Film Unbelievable Working Titles for Blockbuster Movies  

Ranker Film
1.7k votes 239 voters 9.7k views 31 items

List Rules Vote up the cleverest code names used by films during production

We hope you love the products we recommend! Just so you know, Ranker may collect a share of sales or other compensation from the links on this page. Oh, and FYI — prices are accurate and items in stock as of time of publication.

Movies - especially highly secretive big budget blockbusters - sometimes film with fake working titles in order to hide production in plain sight. Sometimes these working titles are fun, campy, and tie into the film itself like a built-in Easter eggs, while other times they're deliberately boring just to throw people off. And sometimes, they're just nonsense titles.

They use these fake titles for a myriad of reasons. One, for the safety and secrecy of the set. If you saw a sign for a movie called Rory's First Kiss, you'd be a lot less likely to show up with a camera and telephoto lens than if the sign actually said The Dark Knight. Another reason is for security in actual movie theaters. A film canister marked Blue Harvest is much less likely to be stolen than one labeled Star Wars: Return of the Jedi. Occasionally the title hasn't been decided, like with Shoeless Joe, which turned into Field of Dreams. Sometimes, inoffensive or inexplicable titles even stick!

Check out this list to see what your favorite movie might have been called during production!  These are some of the best fake titles for some of the biggest movies ever! Vote up your favorite false working titles below!
list ordered by

1
94 36
The Avengers is listed (or ranked) 1 on the list Unbelievable Working Titles for Blockbuster Movies
Robert Downey Jr., Chris Evans, Mark Ruffalo Real title: The Avengers Marvel's The Avengers is a 2012 American superhero film directed by Joss Whedon, based on the Marvel Comics superhero team. Earth's mightiest heroes must come together and learn to fight as a ...more

2
75 36
The Avengers: Age of Ultron is listed (or ranked) 2 on the list Unbelievable Working Titles for Blockbuster Movies
Robert Downey Jr., Chris Hemsworth, Mark Ruffalo Real title: Avengers: Age of Ultron
 Avengers: Age of Ultron is a 2015 American superhero film directed by Joss Whedon, based on the Marvel Comics superhero team. When Tony Stark (Robert Downey Jr.) and Bruce Banner (Mark Ruffalo) ...more

3
57 36
Captain America: The First Ave... is listed (or ranked) 3 on the list Unbelievable Working Titles for Blockbuster Movies
Samuel L. Jackson, Chris Evans, Tommy Lee Jones Real title: Captain America: The First Avenger Captain America: The First Avenger is a 2011 American superhero film based on the Marvel Comics character Captain America, produced by Marvel Studios and distributed by Paramount Pictures. It is ...more

4
47 31
Thor: The Dark World is listed (or ranked) 4 on the list Unbelievable Working Titles for Blockbuster Movies
Chris Hemsworth, Natalie Portman, Tom Hiddleston Real Title: Thor: The Dark World Thor: The Dark World is a 2013 American superhero film directed by Alan Taylor, based on the Marvel Comics character. When Dr. Jane Foster (Natalie Portman) gets cursed with a powerful entity ...more

5
50 35
Transformers is listed (or ranked) 5 on the list Unbelievable Working Titles for Blockbuster Movies
Megan Fox, Shia LaBeouf, Odette Annable Real title: Transformers Transformers is a 2007 American science fiction action film directed by Michael Bay, based on the toy line. An ancient struggle between two Cybertronian races, the heroic Autobots and the evil ...more

6
47 37
The Dark Knight is listed (or ranked) 6 on the list Unbelievable Working Titles for Blockbuster Movies
Christian Bale, Michael Caine, Heath Ledger Real title: The Dark Knight The Dark Knight is a 2008 superhero film directed by Christopher Nolan, based on the DC Comics character, Batman. Bruce Wayne (Christian Bale), Police Lieutenant James Gordon (Gary Oldman) and ...more

7
43 33
Ranker Video
Harrison Ford, Carrie Fisher, Mark Hamill Real title: Star Wars: Episode VI: Return of the Jedi Star Wars: Episode VI – Return of the Jedi is a 1983 American epic space opera film directed by Richard Marquand, and the third and final film in the original Star Wars trilogy. After a daring ...more

8
35 26
2001: A Space Odyssey is listed (or ranked) 8 on the list Unbelievable Working Titles for Blockbuster Movies
Arthur C. Clarke, Leonard Rossiter, Ed Bishop Real title: 2001: A Space Odyssey  2001: A Space Odyssey is a 1968 epic science fiction film produced and directed by Stanley Kubrick. The screenplay was written by Kubrick and Arthur C. Clarke, and was partially inspired by ...more

9
27 22
Iron Man 2 is listed (or ranked) 9 on the list Unbelievable Working Titles for Blockbuster Movies
Robert Downey Jr., Gwyneth Paltrow, Don Cheadle Real title: Iron Man 2 Iron Man 2 is a 2010 American superhero film directed by Jon Favreau, based on the Marvel Comics character. With the world now aware of his identity as Iron Man, Tony Stark (Robert Downey Jr.) ...more

10
30 27
Cloverfield is listed (or ranked) 10 on the list Unbelievable Working Titles for Blockbuster Movies
Odette Annable, Lizzy Caplan, Jessica Lucas Real title: Cloverfield Cloverfield is a 2008 American science fiction found footage monster film directed by Matt Reeves, produced by J. J. Abrams & Bryan Burk, and written by Drew Goddard. Before settling on an ...more

11
38 38
E.T. the Extra-Terrestrial is listed (or ranked) 11 on the list Unbelievable Working Titles for Blockbuster Movies
Drew Barrymore, Erika Eleniak, Debra Winger Real title: E.T. The Extra Terrestrial E.T. the Extra-Terrestrial is a 1982 American science fiction-family film co-produced and directed by Steven Spielberg and written by Melissa Mathison, featuring special effects by Carlo ...more

