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4[[quoteright:230:[[Film/{{Leprechaun}} https://static.tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pub/images/leprechaun_posters.png]]]]
5[[caption-width-right:230:''Leprechaun'' cover, pre- and post- Creator/JenniferAniston's career taking off.]]
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8The tendency of a film to be retroactively linked in the public mind with the biggest name in the film or be marketed as "starring" the biggest name, even if that actor is not the main character (at least from the filmmakers' point of view), and occasionally even if his or her character is very minor indeed.
9
10There are several reasons why this might happen: drumming up a newly famous actor to help advertise the movie, a famous actor given a supporting role (StuntCasting) to help sell the movie, or a secondary or supporting role gaining more hype than the main role which requires a change in publicity (EnsembleDarkHorse). Sometimes the actual lead actor gets an "AndStarring" credit. In extreme cases the actor playing the principal character isn't even mentioned on the poster.
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12A variation is caused by the repackaging of an older movie with a [[RetroactiveRecognition then obscure, now famous actor]] prominently advertised. This happened to ''Satisfaction'' (1988) which, after ''Film/PrettyWoman'' made her famous, was repackaged as ''Girls of Summer''
13"starring" Creator/JuliaRoberts and featuring a small appearance by Creator/JustineBateman (who, for those who don't get the joke, was in 1988 a major figure as a co-star in ''Series/FamilyTies'' but is today better known as Creator/JasonBateman's sister) as the lead character.
14
15Seeing as this is becoming very common, only include examples of where the role is substantially smaller than the actor's billing would suggest, not just where they're not the main protagonist. In an Ensemble feature, this is partially justified provided they are part of the main ensemble and not just a cameo.
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17In music, it is not uncommon for certain songs to be more associated with a featured guest singer than its official lead artist. Common causes for this include the lead artist being a producer or instrumentalist whereas the guest is providing vocals, a rap song whose chorus is sung by a superstar guest, or just the guest artist being so much more famous than the lead.
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19Compare AdvertisedExtra when this is done to a character ''before'' the work is released. Compare BilledAboveTheTitle, SpotlightStealingTitle, and WolverinePublicity, where a popular character is deliberately added for the ''sole purpose'' of selling a product, whether or not the character is actually relevant to the story. Also compare AwardCategoryFraud, where a minor role is given an award for a major one, or vice versa.
20----
21!!Example subpages:
22[[index]]
23* [[BillingDisplacement/LiveActionFilms Films — Live-Action]]
24* [[BillingDisplacement/LiveActionTV Live-Action TV]]
25[[/index]]
26
27!!Other examples:
28[[foldercontrol]]
29
30[[folder:Anime]]
31* Several Japanese websites (including the official Creator/TMSEntertainment [=YouTube=] channel) list Akiko Yajima as the main actress in ''[[Manga/ShizukuChan Pururun! Shizuku-chan]]'', despite her playing minor characters. This is likely due to the actress being well-known for her main role in [[Manga/CrayonShinChan another popular anime series]].
32* ''Anime/ScottPilgrimTakesOff'' bills Creator/MichaelCera and Creator/MaryElizabethWinstead at the top, followed by every other actor who returns from ''Film/ScottPilgrimVsTheWorld'' in alphabetical order, resulting in the incidental oddity that Satya Bhabha -- the least famous by far of those returning cast members and, while more prominent than he was in the film, still one of the less prominent characters overall -- is billed third.
33[[/folder]]
34
35[[folder:Comic Books]]
36* One of the covers for ''[[ComicBook/{{Convergence}} Convergence #3]]'' has Thomas Wayne in desperate combat with several Bat villains including a prominently displayed Una Nemo who looks about to stab him. She is so prominent that she and Wayne are the only characters who appear on the smaller banner ads for the issue on Comixology. [[spoiler:In the issue itself she is part of the gang that attack Wayne (and is presumably killed when he blows himself up) but has no lines, no close up and the only way the reader can even tell it is her because of her [[WhoEvenNeedsABrain unique look]]]].
37* When ''ComicBook/{{NYX}}'' was released, X-23 was an EnsembleDarkHorse on ''WesternAnimation/XMenEvolution'', but otherwise largely unknown outside that fandom. She became a CanonImmigrant with this series as a minor character (she doesn't appear until the third issue, and her total lines of dialog could be counted on one hand), and her popularity exploded from there. Later, when ''NYX'' was collected in trade paperback, guess who was prominently displayed on the cover at the expense of the series' ''actual'' protagonist, Kiden Nixon?
