Alternate titles (AKAs)

Overview | The 5 AKA Title Rules | Attribute definitions | Tracking your contribution

A. Alternate titles (AKAs) - Overview


  • The primary title should be the original title, in the original language. The same film may have multiple titles (in different countries and languages, for example); in this case, alternate titles may be listed, with attributes explaining when and where the alternate titles have been used. If an unofficial translation (i.e. one not used by the filmmakers on promotional materials) is used, the attribute field should indicate that the title has been "transliterated" or is "informal". Please look at the release date page for the title first to check the alternate title doesn't already exist for that country.

B. The 5 AKA Title Rules


    Your submission has a much greater chance of being processed quickly - and a much greater chance of being accepted - if you follow the 5 basic rules listed below. If your submission does not take these rules into account, it will likely take a lot longer to be processed, and may even be rejected.

1. Formatting

    Alternate titles are formatted like primary titles. They use the same labels and language specific capitalization rules. For more details, see the guide to title formats. Note that you need to use the full title format, including the year and type of title, and that the type of title must match the primary title.

2. Uniqueness

    Make sure your new alternate title is really new and not already in the database with a slightly different spelling or year. If it is and you are positive your version is the correct version, send in the necessary corrections instead.

3. Authenticity

    You can send in alternate titles to primary titles for all countries and languages as long as these are authentic titles that have been publicly used.

4. Year

  • Just as with original titles you must also add the year of first public screening using this title (which in the vast majority of cases is different from the year in the primary title).
  • If the title is identical to another title in the database but does not refer to the same film, you must add a Roman numeral after the year to make the title different; if this is the case, you will see an error message explaining further.
  • If an alternate title is identical to its primary title (which simply means that the film had the same title in country X as in the original country) use the year of the primary title even if it is not the year the film was first shown in country X.
  • Similarly, if there are identical alternate titles for the same primary title, use the earliest year among them for the whole bunch independent of the individual release dates in the different countries.
  • Pay attention to the fact that an alternative title has a year that is not allowed to contradict attributes you use. For example a working title always has a year <= the year of the primary title since it was used before the film was released. If not it would not be a "working title". Or a (DVD title) has a year >= 1996 since before 1996 DVDs did not exist.
  • In summary: The year in the title is the first year that title was used for that particular production, regardless of what country it was first used in. If the year is unknown please use (????) instead.

5. Medium

    The default for an alternate title type is to be the same as the primary title. So for a theatrical film it's a theatrical alternate title, for a made for video film it's an alternate title used on a video release etc. If the default does NOT apply use the appropriate attribute to say so. If the title used for video or TV or DVD etc. is the same as the primary title, we do not explicitly store this as an alternate title since it is the default and assumed to be so unless we say it is not by listing the different alternate title. That does not apply to titles outside the producing countries, where it is OK to state that the title was the same as in the original country.

C. Attribute definitions


    Our goal at IMDb is to be able to represent to any customer in any locale (speaking language and country) what a title is known as.

    For example, "Black Panther" is known in Germany as "Black Panther" to a German speaking audience, regardless of the text being in English. Similarly, "Das Boot" is known in the USA as "Das Boot" to an English speaking audience, regardless of the text being in German.

    The main imdb display title for a country should reflect what title the movie/tv show is primarily known as in the locale (speaking language and country) of choice.

    We are now encouraging the submission of an imdb display title for all known countries, including the country of origin. Previously, submitting an imdb display title for the country of origin was considered unnecessary, as was submitting an imdb display title for a country that was otherwise covered by an International: English title. In order to capture all of the associated alternate title information for a title in full, adding all known country titles will list the details for each country to the Release Info on the associated title page.

  • There can only be one imdb display title for the same country and language. The others must use alternative title or more specific attributes.
  • The attributes below should only be used in preference to imdb display title if they more accurately define the alternate title being submitted for a particular corresponding country/language.

