Did you know some of our most beloved movies originally had different, sometimes better, endings? That is until they were tested in front of focus groups. Learn all about the how, what, and why of audience testing in this classic episode.
AI Summary
This episode explores how Hollywood uses audience testing to shape movies before release. Chuck and Josh break down the fascinating—and sometimes brutal—process of test screenings, from how studios recruit audiences at malls to what scores actually matter and which famous films got completely different endings based on viewer feedback. They discuss the origins of test screening in Apocalypse Now, reveal some shocking examples like how Blade Runner and Fatal Attraction were changed, and explain why even directors like Ron Howard call the whole experience "hideous" despite believing in the system.
Movies Discussed
28 Days Later
"28 days later. You saw that one, right? Yeah. — Original ending had Jim's character dying, was changed to a happier ending."
— Josh
A Prairie Home Companion
"Didn't see the lake Wobagon one with Lindsay Lohan. — Robert Altman film with Lindsay Lohan and Meryl Streep that wasn't well-received."
— Josh
Apocalypse Now
"When Coppola was making apocalypse now, he had focus groups. — Francis Ford Coppola used focus groups during production due to studio pressure on the film."
— Chuck
Blade Runner
"Blade Runner, perhaps the most famous changed ending of all time. — Most famous example of test audiences causing major changes; dark ending replaced with happy one."
— Chuck
Edge of Tomorrow
"Like, that edge of tomorrow movie was terrific. — Referenced as a Tom Cruise film with good acting."
— Chuck
Ex Machina
"Except, of course, for Mad Max and ex machina. That was a pretty great movie too. — Referenced as a recent high-scoring test screening."
— Chuck
Fatal Attraction
"Fatal attraction famously changed. — Ending was changed from Glenn Close's character killing herself to being killed by the wife."
— Josh
Flowers for Algernon
"I'll bet it was mash. Yeah, movies didn't gross that much back then. — Discussed as likely Robert Altman's top-grossing film."
— Chuck
Glitter
"But this article keeps picking on Glitter, which seems mean. — Referenced as a poorly-received film the article singled out."
— Josh
Gnomes & Trolls II: The Forest Trial
"Apparently made by totally different filmmakers, completely unconnected, story wise. — Infamous low-budget film that became a cult classic for its poor quality."
— Josh
Going Clear: Scientology and the Prison of Belief
"Was it an HBO documentary? Going clear. — HBO documentary about Scientology based on Lawrence Wright's book."
— Josh
GoodFellas
"What was the movie that was given an example in this article of something that was found to be too violent. Goodfellows. — Scorsese's film had its ending shortened after test audiences found the violence too intense."
— Josh
Hearts of Darkness: A Filmmaker's Apocalypse
"The documentary about it. Yeah. No, it's really good. — Documentary about Apocalypse Now's troubled production, made by Coppola's wife."
— Josh
Heathers
"Okay, heathers. Did you see heathers? — Ending changed from dark original ending to Christian Slater's character being killed."
— Josh
Licence to Kill
"James Bond's movie license to Kill was originally called License Revoked. — Title was changed due to American test audiences not understanding the original title."
— Chuck
Mad Max: Fury Road
"Except, of course, for Mad Max and ex machina. That was a pretty great movie too. — Referenced as recent high-scoring test screenings."
— Chuck
McCabe & Mrs. Miller
"And McCabe and Miss Miller. That's a classic as well. — Another Robert Altman classic film."
— Chuck
Mission: Impossible III
"He crashed his own test screening of mission impossible three, allegedly, and ran in there. — Tom Cruise allegedly crashed his own test screening to energize the audience."
— Chuck
Nashville
"A lot of classics like Nashville. You ever seen Nashville? No, I never saw Nashville, man. — Referenced as one of Robert Altman's most celebrated films."
— Chuck
Nine to Five
"You ever been to a test screening? No. Have you? Yeah. Cool. Yeah, it's neat. Nine to five. — Chuck attended a test screening of this film."
— Josh
Old School
"Matt Walsh is the one that was in old school, right? — Referenced in connection with UCB founder Matt Walsh's filmography."
— Josh
Pretty in Pink
"Pretty in pink. Yeah. This one's pretty famous, too. — Ending was changed to have Molly Ringwald end up with Andrew McCarthy instead of Jon Cryer."
— Josh
Pretty Woman
"Pretty woman. The movie, the saccharine feel good movie from Richard Gere and Julia Roberts. — Originally titled and darker, changed after test screening feedback."
— Chuck
Re-Animator
"I think like a reanimator type of thing. Oh, yeah. Okay, I see. — Referenced as an example of campy, disturbing horror."
— Josh
Scott Pilgrim vs. the World
"Did you ever see Scott Pilgrim versus the world? No. — Original ending changed due to test audience feedback; reverted to graphic novel ending."
— Josh
Shortcuts
"Saw the player, saw shortcuts. — Referenced as one of Robert Altman's films Josh has seen."
— Josh
Sunset Boulevard
"Have you ever seen Sunset Boulevard? No. That's on my list as a classic movie. — Beginning was reshot after test audiences didn't understand the morgue sequence."
— Josh
The Human Centipede (First Sequence)
"I've only seen the first, like hundreds of people. — Josh has seen the first film in the series."
— Josh
The Human Centipede 3 (Final Sequence)
"Human centipede three has the. I think it came out recently. Is this the one in prison? — Film with one of the lowest Metacritic scores of all time."
— Chuck
The Player
"The player was great. Yeah. I mean, he's made a lot of great movies. — Cited as one of Robert Altman's successful films."
— Josh
The Room
"Like the room. Sure. — Referenced as an example of a terrible film that became a cult phenomenon."
— Josh
The Shining
"That shot of the only blue sky wasn't even from that movie. It was pulled from outtakes of the shining. — Blue sky footage from The Shining's opening was used for Blade Runner's changed ending."
— Josh
The Treasure of the Sierra Madre
"Have you seen hostile? Yeah, I didn't think that was very campy. It was just straight up disturbing. — Referenced as a disturbing horror film."
— Chuck
The Wizard of Oz
"Somewhere over the Rainbow song really slows things down. Get it out of there. — Test audiences suggested removing the song, but it became one of the most iconic performances in cinema history."
Weekend at Bernie's
"Saw a weekend at Bernie's again recently. No, it's not that bad. — Referenced in discussion about Andrew McCarthy films."
— Josh
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