38* The ''Models, Inc.'' limited series is a murder mystery starring Marvel's various model characters, most proeminently Comicbook/MillieTheModel, but one of those, Comicbook/PatsyWalker, doesn't get a cover - most damningly, #3 falls in to WolverinePublicity showing Mary Jane Watson, who only appears at the start of the issue! Then there's [[https://static.wikia.nocookie.net/marveldatabase/images/b/b6/Models%2C_Inc._Vol_1_1_Variant.jpg/revision/latest/scale-to-width-down/1000?cb=20100112045300 an alternate cover showcasing]] Tim Gunn of ''Series/ProjectRunway'' fame, who only appears in a single back-up story that has nothing to do with the actual plot.
39* In general, many instances of WolverinePublicity fall under this trope. It's extremely common for comic covers to prominently feature an image of a popular guest-starring hero, even if said hero's role in the issue is extremely minor.
40** In the 90s as a joke Marvel put Wolverine on the cover of EVERY comic released that month, the majority of which he wasn't in at all.
41[[/folder]]
42
43[[folder:Comic Strips]]
44* Parodied in a ''ComicStrip/FoxTrot'' storyline published the week ''[[Film/TheLordOfTheRingsTheReturnOfTheKing Return of the King]]'' came out: Because Creator/OrlandoBloom is in it, Paige thinks the movie is all about him and mistakenly believes the actual plot of the movie is filler.
45[[/folder]]
46
47[[folder:Film — Animated]]
48* ''WesternAnimation/{{Brave}}'' averts with the protagonist, given Creator/KellyMacdonald (Merida) is still the first. But the follow-up isn't Creator/EmmaThompson (Queen Elinor, Merida's mother), the second most prominent character, but Creator/BillyConnolly (King Fergus, Merida's father). [[spoiler: Though Thompson's speaking part is reduced throughout the movie given Elinor spends most of it turned into a bear.]]
49* Ads for the film ''WesternAnimation/DespicableMe1'' give Creator/MirandaCosgrove second billing (possibly to appeal to the film's target audience, as ''Series/ICarly'' was a huge hit at the time with that demographic). In the actual film, she is billed fifth (behind Creator/SteveCarell, Creator/JasonSegel, Creator/RussellBrand and Creator/KristenWiig) despite being an important character.
50* For ''WesternAnimation/Epic2013'' Creator/AmandaSeyfried is billed third despite voicing the main character. Though this decision could have something to do with Seyfried having been on a box office cold streak during production.
51* ''WesternAnimation/{{Frozen|2013}}'': NonHumanSidekick Olaf, who first appears (alive) halfway into the movie, is easily the most visible character on the main poster, while the leads are buried in snow. The DVD switches the focus to Elsa, who gets half the cover despite her being an offscreen presence for most of the second act. In both cases, the film's lead, Anna, is the least noticeable character. Another DVD cover shows ''only'' Elsa.
52* ''WesternAnimation/TheGoodDinosaur'' uses the "in order of appearance" structure, placing Poppa Henry up first despite dying within the first third of the movie, while the protagonist Arlo is listed ''seventh.''
53* In the animated movie ''WesternAnimation/HeidisSong'' Creator/SammyDavisJr receives second billing even though his role is very minor, only appearing as a singing rat who appears near the end.
54* ''Westernanimation/HotelTransylvaniaTransformania'' has the main character billed seventh, because Adam Sandler's replacement as Dracula, Creator/BrianHull, isn't a CelebrityVoiceActor and is thus pushed down by the more recognizable names.
55* Music/NickiMinaj and Music/{{Drake}}'s names appear in trailers and posters of ''WesternAnimation/IceAgeContinentalDrift'' despite having very small roles as part of a mammoth pack. Meanwhile, Creator/WandaSykes, Creator/KekePalmer, Creator/PeterDinklage and Creator/JoshGad are left off of the marketing despite having sizable roles (Sykes having perhaps the biggest part outside of the three leads).
56* Creator/DustinHoffman is billed third in ''WesternAnimation/KungFuPanda2'', even though he only appears at the very beginning and end and doesn't do much more than break two minor characters out of prison off screen. Creator/GaryOldman, the movie's main antagonist is billed fourth while Creator/MichelleYeoh's soothsayer, despite being the main driving force behind both Shen and Po's character's is billed tenth.
