real newspaper headlines, and I don't think we need to see it when we're looking at a movie." After a lucklustre box office opening, the film's name was changed once again, in marketing and for home release, to Live, Die, Repeat.
Warner Bros Pictures
27 films and TV shows that were forced to change their title Lovesick (2014-18) Original title: Scrotal Recall
The relationship comedy drama starring Johnny Flynn was renamed after one series because, perhaps unsurprisingly, it was suffering from a lack of word of mouth, with people reluctant to say the word “scrotal”.
Clerkenwell Films
27 films and TV shows that were forced to change their title Stranger Things (2016-) Original title: Montauk
The original title of the Netflix hit was Montauk, as the plan had been for it to be set in a village of the same name in New York. However, when creators the Duffer brothers later relocated the show’s action to the fictional town of Hawkins in Indiana, the name changed to Stranger Things. Intriguingly, Montauk also happens to be the title of a short film which the Duffer brothers were accused of plagiarising.
Netflix
27 films and TV shows that were forced to change their title Arrival (2017) Original title: Story of Your Life
The sci-fi film starring Amy Adams originally went by the title of the novella it was based on, Story of Your Life, but because producer Shawn Levy thought it "sounds a bit like a One Direction song” and "multiword titles can be really problematic”, the movie changed its name to Arrival.
Paramount Pictures
Read 45 films you never realised were banned and 35 great films that bombed at the box office here.
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