An alternative title is a media sales device most prominently used in film distribution. Books and

film A film also called a movie, motion picture, moving picture, picture, photoplay or (slang) flick is a work of visual art that simulates experiences and otherwise communicates ideas, stories, perceptions, feelings, beauty, or atmosphere ...

s are commonly released under a different title when they are screened or sold in a different country. This can vary from small change to the title, such as the addition of ''The'', to wholesale changes. Film titles are also often changed when they are released on DVD or VHS.

Reasons

The reasons for this are varied, but usually point towards marketable, linguistic or

cultural differences Cultural diversity is the quality of diverse or different cultures, as opposed to monoculture, the global monoculture, or a homogenization of cultures, akin to cultural evolution. The term "cultural diversity" can also refer to having different cu ...

. Some titles may not be easily understood in other parts of the world, and may even be considered offensive. Most title changes are commercial. An example is Italian director's

Sergio Leone Sergio Leone (; 3 January 1929 – 30 April 1989) was an Italian film director, producer and screenwriter credited as the pioneer of the Spaghetti Western genre and widely regarded as one of the most influential directors in the history of cin ...

's 1971 film ''Duck, You Sucker!'', initially released with this title as he was convinced it was a well-known English saying. When the film performed poorly, it was subsequently rebranded as ''

A Fistful of Dynamite ''Duck, You Sucker!'' ( it, Giù la testa, lit. "Duck Your Head", "Get Down"), also known as ''A Fistful of Dynamite'' and ''Once Upon a Time ... the Revolution'', is a 1971 epic Zapata Western film directed and co-written by Sergio Leone and ...

'', similar in name to his 1964 film '' A Fistful of Dollars'', part of the successful Dollars Trilogy. When Scholastic Corporation bought the U.S. rights to '' Harry Potter and the Philosopher's Stone'', they thought that a child would not want to read a book with the word "philosopher" in the title and, after some discussion, the American edition was published in September 1998 under the title author J. K. Rowling suggested, ''Harry Potter and the Sorcerer's Stone''. Rowling claimed that she regretted this change and would have fought it if she had been in a stronger position at the time. Academic Philip Nel, who specialises in children's literature, has pointed out that the change lost the connection with alchemy.

References

Film and video terminology {{film-term-stub