57* The ''WesternAnimation/MyLittlePonyEquestriaGirls''' films would fall under this:
58** The DTV film ''WesternAnimation/MyLittlePonyEquestriaGirlsRainbowRocks'' has all its advertising focus on Twilight Sparkle and [[HighSchoolAU the rest of the Humane Six]] fighting the villains. While they obviously play a role in the movie's plot, the actual protagonist is Sunset Shimmer, [[SirNotAppearingInThisTrailer who doesn't appear at all in the posters or most trailers]], despite most of the story following her POV and [[ReformedButRejected her redemption story]] being the central element, presumably to avoid too many spoilers.
59** The opening and ending credits for ''WesternAnimation/MyLittlePonyEquestriaGirlsFriendshipGames'' list Twilight Sparkle (the human world version) first, then Sunset Shimmer second. In reality, it's ''Sunset'' who's the main star of the film, and Human Twilight is really the {{Deuteragonist}} who gets corrupted into an antagonist near the end.
60** The credits for ''WesternAnimation/MyLittlePonyEquestriaGirlsMagicalMovieNight'' list Creator/RebeccaShoichet as the last of the Rainbooms' voice actors billed in the credits in "Mirror Magic" despite being the main protagonist of the special. The same applies for "Dance Magic" and "Movie Magic" crediting Shoichet as the last of the Rainbooms' voice actors (and for the latter, also below Cathy Weseluck as Spike) despite the previous [[WesternAnimation/MyLittlePonyEquestriaGirlsFriendshipGames two]] [[WesternAnimation/MyLittlePonyEquestriaGirlsLegendOfEverfree films]] billing her second after Creator/TaraStrong.
61** For each movie starting with ''WesternAnimation/MyLittlePonyEquestriaGirlsForgottenFriendship'', the Rainbooms' voice actors are now listed alphabetically by last name in the end credits with ordering being Creator/AshleighBall (Rainbow Dash/Applejack), Creator/AndreaLibman (Pinkie Pie/Fluttershy), Creator/RebeccaShoichet (Sunset Shimmer), Creator/TabithaStGermain (Rarity), and Creator/TaraStrong (Twilight Sparkle). This is despite ''Forgotten Friendship'' having Sunset as the main focus and ''Rolleroaster of Friendship'' having Rarity as one of the two leads (other being Applejack, with Ashleigh Ball appropriately given top billing). ''Spring Breakdown'' is slightly more justified due to Rainbow Dash being one of the main leads in the movie, though Twilight and Sunset are still given lower billing than Pinkie Pie/Fluttershy (both) and Rarity (in Twilight's case) despite playing more prominent roles in the movie.
62*** The exception to this is ''WesternAnimation/MyLittlePonyEquestriaGirlsSunsetsBackstagePass'', with Rebecca Shoichet and Andrea Libman as the first two billed due to Sunset and Pinkie being the main focus.
63* The advertising for ''WesternAnimation/MyLittlePonyTheMovie2017'' heavily billed Music/{{Sia}}, despite her character Songbird Serenade barely appearing in the movie and being completely unnecessary to the plot. Even the cover to the movie depicts the Mane Seven, the allies who help them save the day, the BigBad, his [[TheDragon dragon]] and henchman, and Songbird Serenade. It's especially ironic as Sia herself is uncomfortable with public attention and wears her iconic hair to hide her face. The end credits list the voice actors alphabetically by last name, leaving Twilight's voice near the bottom and Creator/UzoAduba was up first, despite barely appearing over three minutes throughout the movie's entire runtime.
64* The promotional poster for ''WesternAnimation/{{Planes}}'' has the main antagonist [[MilesGloriosus Ripslinger]] closest to the front while Rusty, the actual hero of the film, is behind him. This is averted on the cover of the DVD and Blu-ray, where Dusty is properly positioned on the front while Ripslinger is to his right.
65* ''WesternAnimation/RatchetAndClank'' has not only five actors listed before the first actor from the games, the first of these actors is Creator/ArminShimerman, who plays Dr. Nefarious. Creator/JamesArnoldTaylor (Ratchet) and Creator/DavidKaye (Clank) are billed at ninth and tenth.
66* ''WesternAnimation/ToyStory3'': The villainous [[spoiler: Lotso]] is so significant to the movie that having [[spoiler: Creator/NedBeatty]] billed fourth rather than second or third behind Woody (Creator/TomHanks) doesn't seem right. While most would probably say that Buzz (Creator/TimAllen) should stay at second, it's debated that Jessie (Creator/JoanCusack) probably should have been billed fourth, not third.
