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40 original movie titles for some of Hollywood's biggest-ever movies

What films were almost called.

28 August 2023

Picture the scene: it's 1985 and you are sitting down to watch one of the biggest new blockbusters of the movie world, one that will end up being loved by millions. Popcorn at the ready, the lights go down and the title appears, with the words: Spaceman from Pluto... Doesn't have quite the same ring to it as Back To The Future, does it?

That's because naming your movie is even harder than naming your child. No, stick with us on this one.

Your movie is going to live for longer (even if it's awful), it will come into contact with a wider cross-section of critical people and an entire marketing campaign will exist, based on that name.

So it's therefore understandable that a title may go through a number of different options, especially considering the amount of people involved.

Here's a look at an alternate universe where films all go by very different names...

Original movie titles

1. Goodfellas

...was almost known as: Wiseguy

Year: 1990

22
9
Thanks for voting

2. Final Destination

...was almost known as: Flight 180

Year: 2000

16
6
Thanks for voting

3. Child's Play

...was almost known as: Batteries Not Included

Year: 1988

13
3
Thanks for voting

4. Predator

...was almost known as: Hunter

Year: 1987

12
2
Thanks for voting

5. Back To The Future

...was almost known as: Spaceman from Pluto

Year: 1985

18
11
Thanks for voting

6. Field Of Dreams

...was almost known as: Shoeless Joe

Year: 1989

14
7
Thanks for voting

7. Scream

...was almost known as: Scary Movie

Year: 1996

11
4
Thanks for voting

8. Close Encounters Of The Third Kind

...was almost known as: Watch The Skies

Year: 1977

8
1
Thanks for voting

9. Big

..was almost known as: When I Grow Up

Year: 1988

7
2
Thanks for voting

10. Pulp Fiction

...was almost known as: Black Mask

Year: 1994

8
4
Thanks for voting

11. Alien

...was almost known as: Star Beast

Year: 1979

6
3
Thanks for voting

12. Robin Hood

...was almost known as: Nottingham

Year: 2010

6
3
Thanks for voting

13. Last Action Hero

...was almost known as: Extremely Violent

Year: 1993

6
4
Thanks for voting

14. Hancock

...was almost known as: Tonight, He Comes

Year: 2008

5
3
Thanks for voting

15. Vertigo

...was almost known as: Fear and Trembling

Year: 1958

5
3
Thanks for voting

16. Unforgiven

...was almost known as: The Cut Whore Killings

Year: 1992

7
5
Thanks for voting

17. Boys Don't Cry

...was almost known as: Take It Like A Man

Year: 1999

5
3
Thanks for voting

18. Casablanca

...was almost known as: Everybody Come To Rick's

Year: 1942

4
2
Thanks for voting

19. Stand By Me

...was almost known as: The Body

Year: 1986

5
3
Thanks for voting

20. Basic Instinct

...was almost known as: Love Hurts

Year: 1992

5
3
Thanks for voting

21. American Pie

...was almost known as: East Great Falls High

Year: 1999

3
2
Thanks for voting

22. The Other Guys

...was almost known as: The B-Team

Year: 2010

4
3
Thanks for voting

23. E.T.

...was almost known as: Night Skies

Year: 1982

6
5
Thanks for voting

24. Hollywoodland

...was almost known as:Truth, Justice and the American Way

Year: 2006

2
1
Thanks for voting

25. The Breakfast Club

...was almost known as: The Lunch Bunch

Year: 1985

5
5
Thanks for voting

26. The Texas Chainsaw Massacre

...was almost known as: Head Cheese

Year: 1974

8
8
Thanks for voting

27. 2001: A Space Odyssey

...was almost known as: How The Solar Space Was Won

Year: 1968

5
5
Thanks for voting

28. Saturday Night Fever

...was almost known as: The Tribal Rites of the New Saturday Night

Year: 1977

5
5
Thanks for voting

29. Licence To Kill

...was almost known as: Licence Revoked

Year: 1989

4
4
Thanks for voting

30. American Wedding

...was almost known as: American Pie 3: Piece Of Pie

Year: 2003

3
3
Thanks for voting

31. Fatal Attraction

...was almost known as: Affairs Of The Heart

Year: 1987

3
3
Thanks for voting

32. The Ring

...was almost known as: Static

Year: 2002

6
6
Thanks for voting

33. Letters From Iwo Jima

...was almost known as: Red Sun, Black Sand

Year: 2006

3
3
Thanks for voting

34. Shutter Island

...was almost known as: Ashecliffe

Year: 2010

2
4
Thanks for voting

35. Annie Hall

...was almost known as: Anhedonia

Year: 1977

2
5
Thanks for voting

36. Snakes On A Plane

...was almost known as: Pacific Air Flight 121

Year: 2006

2
5
Thanks for voting

37. The Last Exorcism

...was almost known as: Cotton

Year: 2010

1
4
Thanks for voting

38. Cars

...was almost known as: Route 66

Year: 2006

2
6
Thanks for voting

39. Obsessed

...was almost known as: Oh No She Didn't

Year: 2009

1
5
Thanks for voting

40. Some Like It Hot

...was almost known as: Not Tonight Josephine

Year: 1959

52
158
Thanks for voting

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