Russian viewers were invited to choose the official name of the comedy action movie Guns Akimbo with Daniel Radcliffe in the title role, which everyone knows in the image of Harry Potter.
The Cascade Film company, which is engaged in movie rental in Russia, took an unusual step and decided to give viewers the opportunity to choose the localized name of the picture themselves. According to Gamebomb.ru, a vote was launched on the social network to select a name for the Guns Akimbo action movie. Only 2 options are offered: Akimbo Guns and Mad Miles. Now the second version is still the official name, but the first is in the lead by a wide margin. Mad Miles received 5.5 thousand votes, and Akimbo Guns received almost 15 thousand.
The company Cascade Film took such a step because social media often criticized the names of foreign films in Russian. According to Gamebomb.ru, stable expressions and puns often lose their meaning in translation, which some viewers dislike. The filmmakers took the expression Arms Akimbo (Akimbo hands), which means shooting from two raised hands. The word “hands” was replaced by “guns”, since in the film the pistols nailed to the hero’s hands. Social network users were pleased with the opportunity to influence the work of localizers, but not everyone liked the proposed options.
In the comments to the survey, users began to put forward their version of the translation of the name. They did not like the fact that the localizers decided to use the literal translation “Akimbo Cannons”, since this expression is unknown to Russian-speaking viewers. The most popular version among users was the “Macedonian” version. The expression “Macedonian shooting” in Russian is a direct analogue of the English-language Arms Akimbo. Options are also offered “With two hands”, “In two trunks” and others. None of them has yet been added to the vote, which will end on Sunday, January 26.
The Russian premiere of the movie “Mad Miles” or “Guns Akimbo” is scheduled for February 27, 2023.
