One of the most important things that can make or break a movie is the title. Sure, that might sound like hyperbole, but we as humans are easily swayed by catchy titles, colorful visuals, and punchy taglines. If your favorite actor is Brad Pitt and you hear he is set to star in a movie called Shit the Bed, you’re probably not jumping online to buy tickets to the first screening the day it’s released.
On the flip side, if you hear the movie is called War World Z and it’s about zombies or a Guy Ritchie crime caper called Snatch, you’re probably sold. That’s why the best movie titles should grab your attention from the get-go and have you excited about what you are about to watch.
To prove this point, do you think Psycho would have been as successful if Alfred Hitchcock went with the original name of Wimpy? Would Alien have been as scary if called Star Beast? And what if the mega-successful John Wick franchise had gone with its intended name of Scorn? These are just some examples that show how important the title of a movie is to its success.
There are thousands of movies that have great titles, but we can’t list them all, so we are settling for 34 of the best. We’ve also included each movie’s tagline and a short description in case you need more convincing about these famous flicks. So in no particular order, here are the best movie titles of all time.
1. Back to the Future (1985)
Tagline: Marty McFly’s having the time of his life. The only question is – what time is it?
Description: 17-year-old high school student Marty McFly is accidentally sent 30 years into the past in a time-traveling DeLorean invented by his close friend, the maverick scientist Doc Brown.
2. Predator (1987)
Tagline: It came for the thrill of the hunt. It picked the wrong man to hunt.
Description: A team of commandos led by Arnold Schwarzenegger on a mission in a Central American jungle find themselves hunted by an extraterrestrial warrior.
3. The Good, the Bad, and the Ugly (1966)
Tagline: For three men the Civil War wasn’t hell. It was practice!
Description: Three men who don’t trust one another must work together to find a fortune in gold during the Civil War.
4. Apocylaspe Now (1979)
Tagline: I love the smell of napalm in the morning.
Description: Captain Benjamin L. Willard Vietnam is tasked with assassinating a renegade Special Forces Colonel who sees himself as a god.
5. Fatal Attraction (1987)
Tagline: A one-night fling, with no strings attached. That’s what she said. That’s what he believed.
Description: A one-night stand turns deadly when the scorned lover begins stalking the man and his family.
6. Pulp Fiction (1994)
Tagline: You won’t know the facts until you’ve seen the fiction.
Description: The lives of two mob hitmen, a boxer, a gangster and his wife, and a pair of diner bandits intertwine in four tales of violence and redemption.
7. Alien (1979)
Tagline: In space no one can hear you scream.
Description: The crew onboard the Nostromo encounters a deadly lifeform after investigating an unknown transmission.
8. Lock, Stock, and Two Smoking Barrels (1998)
Tagline: A disgrace to criminals everywhere.
Description: After losing his and his mate’s fortunes in a poker game to local porn baron Hatchet Harry, Eddie and his three friends have a week to come up with the cash.
9. Eternal Sunshine of the Spotless Mind
Tagline: You can erase someone from your mind. Getting them out of your heart is another story.
Description: When a couple’s relationship goes bad, the duo undergoes a medical procedure to have each other erased from their memories forever.
10. Wall Street (1987)
Tagline: Every dream has a price.
Description: Ruthless and greedy stockbroker Gordon Gekko takes hotshot Bud Fox under his wing and leads him down a dark path of insider trading and illegal deals.
11. The Assassination of Jesse James By the Coward Robert Ford (2007)
Tagline: Beyond the myth lies America’s greatest betrayal.
Description: The story of the relationship between outlaw Jesse James and Robert Ford and how their friendship turned sour.
12. Synecdoche, New York (2008)
Tagline: Everything is more complicated than you think.
Description: A theater director struggles with work, love, and life as he builds a replica of New York for his new play.
13. Ferris Bueller’s Day Off (1986)
Tagline: One man’s struggle to take it easy.
Description: Three high school students skip school and embark on a day-long adventure while trying to avoid their principal.
14. A Nightmare on Elm Street (1984)
Tagline: She is the only one who can stop it… if she fails, no one survives.