67** Averted in ''WesternAnimation/ToyStory4'' when Joan Cusack was billed much further down, and her usual position is taken by Bo Peep (Creator/AnniePotts), who takes her place as the tritagonist.
68* ''WesternAnimation/TurningRed'': In Japan, the film's promotional material focused on 4*Town, as the Japanese boy band Da-iCE performed the Japanese version to their songs and even provided their voices in the Japanese dub. However, 4*Town themselves only appear at the final third of the film and barely have any significant speaking lines.
69[[/folder]]
70
71[[folder:Literature]]
72* Connor in ''Literature/AssassinsCreedForsaken''. He is right at the front prominently displayed, despite only appearing for a few chapters near the end. Main character Haytham is a blurry image in the background.
73* The original Swedish edition of opera singer Malena Ernman's memoir ''Scenes from the Heart'' only credits her and her husband Svante Thunberg on the cover. When her daughter UsefulNotes/GretaThunberg, whose mental health struggle is a subject of the book, coincidentally gained worldwide recognition for her climate activism, she was credited ''above'' her parents, and the German and English translations[[note]]the latter of which is named ''[[CompletelyDifferentTitle Our House Is On Fire]]'' after a quote from one of Greta's speeches[[/note]] have her picture on the cover.
74[[/folder]]
75
76[[folder:Music]]
77* Mike Will Made-It nearly went top 10 on the Hot 100 with "23", almost entirely on the back of Miley Cyrus's post-VMA hype.
78** Miley's guest appearance as even a ''backing vocalist'' on a hit song released by a (relatively) unknown rapper, producer or in [[{{Borgore}} Borgore's]] case, dubstep artist seems to generate most of the publicity for the song[[note]]in many cases, the producer or rapper had appeared on her ''Bangerz'' album or co-produced it[[/note]] to the point it more-or-less is considered a Miley song by the public.
79* Bizarrely, "Coming Home" by Diddy-Dirty Money is mostly associated with Skylar Grey, despite her being virtually unknown and Diddy a superstar.
80* "Control" by Big Sean is primarily known as a Kendrick Lamar song due to his infamous attack verse in the middle of the song.
81* Songs by EDM performers that have a guest vocalist are a good place for this trope in action:
82** Pretty much any Music/DavidGuetta song featuring a famous guest vocalist is predominantly associated with said vocalist. "Sexy Chick"? Akon. "Without You"? That's Music/{{Usher}}. "Turn Me On" and "Hey Mama"? Those are by Music/NickiMinaj. "Titanium" initially averted this, as guest vocalist Music/{{Sia}} was generally unknown at the time. When she became more popular on her own the song quickly became associated with her.
83** Music/CalvinHarris' hits, aside from the ones he sings on his own or those with an obscure vocalist (i.e. John Newman on "Blame"), also qualify.
84* [[Literature/TheHungerGames "The Hanging Tree"]] by Music/JamesNewtonHoward featuring Creator/JenniferLawrence. When the song charted in the Hot 100 in late 2014, the entire media, including ''Billboard themselves'', hyped up Lawrence getting her first charting song, and relegated Howard, a highly prolific composer ''also making his chart debut'', to a mere footnote.
85** Though Howard being credited is itself Billing Displacement, as while it's seen as part of his score he didn't compose the song (the Suzanne Collins lyrics as published in ''Mockingjay'' were set to music by The Lumineers' Jeremiah Fraites and Wesley Schultz).
86* "I Need A Doctor" may have become Dr. Dre's biggest hit since the 1990s, but the song is generally more associated with Eminem.
87* "La La La" and "Latch" are, at least in North America, better known as Sam Smith songs than as hits by Naughty Boy and Disclosure, respectively. In Europe, particularly the UK, both acts are much more successful, with Disclosure having had two other top 10 hits and a #1 album. And although Naughty Boy hasn't had another big worldwide hit, its success predated Smith's own breakout and is remembered on its own merit.
88* "Lighters" is an interesting case. Most people are aware of Eminem being on the song, and that Bruno Mars sings the chorus, but few people aside from Eminem's biggest fans know who the other rapper is (that would be Royce da 5'9") or that it's actually a song by the Eminem-Royce duo Bad Meets Evil.
