Buzz
Throughout the production or post-production of a film, most directors will present their work to a test audience at least once. While the experience of hearing a film critiqued may not be enjoyable for most filmmakers, these screenings frequently lead to beneficial changes. Audiences have sharp instincts and can pinpoint what works. For producers and investors who contribute millions to fund these movies, catering to the audience's preferences is crucial. This makes the feedback from test screenings a powerful factor in shaping the final product.
In rarer cases, test screenings validate the quality and appeal of a film. These screenings offer a rare window into the minds of those working behind the scenes in the film industry. Regardless of the feedback, test audience reactions almost always influence the final cut and the version that hits the big screen.
10. Sunset Boulevard
Early cinema was composed of multiple reels, with each reel containing around 300 meters (1,000 ft) of 35mm film and lasting about 12 minutes. As the reel neared its end, a small black oval would briefly appear in the top-right corner of the screen, signaling to the projectionist that it was almost time to switch to the second projector, which was ready to display the next reel.
The director of Sunset Boulevard (1950), Billy Wilder, chose to remove the first reel of the film after presenting it at a test screening. While we may never know the exact reasons behind the audience's reactions or which scenes were cut, it's clear that the footage did not meet the approval of those who saw it.
Wilder’s choice seems to have been a sound one. Sunset Boulevard, a classic American noir film, is widely considered one of the finest movies from Hollywood, particularly for Gloria Swanson’s portrayal of a faded movie star.
9. Licence To Kill
The original title of the James Bond film, Licence Revoked, which would later be known as Licence to Kill (1989), starring Timothy Dalton as Bond, didn’t resonate with American test screening audiences. They felt that Licence Revoked sounded too much like a visit to the Department of Motor Vehicles.
It seems that viewers favored the British spelling, “Licence,” over the American version, “License,” which is why the former was used in the final cut of the movie. After all, Bond is a British secret agent.
8. Little Shop of Horrors
Director Frank Oz’s initial ending for Little Shop of Horrors (1986) didn’t quite match what test screening audiences envisioned. Oz’s original conclusion was much darker than they had hoped: the plant monster, Audrey II, devours the nerdy lovers, Seymour Krelborn (Rick Moranis) and Audrey (Ellen Greene), before embarking on a destructive rampage.
Despite the film’s impressive and comedic special effects, including monstrous plants swallowing a train and cackling on top of the Statue of Liberty, the sequence featuring Audrey II’s rampage across New York City was criticized for being too long, with some describing it as “tedious.” However, the test audiences didn’t mind the endless destruction of buildings and terrified citizens. Their issue was with Seymour and Audrey’s fate. They demanded a happy ending for the lovable couple.
Oz listened to the audience’s feedback and reworked the ending, replacing the dark conclusion with one in which Seymour and Audrey triumph over Audrey II and escape to a peaceful life in the suburbs.
7. The Mighty Quinn
Test screening audiences don’t always focus solely on the plot, performances, special effects, or themes of a film. Sometimes, their personal feelings and biases influence the direction a movie takes or how certain scenes are handled in the final cut. This was the case with The Mighty Quinn (1989), where Denzel Washington plays police chief Xavier Quinn, alongside Mimi Rogers as Hadley Elgin.
In one scene, Quinn and Elgin share a kiss, but this moment never made it to theaters. According to Washington, it was cut after test audiences reacted negatively. “Black women hated the scene. White men hated the scene.”
6. Jaws
Test screenings can sometimes enhance a film, as Steven Spielberg and his team found out when they showed an early cut of Jaws (1975) to a crowd in the Midwest. Audiences in Dallas, Texas, were so startled by the “pop-up scare” when the great white shark suddenly emerges from the water while police chief Martin Brody (Roy Scheider) is chumming off the boat that their shocked reactions completely drowned out Brody’s famous line to shark-hunter Quint (Robert Shaw), “You’re gonna need a bigger boat.”
After reviewing the footage, the filmmakers decided to extend the sequence, adding another 10.6 meters (35 ft) of film to allow the audience a moment to recover and enjoy the “much-needed moment of comic relief” provided by Brody’s line.