Description: A scarred serial killer with a bladed glove begins killing high school students in their dreams.
15. One Flew Over the Cuckoo’s Nest (1975)
Tagline: If he’s crazy, what does that make you?
Description: A Vietnam Vet is put into a mental institute where he makes friends with the inmates and leads a rebellion against the tyrannical nurse running the facility.
16. The Texas Chain Saw Massacre (1974)
Tagline: For them, an Idyllic summer afternoon became their worst nightmare!
Description: Five friends find themselves on the run from a cannibal family that includes a chainsaw-wielding psycho named Leatherface.
17. Lost in Translation (2003)
Tagline: Sometimes you have to go halfway around the world to come full circle.
Description: A lonely housewife and faded movie star connect in Tokyo.
18. Rebel Without a Cause (1955)
Tagline: Jim Stark… a kid from a “good” family – what makes him tick… like a bomb?
Description: A rebellious youth lands in a new town where he makes friends and enemies.
19. Things To Do in Denver When You’re Dead (1995)
Tagline: Protect. Love. Honor. Avenge.
Description: When a simple caper goes awry, five criminals are left fighting for their lives.
20. Bring Me the Head of Alfredo Garcia (1974)
Tagline: Was one man’s life worth 1 million dollars and the death of 21 men?
Description: An American barroom pianist and his prostitute girlfriend take a trip through the Mexican underworld to collect the bounty on the head of a dead gigolo.
21. The Thing (1982)
Tagline: Man is the warmest place to hide.
Description: A group of American researchers in Antarctica is hunted by a shape-shifting alien that can take on the appearance of anyone it kills.
22. Snakes on a Plane (2006)
Tagline: Sit back. Relax. Enjoy the fright.
Description: This one should be self-explanatory, but there is a plane and it’s full of deadly snakes.
23. Raging Bull (1980)
Tagline: Easy to admire. Difficult to love.
Description: Based on the true story of boxer Jake LaMotta whose violent temperament made him a killer in the ring but destroyed his private life.
24. There Will Be Blood (2007)
Tagline: There will be greed. There will be vengeance.
Description: The story of an oil prospector in the early 1900s who is driven by greed and the impact this has on his son.
25. Goodfellas
Tagline: As far back as I can remember, I’ve always wanted to be a gangster.
Description: Epic crime drama spanning the life of real criminal Henry Hill.
26. Slumdog Millionaire (2008)
Tagline: Love and money… You have mixed them both.
Description: A Mumbai teenager reflects on his life after being accused of cheating on the Indian version of Who Wants to be a Millionaire?
27. Blade Runner (1982)
Tagline: Man has made his match… Now it’s his problem.
Description: Detective Deckard Shaw is on the trail of four replicants who have escaped to Earth to find their creator.
28. No Country for Old Men (2007)
Tagline: In the open country you can find anything, but every fortune leaves a trail.
Description: Violence and chaos explode in New Mexico when a hunter stumbles on $2 million after a botched drug deal.
29. The Silence of the Lambs (1991)
Tagline: To enter the mind of a killer she must challenge the mind of a madman.
Description: An inexperienced FBI agent must convince an imprisoned cannibal to help her catch a cross-dressing serial killer.
30. Eyes Wide Shut (1999)
Tagline: Cruise. Kidman. Kubrick.
Description: A man goes on an all-night adventure after learning his wife almost had an affair.
31. Kill Bill Vol. 1
Tagline: Here comes the bride.
Description: A woman seeks revenge on those who left her for dead after waking from a four-year coma.
32. Die Hard (1988)
Tagline: Twelve terrorists. One cop. The odds are against John McClane… That’s just the way he likes it.
Description: New York City police detective John McClane must stop a terrorist group who has taken his wife hostage during her office Christmas party.
33. Final Destination (2000)
Tagline: No accidents. No coincidences. No escapes. You can’t cheat death.
Description: A group of students think they have escaped death when they fail to board a plane that crashes and kills everyone, but they soon realize their lives are still in danger.
34. Child’s Play (1988)
Tagline: Andy Barclay has a new playmate who’s in no mood to play.
Description: A doll possessed by the spirit of a serial killer torments a young family.
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