# Worst movie titles **URL:** \ **Category:** Cafe Society\ **Tags:** movies\ **Created:** [February 22, 2026, 4:50pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/worst-movie-titles/1027889 "2026-02-22T16:50:15Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 8
**Author:** ![Q.Q.Switcheroo](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/q.q.switcheroo/32/5713_2.png) [@Q.Q.Switcheroo](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Q.Q.Switcheroo)\ **Post date:** [February 24, 2026, 7:31pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/worst-movie-titles/1027889/141 "2026-02-24T19:31:08Z")
> [@Guest-starring\_Id](#): > > Last American Virgin If only they’d gone with the title of the Israeli film it was based on: **Lemon Popsicle**. ---
**Author:** ![WOOKINPANUBv.2](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/wookinpanubv.2/32/3260_2.png) [@WOOKINPANUBv.2](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/WOOKINPANUBv.2)\ **Post date:** [February 24, 2026, 9:56pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/worst-movie-titles/1027889/142 "2026-02-24T21:56:29Z")
Pootie Tang, followed closely by Snatch ---
**Author:** ![Happytree](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/happytree/32/3555_2.png) [@Happytree](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Happytree)\ **Post date:** [February 24, 2026, 10:48pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/worst-movie-titles/1027889/143 "2026-02-24T22:48:18Z")
Gleaming the Cube. Christian Slater is a skateboarder that takes on Korean gangsters to solve his brothers murder. I just looked it up, “gleaming the cube”, is/was a skateboarding term. Stupid movie, but i loved it as a kid. ---
**Author:** ![Dewey\_Finn](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/dewey_finn/32/4222_2.png) [@Dewey\_Finn](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Dewey_Finn)\ **Post date:** [February 24, 2026, 10:50pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/worst-movie-titles/1027889/144 "2026-02-24T22:50:54Z")
Perhaps not a bad title; if “gleaming the cube” is a skateboarding term, the target audience may not be confused? ---
**Author:** ![Miller](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/miller/32/481_2.png) [@Miller](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Miller)\ **Post date:** [February 24, 2026, 10:52pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/worst-movie-titles/1027889/145 "2026-02-24T22:52:36Z")
IIRC, it wasn’t real skateboarding slang, it was made up by the movie. ---
**Author:** ![TreacherousCretin](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/treacherouscretin/32/476_2.png) [@TreacherousCretin](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/TreacherousCretin)\ **Post date:** [February 24, 2026, 11:36pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/worst-movie-titles/1027889/146 "2026-02-24T23:36:29Z")
> [@Czarcasm](#): > > I think I would rather people participate in this conversation TreacherousCretin likes this. (A “like” button would have saved me eight seconds of my precious time.) ---
**Author:** ![JKellyMap](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/jkellymap/32/15880_2.png) [@JKellyMap](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/JKellyMap)\ **Post date:** [February 26, 2026, 2:57am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/worst-movie-titles/1027889/147 "2026-02-26T02:57:48Z")
Some movies titles are good in English, but stupid when promoted in another language. _Jaws_ in Spanish-speaking countries is _Tiburón_, which just means “Shark” — idiotic. ---
**Author:** ![pirviii](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/pirviii/32/3233_2.png) [@pirviii](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/pirviii)\ **Post date:** [February 26, 2026, 4:30am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/worst-movie-titles/1027889/148 "2026-02-26T04:30:47Z")
> [@JKellyMap](#): > > Some movies titles are good in English, but stupid when promoted in another language. _Jaws_ in Spanish-speaking countries is _Tiburón_, which just means “Shark” — idiotic. There are probably many wondering what was so scary about “Mandible” ---
**Author:** ![Author\_Balk](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/e0b2c6/32.png) [@Author\_Balk](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Author_Balk)\ **Post date:** [February 26, 2026, 11:20am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/worst-movie-titles/1027889/149 "2026-02-26T11:20:32Z")
> [@JKellyMap](#): > > Some movies titles are good in English, but stupid when promoted in another language. _Jaws_ in Spanish-speaking countries is _Tiburón_, which just means “Shark” — idiotic. I understand the translation of the Spanish title of “Airplane!” is something like “Where is the Pilot?”. ---
**Author:** ![JKellyMap](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/jkellymap/32/15880_2.png) [@JKellyMap](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/JKellyMap)\ **Post date:** [February 26, 2026, 12:01pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/worst-movie-titles/1027889/150 "2026-02-26T12:01:25Z")
Ha! That’s actually better, IMHO (but doesn’t capture the parody of the _Airport_ movies.) ---
**Author:** ![Alessan](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/alessan/32/465_2.png) [@Alessan](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Alessan)\ **Post date:** [February 26, 2026, 12:34pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/worst-movie-titles/1027889/151 "2026-02-26T12:34:19Z")
And there were a lot of countries where _Alien_ (1979) was known as _Alien: the Eighth Passenger_ or simply T_he Eighth Passenger_. Not a bad name, considering, especially if your language doesn’t have a word for “space alien”, but things got silly with the sequels, which were given nonsensical names like _Return of the Eighth Passenger_ and _The Eighth Passenger Versus the Predator._ ---
**Author:** ![iamatractorboy](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/iamatractorboy/32/21261_2.png) [@iamatractorboy](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/iamatractorboy)\ **Post date:** [February 26, 2026, 2:15pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/worst-movie-titles/1027889/152 "2026-02-26T14:15:43Z")
This is reminding me of the comedy name for _Grease_ Isn’t it translated as ‘lubricant’ or something like that somewhere? ---