89* The 2008 song "Live Your Life" was ''overwhelmingly'' seen as a Rihanna song in the eyes of most listeners, despite the fact that T.I. reached #1 with parent album ''Paper Trail'' and was coming off the success of "Whatever You Like."
90* The only reason "Lolly" was able to go Top 20 on the Hot 100 was because Justin Bieber was a featured artist. Maejor Ali, the official lead artist, had almost no pull in the song's success.
91** Similarly, "Where Are U Now" by Jack U, "Cold Water" by Music/MajorLazer, and "Let Me Love You" by DJ Snake only became Top 10 hits because of Bieber being the lead singer.
92* As time went on, "Nothin' on You" and "Billionaire" have become more and more associated with Bruno Mars, as his career launched into the stratosphere, and less and less with respective lead artists B.o.B. and Travie [=McCoy=].
93** This also happened with "Uptown Funk!" It's actually by Mark Ronson featuring Mars, but most Americans had never heard of Ronson before the song came out, and tend to think of it as a Mars song.
94* "Scream & Shout" took off in America thanks to Britney Spears and ''Series/TheXFactor.'' will.i.am was starting to fade to irrelevancy at that point, so he wasn't really responsible for the song's success. He wasn't overshadowed as badly in Europe, though.
95* "Take Care" is the title track to Music/{{Drake}}'s second studio album and its biggest hit. It's better recognized as a Music/{{Rihanna}} song.
96** Drake's been at the other end of the spectrum as well. "Tuesday" by I Love Makonnen featured a guest verse from Drake. Google search trends make it clear that the public mostly identifies it with Drake.
97* ''Music/BrianJonesPresentsThePipesOfPanAtJajouka''. [[Music/BrianJones He]] only produced it, but he doesn't appear anywhere on the actual album; the project was performed entirely by the Master Musicians of Jajouka, a Moroccan folk group.
98* This happens in music videos at times. For Music/{{Coldplay}}'s video "Magic", actress Zhang Ziyi and director Jonas Akerlund were billed before the title.
99* The 2000 single "Out Of Your Mind" by True Steppers featuring Dane Bowers and Victoria Beckham (the subject of a much-publicised UK "chart battle" with Spiller's "Groovejet", which it lost), was generally at the time and almost universally now, thought of purely as a Victoria Beckham single.
100* "Meant to Be" by Music/BebeRexha topped the Hot Country Songs charts in December 2017 simply because Music/FloridaGeorgiaLine is featured on it. The song had negligible country radio airplay at the time, but strong all-genre downloads and the presence of a country music act on guest vocals allowed ''Billboard'' to qualify it for the country charts. Subverted in 2018 when the song was actually released to country radio, causing it to become a #1 hit on Country Airplay as well.
101* Originally, Music/TracyLawrence's 2007 hit "Find Out Who Your Friends Are" was a solo song, and it performed slowly on the charts due to it being an independent release by a former 90s act who was already well past his prime. But after he remixed the song to feature both Music/TimMcGraw and Music/KennyChesney on guest vocals, it started taking off and became his first #1 hit in eleven years. In addition, virtually all recurrent play for the song is the version with [=McGraw=] and Chesney on it.
102[[/folder]]
103
104[[folder:Professional Wrestling]]
105* Posters for upcoming pay-per-view events will often feature one of the most popular Divas (Wrestling/{{WWE}}) or Knockouts (Wrestling/{{TNA}}) as mascots for the event, [[WolverinePublicity even if the woman in question never appears in the show at all]]. The worst case was when Wrestling/CandiceMichelle posed on the poster for the 2007 edition of ''Cyber Sunday'', despite the fact that she'd injured her neck a few weeks earlier and wasn't seen in WWE again for several months.
106** Although there was justification for that because posters are made several months in advance, so of course an injury to an advertised superstar kinda renders that poster moot. Still falls under the trope when someone like Wrestling/MariaKanellis would appear on a show's poster but not on the show itself because there's no place or story for them; these posters are simply for [[MsFanservice eye-candy.]]
107* Semi-justified (and even a kind of FridgeBrilliance) in the case of the poster for the 2006 ''Royal Rumble''. It showed the entire [=McMahon=] family - Vince, Shane, Stephanie, even Linda - dressed as Roman patricians in the Colosseum (other than the fact that the event was being held in Miami, Florida, one of the most "Latin" cities in the United States, the ancient Roman motif wasn't really relevant). As it happens, Vince and Shane ''do'' make an appearance during the Rumble match, conspiring to eliminate Wrestling/ShawnMichaels from the contest - but Wrestling/{{Edge|Wrestler}}, Wrestling/JohnCena, Wrestling/KurtAngle, Wrestling/MarkHenry, and Royal Rumble winner [[spoiler:Rey Mysterio]] were certainly more important.
