Film Title Planning

When naming my film I need something which sticks into the viewer’s heads and is easy to remember, but also something which is catchy and effective. The name is so important as it is one of the main features to help promote the film. From my research I have found that many effective and successful titles contain one word or a single noun with 'The' in front of the noun. This is a common theme within many film titles and this could possibly be a tactic used by film makers to help the name stick in the potential audience’s minds. Within my research for my films name I came across this website which lists 'The 20 Highest Grossing Scary Movies of All Time'. Link to site

The list of horror films with 'The' in their name or which follow the conventions which I have found are:

• Saw (2) – $87 million

"Saw II" is the most successful film from the "Saw" franchise, which includes seven movies. It starred Donnie Wahlberg and Beverly Mitchell, with Tobin Bell playing the villain, Jigsaw

• Scream 2 - $101.4 million +3 - $89.1 million

"Scream 3" is part of the four film "Scream" franchise. The movie stars Neve Campbell, David Arquette, and Courteney Cox. Arquette and Cox were married less than a year before the movie's release.

"Scream 2" was released a year after the original "Scream" and was directed by Wes Craven, who directed all four films in the franchise

• The Haunting – $91.4 million This late '90s film is a remake of the 1963 film. It starred Liam Neeson, Catherine Zeta-Jones, and Owen Wilson.

This late '90s film is a remake of the 1963 film. It starred Liam Neeson, Catherine Zeta-Jones, and Owen Wilson

• The Others – $96.5 million

"The Others" starred Nicole Kidman and was released the same year she and Tom Cruise divorced.

• Scream - $103 million

"Scream" won the MTV Movie Award for best movie and reportedly used about 50 gallons of blood during production.

• The Grudge – $110.4 million

The first in the three film franchise was inspired by a Japanese film and had the same director as the Japanese original.

• The Village - $114.2 million

This film starred Sigourney Weaver and Joaquin Phoenix. It was nominated for an Oscar in the music category.

• The Ring – $129.1 million

"The Ring" is a remake of a 1998 Japanese film. More than two million copies of the DVD were sold in the U.S. during its first day of release.

• The Exorcist – $232.9 million

"The Exorcist" is based on a 1971 novel about a real life exorcism from 1949. Maxim and Entertainment Weekly have voted this film the scariest movie of all time.

• The Sixth Sense - $293.5 million

The highest-grossing horror movie of all time stars Bruce Willis and 11-year-old Haley Joel Osment. It was nominated for a staggering six Oscars, including best director and best picture.
With all of these successful titles in mind I thought it would be best for my title to adopt this approach when choosing and creating my own film title. There are some other aspects I need to keep in mind such as:
Has the title already been used before? As this could bring up copyright issues
Is the title very similar to any existing ones? The public could get them mixed up
Am I following the appaoriate conventions? Yes, as I have basied my research on horror films