**Author:** ![CalMeacham](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/calmeacham/32/35_2.png) [@CalMeacham](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/CalMeacham)\ **Post date:** [February 26, 2026, 4:19pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/worst-movie-titles/1027889/153 "2026-02-26T16:19:30Z")
A lot of these titles are simply long, which isn’t necessarily bad. My nomination: **Ballistic: Ecks vs. Sever** (2002) The title implies that we know who the hell Ecks and Severs are, or why bother naming them? It’s like a sequel that we never got the original movie of. And why “Ballistic”? And just to add to this: > _Ballistic: Ecks vs. Sever_ received overwhelmingly negative reviews from critics and is considered to be [one of the worst films ever made](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_films_considered_the_worst_(21st_century) "List of films considered the worst (21st century)"). It is the lowest rated film of all time on [Rotten Tomatoes](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Rotten_Tomatoes "Rotten Tomatoes"), holding a [rare 0% rating](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_films_with_a_0%25_rating_on_Rotten_Tomatoes "List of films with a 0% rating on Rotten Tomatoes") with 117 reviews, the most out of the 44 films to hold this distinction with over 20 reviews as of August 2025. It was also a [box-office bomb](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Box-office_bomb "Box-office bomb"), grossing $20.2 million on a production budget of $35 million.[[3]](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ballistic:_Ecks_vs._Sever#cite_note-filmcombatsyndicate.com-4) > **[Ballistic: Ecks vs. Sever](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ballistic:_Ecks_vs._Sever)** > > Ballistic: Ecks vs. Sever is a 2002 science fiction action thriller film directed and produced by Thai filmmaker Wych Kaosayananda (under the pseudonym of 'Kaos'), from a screenplay by Alan B. McElroy. The film stars Antonio Banderas and Lucy Liu as opposing secret agents who team up to fight a common enemy. It was an international co-production with the United States, Canada, and Germany. > Ballistic: Ecks vs. Sever received overwhelmingly negative reviews from critics and is considered to be ... ---
**Author:** ![Dewey\_Finn](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/dewey_finn/32/4222_2.png) [@Dewey\_Finn](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Dewey_Finn)\ **Post date:** [February 26, 2026, 4:29pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/worst-movie-titles/1027889/154 "2026-02-26T16:29:29Z")
> [@CalMeacham](#): > > A lot of these titles are simply long, which isn’t necessarily bad. And some suggestions are just bad movies, whether or not the title was bad. ---
**Author:** ![Just\_Asking\_Questions](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/j/ba9def/32.png) [@Just\_Asking\_Questions](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Just_Asking_Questions)\ **Post date:** [February 26, 2026, 5:00pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/worst-movie-titles/1027889/155 "2026-02-26T17:00:00Z")
> [@CalMeacham](#): > > My nomination: **Ballistic: Ecks vs. Sever** (2002) Definitely up there in the running. Not only doesn’t it make sense as written (“Ballistic”? WTF does that mean?) it was supposed to be X, not Ecks. I forge what “Sever” was originally, but it was something different. ---
**Author:** ![Peter\_Morris](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/peter_morris/32/359_2.png) [@Peter\_Morris](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Peter_Morris)\ **Post date:** [February 26, 2026, 5:41pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/worst-movie-titles/1027889/156 "2026-02-26T17:41:25Z")
> [@JKellyMap](#): > > _Jaws_ in Spanish-speaking countries is _Tiburón_, which just means “Shark” — idiotic. I don’t see what’s so bad about that. ---
**Author:** ![Czarcasm](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/czarcasm/32/4050_2.png) [@Czarcasm](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Czarcasm)\ **Post date:** [February 26, 2026, 5:56pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/worst-movie-titles/1027889/157 "2026-02-26T17:56:48Z")
I agree. Can we just restrict this to bad movie titles, and leave the bad movies and strange translations to other threads? ---
**Author:** ![CalMeacham](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/calmeacham/32/35_2.png) [@CalMeacham](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/CalMeacham)\ **Post date:** [February 26, 2026, 7:04pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/worst-movie-titles/1027889/158 "2026-02-26T19:04:28Z")
> [@CalMeacham](#): > > The title implies that we know who the hell Ecks and Severs are, or why bother naming them? It’s like a sequel that we never got the original movie of. Another example of this is **Metalstorm: The Destruction of Jared-Syn** (1993). We all remember when Jared-Syn was built, right? Except that Jared-Syn is a person. And what “Metalstorm” means. It’s as if they just played around with words from their magnetic poetry kit on their refrigerator until they came up with something that sounded impressive, and as if it actually meant something. the only thing interesting about the film is that it’s in 3D. And has Richard oll. ---
**Author:** ![terentii](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/terentii/32/212_2.png) [@terentii](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/terentii)\ **Post date:** [February 26, 2026, 7:28pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/worst-movie-titles/1027889/159 "2026-02-26T19:28:27Z")
_ **I Love You, Alice B. Toklas** _. Only Peter Sellers could get me to watch a movie with this title! ---
**Author:** ![terentii](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/terentii/32/212_2.png) [@terentii](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/terentii)\ **Post date:** [February 26, 2026, 7:37pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/worst-movie-titles/1027889/160 "2026-02-26T19:37:56Z")
The Russian title of the WWII naval classic _ **In Harm’s Way** _ (John Wayne, Kirk Douglas, Patricia Neal) was _ **In the Manner of Mr Harm** _. I swear, Russian translators are among the world’s worst! 🤮 [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/worst-movie-titles/1027889.md?page=7) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/worst-movie-titles/1027889.md?page=9)