One of the biggest blockbuster surprises of 2014 was certainly Doug Liman's sci-fi action thriller Edge of Tomorrow. However, from the very start of Warner Bros. advertising campaign things were off, most notably the handling of the film’s title. And though it’s been months since the theatrical release of The Edge of Tomorrow, Emily Blunt is still not happy with how the studio handled the actual name of the film.
As you can see in the official artwork up top, he film’s actual title, Edge of Tomorrow, is basically equal to the presentation of the movie’s tagline, "Live, Die, Repeat." For the average observer, it could be challenging to figure out what the movie was actually called - especially since the studio seemed to love changing the title. Which of those titles did Emily Blunt prefer? Well, neither, it would seem. When asked in an interview with Collider about the title controversy and the film's original name, All You Need Is Kill, the actress said,
"That’s a bummer isn’t it? I gotta say, I love All You Need Is Kill. I loved it... I thought it was more ironic and totally more than a movie, you know?"
The title All You Need Is Kill that Blunt is referring to is also the name of the novel by Hiroshi Sakurazaka on which Edge of Tomorrow was based. And Blunt certainly does have a point. What made Edge of Tomorrow so amazing was the fact that there was so much more to the story beyond what it appeared to be: just another explosion-heavy Tom Cruise action flick. "Edge of Tomorrow" and even "Live, Die, Repeat" both sound like generic action movie titles. All You Need Is Kill is a little different, and the title has a bit of humor and bite to it. More than that, by giving the movie the same title as Skurazaka’s novel, it would have made the correlation to the novel a bit more clear.
In this case, it seems that the studio’s titling and marketing choices proved to be a rather serious detriment to the movie at the box office. While the film didn’t tank, it also didn’t live up to financial expectations that came from its big budget. However, despite the strange choices by Warner Bros., the movie still managed to make a huge impact on those who saw it. Later in the interview, Blunt goes on to mention that she has fans come up to her daily to express how much they loved Edge of Tomorrow.
The film continues to surprise audiences with it's quality, and depth of story and characters. It’s a movie that is part action, part science fiction, and part video game. Though it maybe didn’t astound at the box office, and the titling situation may have been bizarre, it seems that Edge of Tomorrow (AKA Live, Die, Repeat, AKA All You Need Is Kill) will have a long life in VOD and Blu-ray viewings.