5. Clear and Present Danger
In Clear and Present Danger (1994), during the scene where drug cartel leader Ernesto Escobedo’s henchman, Felix Cortez, is killed, test audiences reacted by applauding, or at least attempted to. The scene was so brief that they didn’t have time to clap. According to producer Mace Neufeld, the scene ended before they could. Following the test screening, additional footage was added.
In some instances, director Philip Noyce had to cut footage to meet Paramount Pictures’ deadline, but later extended the film to 142 minutes after the studio encouraged him to lengthen its runtime. The reason behind this change seems to be the response from more test audiences. Noyce explained that the cuts didn’t improve the film; they just made it shorter. Ironically, he noted, the movie ended up feeling longer to audiences after the cuts than it did before.
4. The Bourne Supremacy
At times, test screenings don’t necessarily lead to new edits, but rather reinforce a director’s choices. Director Paul Greengrass worked with Matt Damon, star of The Bourne Supremacy (2004), to develop what he believed would be a more fitting ending.
After Greengrass shared his idea with the movie’s producers, they “reluctantly agreed” to proceed with his plan, despite the extra $200,000 cost and the delay it caused in Damon’s work on Ocean’s Twelve. Once the revised ending was finished, the film was shown to test audiences, and it received a ten-point higher score with the new ending.
3. Clerks II
Kevin Smith, the writer and director of the comedy Clerks II (2006), wasn’t exactly thrilled about the one test screening of his film that the producers insisted on. To qualify for the screening, potential viewers had to have watched at least three films from a “Qualifying Films” list. The problem was that none of Smith’s past works were included. Additionally, the available viewers didn’t match the typical audience for Smith’s humor.
Although the test screening results weren’t intended for editing the film—its purpose was to determine how to market the movie—Smith still felt anxious. “Of all the aspects of filmmaking that go into the gestalt of cinematic storytelling, [screen testing] is definitely the least appetizing,” he confessed. “I don’t know any filmmaker who enjoys it.”
He was pleasantly taken aback by the enthusiastic reception from the Midwest audience. The crowd applauded regularly during the movie, with 84 percent rating it as either “excellent” or “very good.” Smith reflected that the required test screening “was definitely worth all the worry leading up to it.”
2. American Gangster
In Ridley Scott’s 2007 film, American Gangster, the story revolves around a fictionalized version of Frank Lucas, an African American drug lord who ran his operations from Harlem, New York. He smuggled substantial amounts of premium heroin into the city by hiding it in the coffins of deceased Vietnam war veterans. Denzel Washington portrays Lucas, while Russell Crowe plays his antagonist, Detective Richie Roberts.
When Scott sneaked into the first test screening, he had planned to leave as soon as the first person stood up. However, by the end of the screening, he was still in his seat. No one had moved. The reaction from the audience made it clear to Scott that he had a successful film. “No one moved,” he recalled, “so neither did I. That was what was most rewarding; knowing you’ve fully engaged people with the truth.”
1. Troy
Troy (2004) was a grand and lavish production, epic in scale, featuring Brad Pitt as the legendary Achilles. The filmmakers secured part of Malta for the shoot, with a hefty budget of $175 million. The film boasted spectacular costumes, intricate sets, and a stellar cast including Peter O’Toole and Orlando Bloom, aiming to depict the Greek warriors’ assault on Troy during the Trojan War. Despite its high production values, the film received negative feedback from test screening audiences, particularly regarding the music. Viewers described it as 'too brassy and too bold,' and not modern enough to appeal to today's tastes.
The studio’s immediate reaction was one of panic. Composer Gabriel Yared was dismissed, and his score was completely replaced. James Horner, the new composer, described Yared’s music as 'atrocious,' comparing it to the kind of score you might hear in a '1950s Hercules movie,' calling it 'corny... it was unbelievable.'
Horner also shifted some of the blame onto director Wolfgang Petersen. 'Gabriel did whatever Wolfgang asked, but Wolfgang’s tendency is to overscore everything, like a Wagner opera. He’s not one for subtlety,' Horner remarked. This resulted in audiences laughing during scenes that were intended to be serious, due to the original score.
Music critics were more forgiving toward Yared than Horner had been, offering praise and criticism in equal measure. One reviewer even suggested that the test screening audiences failed to 'appreciate [Yared’s] unusually large presentation of orchestral power.'
