Sherlock Holmes Solves the Case of the Missing Title

How important is the title of a movie?

Depends on the movie in question. In the case of something like say Cowboys & Aliens, the filmmakers, and more importantly, the marketing department, will have to make that extra effort to sell the film in spite of an admittedly silly title. Win people over their knee-jerk reaction of, "That sounds stupid!" and, from what I've gathered off conversations with non-nerds (i.e. real people) it's working on director Jon Favreau's front. We'll see how that ultimately pans out this July.

On the other hand if it's a sequel to a big money-making popcorn crowd-pleaser, it's not as big a deal.

In this case, Warner Brothers could call the Sherlock Holmes sequel Sherlock Holmes & the Case of the Divine Secret of the Ya-Ya Sisterhood Electric Boogaloo Ecks Vs Sever and it'll still be the top-grossing release this Christmas. If you can still be a blockbuster hit and co-exist alongside Avatar (the biggest movie of all-time) and Alvin & the Chipmunks: The Squeakquel, then something like Mission: Impossible – Ghost Protocol is a cake-walk.

E! Online reports WB has settled on the title for the sequel - Sherlock Holmes: A Game of Shadows.

The reactions I've read are mixed-to-negative. But I'm indifferent. No, it's not great. But it's better than just slapping on Sherlock Holmes 2. But like I said, it's irrelevant. Regular folks aren't going to care because they dug the Hell outta the first film, and Robert Downey Jr. continues to be a popular draw at the box-office.