Why do movies get different titles around the world?

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♥Ky|i3♥

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For example Deception starring Ben Affleck is called Reindeer Games in the States and Roadkill is known as Joyride to name just two.

It can be annoying when trying to find info on a movie when this happens. :confused:
 
I know what you mean, I spent an hour trying to find a movie to buy and then found out that it had a different name in other countries!

Sometimes its only a little change like american pie: the wedding. In the states it was American Wedding and over here it was American Pie: The Wedding. Surely it must cost more to change the name too cause all the logos etc need to be changed both on the film itself and on posters.
 
Harry Potter and the Philosopher's Stone is called Harry Potter and the Sorcerer's Stone in the states because the Americans are too thick to know what a philosopher is. The book is also called that - presumedly that's why the film is. They even had to reshoot 3 scenes where the Philosopher's Stone is mentioned for the benefit of thick Americans.
 
Another for the list is 'Hostile Hostages' with Dennis Leary & Kevin Spacy; it's known as 'The Ref' in the states.

There can be a number of reasons as to a name change in a movie:

1) Commercial issues - movies that get a bad name for themselves can instantly regain street cred with a name change. Similarly, it may be felt that the 'rebranding' of a movie is necessary to get in a certain audience. Perhaps the film didn't go down too well because the name didn't sum up the idea of the genre too well (i.e - audience goes to see a film because it sounRAB like a rom-com and it turns out to be a slasher movie).

2) Legal issues - the title may conflict with the name of a brand or rock band in a certain country. I think that was part of the reason behind the 'Roadkill' / 'Joyride' name change.

3) Dirty WorRAB - Some translated titles can mean different things in different countries. I seem to remember that austin powers 2 in an arabic toungue translated quite badly...
 
Studio executives who think audiences are too stupid to get something are stupid themselves and really need to grow up. And so do people who make generalizations about entire countries.
 
Re

2) so there is a rock band called Joyride in the UK and if so, so what? :confused:

3) I actually meant why do American movies get different titles in the UK, so not cross language differences. Your point about language translations is undertandable, far less so is the US/UK issue. :confused:
 
"Joy Ride" is called "Roadkill" in the UK because in the US a "Joy Ride" really is joyous and pleasant - it was an ironic title over there. Here, as it means stealing a car and driving it around, it gave the impression of the film being about something different. So another reason why titles are changed is that they simply don't make sense in another country or could lead to a misunderstanding.
 
'Harry Potter and the Philosopher's Stone' wasn't just retitled for the Americans. The French called it, 'Harry Potter a l'Ecole des Sorciers' (Harry Potter at the WizarRAB' School). The Americans do it out of utter contempt for the intelligence of their own people; the French do it just to demonstrate that they are not English. It isn't just films either. Long ago I remember a top ten hit called 'Mocking Bird Hill'. While holidaying in France later that year, I discovered that the same song was a big hit there as well - only they called it 'La Ferme de Bonheur' (Happiness Farm). SounRAB much better, doesn't it?
 
2) The IMDB's reason was due to the 'language' barrier; the explanation was cut and pasted earlier by Vodka Squirrel. I'm sure that there was also something to do with an indie documentary film in the UK being called 'JoyRide'.
Anyhow - to answer your 'SO WHAT' question: it's all to do with legal problems; the producers of the film/videogame/brand/etc could say that the film is trying to cash-in under their name. For example, if I decided to make a short film called 'Pepsi-ville', the Pepsico company could sue my a$$ off for nicking their trademarked name for my own film!

3) Well you did title the thread 'Why do we get different titles AROUND THE WORLD' ;) :) :D

Oh, and 'A Night on The Town' is a great movie - in a cheesy 80s kinda way ;)
 
But we do have the same titles across the world for many films. Such as "shite" for anything with Steven Seagal :)






Only joking- I'm a great fan of Seagal! Marked For Death is a great film!
 
Pepsi is a brand name though, so nicking that is different as that is a copyright issue, Joyride surely is an expression or a term?

And yes my thread title should have read UK!! :o
 
Who can guess what this film is?

In Germany it's known as 'Mit Schirm, charme und melone'?

'With umbrella, charm and bowler'

No googling, now :)
 
I didn't cut and paste the IMDB's answer - that might be an abuse of copyright. I did paraphrase it though. :p

IMDB is good for telling you the alternative names of a film in different countries.
 
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