1. Common/Simple variants

    reissue title The title used on the title card of the film for a theatrical reissue.
    new title A re-titling of the film relative to the primary title, or another alternate title (for the same country-language combination) in the same distribution channel (theatrical, TV, video).
    first part title
    (+ second part title etc.)
    The title for the first (or second etc.) part of a multipart film.
    segment title The title of a segment of the film/series (where segments have their own titles).
    orthographically correct title The orthographically correct spelling for the film in a case where the primary title has (intended or unintended) spelling errors.
    alternative spelling An alternative spelling of the title as used in secondary sources (only applicable to minor differences such as "7" versus "Seven" etc.)
    uncensored intended title The uncensored intended title of the film.
    bowdlerized title A bowdlerized (i.e. censored) version of the corresponding primary title or another alternate title.
    subtitle

    A subtitle added to the primary title. (Subtitles are usually part of the primary title, so this
    attribute may be discontinued in the future.)

    closing credits title The title used in the closing credits of the film (which is different from that used in the opening credits).

2. 'Length' variants

    complete title The complete version of the primary title (or a corresponding short(er) alternate title). Since the primary title is supposed to be the complete title it is only used for special cases such as overlong primary titles (e.g. "John Carpenter's Halloween").
    short title

    A short version of the primary title or a corresponding long(er) alternate title.

    informal short title An informal short title.
    long title A long(er) version of the primary title. Again, since the primary title is supposed to be the complete title it is only used for special cases such as overlong primary titles.
    long new title A longer new title for the film.

3. Production stage and promotion related variants

    original script title An original script title for the film. Once the script is approved and (pre)production has started we use working title or pre-release title respectively.
    working title A working title used for the film during production (and before its premiere). The corresponding country/language attribute must be from (one of) the (co)producing country/countries.
    fake working title A fake working title used during the production of the film. The corresponding country/language attribute must be from (one of) the (co)producing country/countries. Fake working titles are sometimes used to hide the true nature of a film, for example to avoid unwanted public attention or political interference/censorship.
    pre-release title A pre-release title. The difference to a working title is that the film is finished but has not yet premiered.
    promotional abbreviation A promotional abbreviation used for the film.
    promotional title Used for promotional purposes (but is not an abbreviation).
    copyright title A copyright title for the film in the original country (not identical to the primary title).
    second copyright title The second copyright title for the film (if there was more than one).
    review title Used in written reviews of the film.
    teaser title The title used on a teaser.
    trailer title A title used in a trailer for the film.

4. English language variants

    literal English title A literal English translation of the primary title.
    informal English title An informal alternate title in English. Informal means it's not an official title coming from the producer(s) or distributor(s) but it's a title widely used in the public nonetheless (such as in the press or online etc.).
    literal translation of working title A literal (English) translation of the working title of the film (which has a non English original title).
    informal literal English title An informal literal title in English.

5. 'Version' variants

    dubbed version A dubbed version of the film.
    original subtitled version A subtitled original version of the film.
    recut version A recut version of the film (can be longer or shorter than original version).
    director's cut The title for the director's cut of the film.
    cut version A cut version of the film (shorter than the original version).
    censored version A censored version of the film (can be shorter or not as the original (use of alternative takes)).
    soft porn version A soft porn version of the film.
    racier version A racier version of the film.
    X-rated version An X-rated version of the film.
    bootleg title The title of a bootleg version of the film.
    longer version A title used for a longer version of the film (not a longer alternate title).
    short version A short version of the film (not a short(er) alternate title).
    restored version A title given to a restored version of the film.
    3-D version A 3D version of the film.