12
31 30
Batman Begins is listed (or ranked) 12 on the list Unbelievable Working Titles for Blockbuster Movies
Christian Bale, Michael Caine, Liam Neeson Real title: Batman Begins Batman Begins is a 2005 superhero film directed by Christopher Nolan, based on the DC Comics character. After training with his mentor (Liam Neeson), Batman (Christian Bale) begins his fight to ...more

13
37 37
The Lord of the Rings: The Fel... is listed (or ranked) 13 on the list Unbelievable Working Titles for Blockbuster Movies
Cate Blanchett, Ian McKellen, Liv Tyler Real title: The Lord of the Rings: The Fellowship of the Rings The Lord of the Rings: The Fellowship of the Ring is a 2001 epic fantasy film directed by Peter Jackson based on the first volume of J. R. R. Tolkien's The Lord of the Rings. It is the first ...more

14
23 21
Star Trek is listed (or ranked) 14 on the list Unbelievable Working Titles for Blockbuster Movies
Zoe Saldana, Jennifer Morrison, Winona Ryder Real title: Star Trek Star Trek is a 2009 science fiction film directed by J. J. Abrams, written by Roberto Orci and Alex Kurtzman, and produced by Damon Lindelof and Bryan Burk. It is the eleventh film based on the ...more

15
20 21
Pacific Rim is listed (or ranked) 15 on the list Unbelievable Working Titles for Blockbuster Movies
Idris Elba, Charlie Hunnam, Ron Perlman Real title: Pacific Rim Pacific Rim is a 2013 action sci-fi film directed by Guillermo del Toro.

16
23 26
Jurassic World is listed (or ranked) 16 on the list Unbelievable Working Titles for Blockbuster Movies
Bryce Dallas Howard, Chris Pratt, Vincent D'Onofrio Real title: Jurassic World Jurassic World is an upcoming 2015 American science fiction adventure film directed by Colin Trevorrow. It is the fourth installment in the Jurassic Park film series. The screenplay was ...more

17
20 23
Harry Potter and the Chamber o... is listed (or ranked) 17 on the list Unbelievable Working Titles for Blockbuster Movies
Emma Watson, Daniel Radcliffe, John Cleese Real title: Harry Potter and the Chamber of Secrets Harry Potter and the Chamber of Secrets is a 2002 fantasy film directed by Chris Columbus and distributed by Warner Bros. Pictures. It is based on the novel of the same name by J. K. Rowling. ...more

18
15 17
The Dark Knight Rises is listed (or ranked) 18 on the list Unbelievable Working Titles for Blockbuster Movies
Christian Bale, Michael Caine, Gary Oldman Real title: The Dark Knight Rises The Dark Knight Rises is a 2012 superhero film directed by Christopher Nolan, based on the DC Comics character. Eight years after the Joker's reign of anarchy, Batman (Christian Bale), with the ...more

19
21 25
Titanic is listed (or ranked) 19 on the list Unbelievable Working Titles for Blockbuster Movies
Leonardo DiCaprio, Kate Winslet, Kathy Bates Real title: Titanic Titanic is a 1997 American epic romantic disaster drama film directed, written, co-produced, and co-edited by James Cameron. A fictionalized account of what happened to the RMS Titanic, it stars ...more

20
20 26
Field of Dreams is listed (or ranked) 20 on the list Unbelievable Working Titles for Blockbuster Movies
Ben Affleck, Matt Damon, Kevin Costner Real title: Field of Dreams Field of Dreams is a 1989 American fantasy-drama film directed by Phil Alden Robinson, who also wrote the screenplay, adapting W. P. Kinsella's novel Shoeless Joe. It stars Kevin Costner, Amy ...more

21
23 30
Artemis is listed (or ranked) 21 on the list Unbelievable Working Titles for Blockbuster Movies
Artemis Real title: The Hunger Games

22
19 25
Superman Returns is listed (or ranked) 22 on the list Unbelievable Working Titles for Blockbuster Movies
Marlon Brando, Kevin Spacey, Kate Bosworth Real title: Superman Returns Superman Returns is a 2006 American superhero film directed and produced by Bryan Singer. It is based on the DC Comics character Superman and serves as an homage sequel to the motion pictures ...more

23
15 23
Pulp Fiction is listed (or ranked) 23 on the list Unbelievable Working Titles for Blockbuster Movies
John Travolta, Bruce Willis, Uma Thurman Real title: Pulp Fiction Pulp Fiction is a 1994 American crime film directed by Quentin Tarantino. The lives of two mob hitmen (Samuel L. Jackson and John Travolta), a boxer (Bruce Willis), a gangster's wife (Uma ...more

24
14 24
Indiana Jones and the Kingdom ... is listed (or ranked) 24 on the list Unbelievable Working Titles for Blockbuster Movies
Cate Blanchett, Harrison Ford, Shia LaBeouf Real title: Indiana Jones and the Kingdom of the Crystal Skull Indiana Jones and the Kingdom of the Crystal Skull is a 2008 American science fiction adventure film. It is the fourth film in the Indiana Jones series created by George Lucas and directed by ...more

25
13 23
The Chronicles of Narnia: Prin... is listed (or ranked) 25 on the list Unbelievable Working Titles for Blockbuster Movies
Liam Neeson, Tilda Swinton, Peter Dinklage Real title: The Chronicles of Narnia: Prince Caspian The Chronicles of Narnia: Prince Caspian is a 2008 epic fantasy film based on Prince Caspian, the second published, fourth chronological novel in C. S. Lewis's epic fantasy series, The ...more