108* Wrestling/TheUndertaker appears on the Armageddon 1999 poster, a pay per view he didn't even attend.
109** Obviously more understandable in a wrestling context than most of the other examples on this page, promotional items are printed months in advance and in examples like the above plans change due to injures such as the one the Undertaker suffered in the run up to the Armageddon PPV.
110[[/folder]]
111
112[[folder:Theatre]]
113* ''Theatre/TheKingAndI'' was originally conceived as a star vehicle for Gertrude Lawrence, who got top billing (and note that the show's title is "The King and '''I'''"). It's probably for the better that Creator/YulBrynner was so memorable as the King, as Lawrence ''died'' during the original Broadway run.
114* Creator/AlPacino in a recent run of [[http://www.merchantonbroadway.com/wp-content/uploads/2011/06/merchant_poster.jpg The Merchant of Venice]] on Broadway.
115** To be fair though, the order that parts are listed in the Folios for all of Shakespeare's plays are a little odd.
116** The usual method is to divide characters by gender and then list them by social prominence. So if there's a king who only appears in one scene and your main character is a merchant, the king gets top billing.
117* ''Theatre/ThePhantomOfTheOpera'' almost always bills the actor playing the Phantom first and gives him the final bow, despite the fact that Christine is clearly the protagonist, is on stage for nearly the entire show, and in most productions, the actress playing her does only six of the eight shows a week due to the demanding nature of the part.
118[[/folder]]
119
120[[folder:Video Games]]
121* A lot of hype was given to Creator/PatrickStewart appearing in ''VideoGame/TheElderScrollsIVOblivion''. He dies at the end of the tutorial mission.
122** Many critics felt the same way about Creator/LiamNeeson in ''VideoGame/{{Fallout 3}}''. While he lasts longer than Patrick Stewart's Emperor Septim, he appears in surprisingly few missions [[spoiler:and dies before the main quest is half over]].
123** In both cases, it was considered WorthIt by the fans, especially so for Neeson, [[spoiler: whose character performs a HeroicSacrifice]]
124* In ''VideoGame/GrandTheftAutoIV'', Timothy Adams got third billing as Brucie Kibbutz, who has no involvement in the main plot of the game.
125** Likewise, Lynda Ashe was billed third for her role as Janet Vance in ''VideoGame/GrandTheftAutoViceCityStories'', despite appearing in only one mission.
126* You can expect {{FMV Game}}s to do this whenever there is a Hollywood-level actor on-screen even for a couple of minutes. Some examples include:
127** ''VideoGame/BlackDahlia'', which has Dennis Hopper in a small role.
128** ''[[VideoGame/TexMurphy Under a Killing Moon]]'' prominently displays the three best-known professional actors involved on the back of the box, though they all have little screentime. These are all relatively minor celebrities, such as Creator/MargotKidder, who is best known for playing Lois Lane in the four consecutive Film/{{Superman|The Movie}}[[Film/SupermanII movies]].
129** ''VideoGame/{{Ripper}}'' put Christopher Walken, Karen Allen, Burgess Meredith, and John Rhys-Davies on the cover art, none of whom portrayed the main character. Scott Cohen, the protagonist of the game, is billed fifth in the ending credits.
130* A lot of attention was given to the fact that the ''Film/MeanGirls'' UsefulNotes/NintendoDS game (which was most likely cancelled at the last minute, at least in America) left Creator/LindsayLohan - who played the main character - off the cover art, showing just the original Plastics. Lohan is a big name, [[FormerChildStar just not in a good way]].
131* Fi in ''VideoGame/TheLegendOfZeldaSkywardSword'' gets what is essentially top billing, being featured prominently on the cover and in promotional materials. While she ''is'' a major presence, she's really just an ExpositionFairy who has little bearing on the plot, unlike Midna in ''[[VideoGame/TheLegendOfZeldaTwilightPrincess Twilight Princess]]''.
