Part of what makes Beetlejuice iconic is the movie's weird and alluring name, but Warner Bros. had some other, less exciting ideas for the title.
Beetlejuice is one of the most famous horror comedies, and part of what makes it so iconic is its unique name, but Warner Bros. wanted to change the title of the movie. Released in 1988, Beetlejuice follows a married couple who live on as ghosts after they die in a car crash, and they attempt to spook the family that's moved into their house. They seek the help of a bio-exorcist named Betelgeuse, a.k.a. Beetlejuice. The character has many nasty habits, is manipulative, and is a misogynist, and by the end of the movie, the couple and the living family work together to kill the self-designated "ghost with the most."
Thanks to its creative gothic filmmaking, expert comedy acting, and an extremely distinctive take on the undead, Beetlejuice is a great afterlife movie, and as a result, it was a huge success at the box office (via Box Office Mojo). However, the movie was not without tons of creative differences between Burton and Warner Bros. during the development process and production. One of those differences was the choice of the movie's name. While Burton was firm on his final decision to call the film Beetlejuice, the studio desperately wanted the director to change the name to something more marketable.
The Studio Didn’t Think It Could Sell A Movie Called Beetlejuice
Though the movie impressively went on to make almost $75 million worldwide off a budget of just $15 million, it certainly wasn't a surefire hit, at least not from the eyes of Warner Bros. The studio was worried about the movie's success, especially because of its confusing title, as "Beetlejuice" is a play on Betelgeuse, the real spelling of the name of the bio-exorcist and the name of a star constellation. According to IndieWire, Warner Bros. begged Burton to change the name. But the studio shouldn't have worried, as the movie was not only profitable at the time, but it still holds up and is considered a cult classic today.
However, the studio absolutely had the right to be concerned then. Tim Burton was not the established director he is today and had only directed Pee-wee's Big Adventure prior to Beetlejuice, which is a very different film. On top of that, between the quirky concept, which is hard to sum up in just one sentence, and Michael Keaton playing an unlikeable and sleazy bio-exorcist who turns into a snake as opposed to his usual everyman character, the movie could have very easily bombed. Having a confusing name that doesn't exactly reveal anything about the plot also seemed to spelled disaster for the studio on paper.
Beetlejuice Had Several Other Titles
Following Warner Bros.' disgruntled attitude toward Beetlejuice's title, the studio discussed potential other, better names for the movie. This led to some of the flattest choices, such as House Ghosts, which would have made Adam and Barbara Maitland the titular characters instead of Beetlejuice. Burton then jokingly suggested Scared Sheetless, which was referring to the gag in the movie where Adam and Barbara wear sheets in an attempt to scare Lydia. But the most harmful idea of all was Anonymous Haunted House Story 39480. If any title could have doomed the movie's box office potential, that was it. Fortunately, in the end, the ultimately very memorable title Beetlejuice stuck.
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