17 Iconic Movies That Had Completely Different Original Titles

Comfort Food? Really?

1. Psycho was originally named Wimpy.

Shamley Productions / Via roundhouse.org.uk

Alfred Hitchcock actually came up with the working title Wimpy to throw everyone off during production. He feared that people would go out and read the book the film was based on and therefore know the ending, so everything was kept hush.

2. American Pie was originally named Comfort Food.

Summit Entertainment / Via hollywoodreporter.com

Ew... IKR. I think the vibe here was all to do with the whole sex being like warm apple pie... comforting... food-as-sex analogies. Who knows? But it makes no sense so I'm glad they changed it!

3. The Dark Knight was originally named Rory’s First Kiss.

Warner Bros. / Via hollywoodreporter.com

I think we can all trace the line between this working title and the film it eventually became – amiright?! For real though, this was just another code name to throw fans off during production. And here I was hoping for a Gilmore Girls crossover...

4. Alien was originally named Star Beast.

20th Century Fox / Via thenational.ae

Alien just says it all... succinct and summative. Star Beast sounds like a tacky extra-terrestrial stripper name. Writer Dan O'Bannon changed the title after noticing how often the word "alien" appeared in the screenplay.

5. Bring It On was originally named American Girls.

Beacon Pictures / Via ew.com

I mean... it's not not an accurate description of the people in this film. But you might as well call Finding Nemo "Australian Fish", or Downton Abbey, "British People".

6. Boys Don't Cry was originally named Take It Like A Man.

Hart-Sharp Entertainment / Via themarysue.com

I'm REALLY glad they changed this one given what happened to Brandon Teena. I mean witty wordplay is one thing, but let's have some decorum people.

7. Robin Hood was originally named Nottingham.

Imagine Entertainment / Via hollywoodreporter.com

This title was supposed to allude to Robin's foe The Sheriff of Nottingham, who Russell Crowe was going to play. But all that changed when Russell and Director Ridley Scott realised he probably couldn't top Alan Rickman's portrayal in Robin Hood: Prince of Thieves or something like that.

8. Pulp Fiction was originally named Black Mask.

A Band Apart Films / Via empireonline.com

Before Tarantino chose to reference the entire pulp magazine culture with the movie title Pulp Fiction, he honed in on Black Mask, a popular pulp magazine in first half of the twentieth century. The former does have a better ring to it IMO.

9. E.T. was originally named A Boy’s Life.

Universal Pictures / Via looper.com

This is another code name, although I think it's quite a cute one. Steven Spielberg didn't want anyone to get the inside scoop on this film and feared being plagiarised so much that he hid the title and demanded everyone wear ID on set.

10. Titanic was originally named Planet Ice.

Paramount Pictures / Via wbur.org

Honestly now, would you have seen Planet Ice? Would you?! This is YET ANOTHER code name invented by director James Cameron to throw off other studios who might've wanted to make a movie about RMS Titanic.

11. Casablanca was originally named Everybody Come To Rick's.

Warner Bros. / Via bristolfilmfestival.com

This frisky title is actually the name of the stage play on which Casablanca is based, by Murray Burnett and Joan Alison. Movie execs decided to change it because of the earlier success of films with place names like Algiers in 1938.

12. Snakes on a Plane was originally named Pacific Air Flight 121.

Mutual Film Company / Via refinery29.com

How could anything improve the cinematic masterpiece that is Snakes on a Plane? It really does what it says on the tin. When the film's title was temporarily changed to Pacific yada yada, Samuel L. Jackson quite rightly kicked off and it was changed back.

13. Beetlejuice was originally named House Ghosts.

The Geffen Company / Via ifccenter.com

The infinitely boring House Ghosts was pushed hard by Warner Bros. who hated Beetlejuice as a title. Director Tim Burton eventually had to put his foot down. The title, and character's name, is a reference to a star in the same constellation as Orion – cute!

14. Shutter Island was originally named Ashecliffe.

Phoenix Pictures / Via dailytrojan.com

The original working title for Shutter Island was probably taken from Ashecliffe Hospital, the setting in the novel which inspired the film. In the end, they stuck with the novel's actual title, which I think is wayyyy more impactful.

15. The Ring was originally named Static.

DreamWorks Pictures / Via ifccenter.com

Cos of the TV – get it? I mean, I'm guessing. I have no idea why filmmakers behind The Ring would jump to this title when the Japanese film and novel which inspired it were also called Ring.

16. Pretty Woman was originally named $3000.

Touchstone Pictures / Via edition.cnn.com

Allegedly this movie was to be a great deal darker than it ended up being. For example, the title was a reference to the amount of money that Vivian and Edward agreed upon for her services. But Director Garry Marshall knew better. That title would've been a big mistake. Huge.

17. The Texas Chain Saw Massacre was originally named Head Cheese.

Vortex Films / Via popsugar.co.uk

I meannnnnnn, where to even start with this? Head cheese is just a super grim term for a meat product akin to pork pie jelly, i.e. meat set in aspic. Potentially filmmakers liked this title to fit in with the cannablism thread but I'm just not sure. They did however leave in a line about head cheese, which you can watch here.