6. Release format variants

    DVD title The title used on the title card of the film on the DVD edition.
    DVD menu title The title used for the film in the DVD menu.
    DVD box title The title on the DVD box of a video release of the film.
    3-D video title The title of the 3D version of a film released on video.
    video title The title on the title card of the film on the video edition.
    video box title The title used on the video box of a video release of the film.
    unauthorized video title An unauthorized video title (on the title card of the film).
    video CD title The title used on the video CD version of the film.
    TV title The title on the title card of the film when shown on TV in the region corresponding to the country/language attribute.
    rerun title A rerun title on TV.
    syndication title A TV title for the film used for syndication.
    cable TV title An alternative title used on cable TV.
    theatrical title A theatrical title (for a TV or made for video film). It is not used for theatrical films where it is an assumed default.
    poster title The title used on posters for the film.
    8mm release title The title used on 8mm prints.
    16mm release title A title used on 16mm prints.
    16mm rental title The 16mm rental version of the film.
    IMAX version The IMAX version of the film.
    PC version The PC version of a video game.
    game box title The title used on the box for a video game.

7. Festival, premiere and catalogue variants

    festival title The title used on the title card of the film when screened at festivals in the region corresponding to the country/language attribute. (Only used if the title changed later on when the film went into distribution.)
    Berlin film festival title The title used at the Berlin film festival.
    MIFED title A title of the film used at MIFED.
    Venice film festival title The title used for the film at the Venice film festival.
    Cannes festival title The title used for the film at the Cannes film festival.
    premiere title A title used at the premiere of the film (but not afterwards).
    Los Angeles premiere title The title used at the Los Angeles premiere of the film (but not afterwards).
    American Mutoscope & Biograph catalog title The title used in the American Mutoscope & Biograph catalog.
    YIVO translation The Yiddish title used by the YIVO (Institute for Jewish Research).
    video catalogue title A title used in a video catalogue.
    series title A title used to link a film with other titles in a film series. Usually includes a volume number.

8. Literal/translated/transliterated variants

    literal title A literal translation of the primary title.
    informal literal title An informal literal translation of the primary title.
    informal title An informal title. Informal means it's not an official title coming from the producer(s) or distributor(s) but it's a title widely used in the public nonetheless (such as in the press or online etc.).
    informal alternative title An informal alternative title.
    correct transliteration A correct transliteration of the primary title. Only used for cases where an incorrect transliteration is also listed because it is actually on a title card.
    alternative transliteration An alternative transliteration compared to the one used for the corresponding primary or alternate title.

9. Character set variants

    original Cyrillic KOI8-R title The Cyrillic title used on the title card of the film in the original country of the film corresponding to the country/language attribute and using the KOI8-R character set.
    Cyrillic KOI8-R title The title card of the film in the country corresponding to the country/language attribute and using the KOI8-R character set.
    original ISO-LATIN-2 title The original title of the film in the ISO-LATIN-2 character set.
    ISO-LATIN-2 title The title of the film in the ISO-LATIN-2 character set.
    original Greek ISO-8859-7 title The original Greek title of the film using the ISO-8859-7 character set.
    original Turkish ISO-8859-9 title The Turkish title used on the title card of the film in the original country of the film corresponding to the country/language attribute and using ISO-8859-9 character set.
    Turkish ISO-8859-9 title The title card of the film in the country corresponding to the country/language attribute and using the ISO-8859-9 character set.

10. TV variants

    last season title The final season of a TV series.
    weekend title The weekend (only) title for a TV series.
    summer title The title for a TV series used during the summer months.
    first episodes title The title for a TV series only used for the first few episodes.
    first episode title The title for a TV series only used for the first episode.
    first season title
    (+ second season title etc.)
    The first (or second etc.) season of a TV series.

Tracking your contribution


You can now track the status of your Title Text submission and if it has not been approved, we'll tell you the reason why.

If you are using the mobile apps, mobile website or desktop website you can access this feature via the 'Track your contribution' button, which has been added to the submission email receipt. Additionally, if you are using the desktop website, you can also use the 'Track Contribution' button now found in your contribution history page.

Clicking this button will take you to IMDb Contributor, our new contribution specific site where you will be shown the status of your request.



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