The Surprisingly Complicated Job of Naming a Movie
You may assume that the easiest part of making a movie is naming it. After all, the hard work is writing the script, casting the actors, building the sets, shooting the scenes, and spending months or years turning thousands of pieces of footage into a finished movie. The title is just a few words, right?
Behind the movie title is a surprisingly long process that involves writers, directors, producers, studio executives, marketing departments, lawyers, and international film distributors. However, ordinary moviegoers also play a role in the title that eventually gets chosen.
A title has to sound good, fit the story, communicate the right genre, work on a poster, make sense in a trailer, and avoid creating the wrong expectations. It may even have to survive focus groups before anyone knows what the finished movie will ultimately be called.
Titles Often Start as a Placeholder
Before you see a movie poster or advertisements, the film that you’re watching has probably been called by a few different names. Pixar’s “Cars” is a great example of this. The movie was originally called “Route 66” during development. While the title made plenty of sense, there was already a TV show with the same title. Fearing that there would be some confusion, Pixar made the decision to switch the title to “Cars.”
A working title can also outlive the idea that created it. Disney's “The Emperor's New Groove” is an extreme example. The movie began development as “Kingdom of the Sun”, a much more serious, ambitious story inspired by Incan culture. As the production was dramatically reworked into a comedy, the title changed along with it.
Titles Tell the Audience What Kind of Movie They’re Getting
Managing expectations is one of the most important aspects of how movies are named. A movie title doesn’t have to give away the entire plot, but it should give audiences their first clue about what they’ll be watching.
“Tangled” is a prime example of movie marketing. Disney originally planned to call the movie “Rapunzel,” which made sense with Rapunzel being the central character. As development continued, filmmakers realized that the relationship between Rapunzel and Flynn Rider was central to the movie. The directors ultimately felt that naming the movie after one character no longer represented the two-character story they had created.
Disney was also basing the decision on data from a previous release. “The Princess and the Frog” performed well below expectations, and Disney executives decided that putting the word “princess” in a title may deter boys from wanting to watch the film.
Movie Titles Get Tested
Hollywood movie marketing is equal parts entertainment and product development. Studios have used audience research, focus groups, and other forms of market testing to evaluate potential movie titles. Participants may be shown a description, trailer, or portions of a film and then asked how different titles affect their expectations. The goal is not necessarily to find the title everyone loves. Sometimes it is simply to discover whether a title creates the wrong impression.
Before Disney released “The Emperor’s New Groove,” the studio ran multiple tests with potential audience members ranging in age from six to 45. Mark Dindal, who directed the finished film, recalled watching the groups from behind the glass as participants were given cards with different titles. One title emerged as the majority favorite across eight or nine groups. While the information provided by these tests might be limited, it does provide moviemakers with a basis for choosing a specific title.
Legal Issues Must Be Considered
In some cases, what focus groups think doesn’t matter because the title that a studio wants to use simply is not available. Studios have to consider trademarks, existing entertainment properties, and other businesses before committing to a title. That can happen domestically, but it becomes particularly complicated when a movie is being released around the world.
Disney’s “Zootopia” had to be renamed to “Zootopolis” in the United Kingdom and several other countries. The change was related to a Danish zoo that had already trademarked the name. Instead of fighting for the right to the name in each market, Disney chose to rebrand the film based on what was available in each country.
First Impressions Are Incredibly Powerful
Ultimately, movie titles are designed to create a positive first impression on people who may want to watch a film. When you head to the theater or pull up a movie on your favorite streaming service, you’re seeing the end result of a lot of marketing research, legal considerations, and other factors that determine what a movie is called once it’s released in your market.
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