132* ''VideoGame/ShinMegamiTenseiIIINocturne'' featured Dante from the ''VideoGame/DevilMayCry'' series in its western release, and his presence was more heavily touted in Europe, where the game had a completely different box art, with Dante alongside the Demi-fiend and the memetic "Featuring Dante from the Devil May Cry series!" Stamp, Just in case you didn't notice Dante taking half of the box art. But in the game itself, only the first encounter with him is mandatory. In fact one can actually finish the game without seeing or hearing from him again, and the next time you see him, if you want to, is near the ending of the optional dungeon, so you've almost finished the game at this point.
133* ''VideoGame/DCUniverseOnline'' has three possible mentors for both heroes and villains. On the hero side, it's Batman, Superman, and Wonder Woman. On the villain side, it's the Joker, Lex Luthor, and Circe. Again, the box shows the mentors. Batman, Superman, Wonder Woman, Joker, Lex Luthor... and Catwoman.
134* ''VideoGame/KnightsOfTheOldRepublic'': The second game has Darth Nihilus dominating the cover. Unfortunately, he only appears in two scenes and contributed little to the game's plot!
135** Atris is in a similar position to Nihilus. In promotional art she even appeared literally opposite of him, both as the counterpart face of the Lightside of the Force on the official site and elsewhere, and shown doing battle with him in a couple of art pieces. On the cover, she is also shown battling a random Sith assassin. However, not only does she also have only two or three major appearances, but in none of those appearances does she battle Nihilus or any Sith whatsoever. In fact, ironically enough, [[spoiler: she actually serves as more of an obstacle to the PlayerCharacter in those brief appearances that she does make, and in her last appearance, it turns out she had been corrupted by the Darkside of the Force, and briefly serves as a full-fledge minor antagonist.]]
136* ''VideoGame/FinalFantasyXIII2'': Lightning, the protagonist of XIII, was featured very heavily in the promotion of the game. Heck, she's also on the front cover of the OST and all regional box art, has dozens of posters, was featured in almost every trailer (in fact, she was the focus of the announcement trailer), etc. How much screen time does she have? She's in the intro (about 20 minutes including gameplay), she narrates here and there, and she makes a few appearances throughout the rest of the game making for a total of 30 minutes of screen time with a bit of narration. Meanwhile, Serah (her sister) is billed as the main protagonist (Lightning is actually billed last on the credit roll) along with her companion, Noel. It is these two whom you see for a majority of the cutscenes and who you play as for 99% of the game.
137* Although ''VideoGame/ResidentEvil6'' features an ensemble cast of protagonists, Leon S. Kennedy gets the most focus in promotional ads. Some have argued that three of the playable characters being new, Sherry [[TheBusCameBack came back after being seen in an earlier game from 1998]], and Chris being recently seen in ''VideoGame/ResidentEvil5'' and ''VideoGame/ResidentEvilRevelations'' have put Leon in the top spot because Leon is the most recognizable and prominent of the ''Resident Evil'' cast, by dint of his rather distinguishable look and starring in two of the most financially and critically successful games in the series. But it's unnerving, given that ''6'' is the first game that features Leon and Chris together.
138* Mickey is at the first plan on the cover of ''VideoGame/KingdomHearts358DaysOver2''. In game, he only appears in one short cutscene.
139* ''VideoGame/DissidiaFinalFantasy'' has a big EnsembleCast of ''Final Fantasy'' heroes, with every hero of roughly equal importance to the story (with the closest character to being a protagonist actually the Warrior of Light from the original, ''VideoGame/FinalFantasyI''). However, the ending credits list [[VideoGame/FinalFantasyVII Cloud and Sephiroth's]] names first, due to their game being the fan favorite; and then lists all the others in numerical order.
140* The boxart for ''VideoGame/SkylandersSpyrosAdventure'' puts the titular character to the right side of the group lineup while Stealth Elf takes dead center.
141* Despite not portraying one of the game's eight playable protagonists, Peter Stormare is billed second in ''VideoGame/UntilDawn'', below Creator/HaydenPanettiere (the most recognizable member of the cast [[spoiler: and playing the character with the most PlotArmor, since Sam is not in mortal danger until the final act]]); ''fourth''-billed Creator/BrettDalton plays Mike, who gets more screen time than anyone else.
142* While Creator/KevinSpacey does portray an important character in ''VideoGame/CallOfDutyAdvancedWarfare'', he gets top billing over literally everyone else in the cast. In fact, in the credits, only Spacey is listed by the character he portrayed. Creator/TroyBaker, who plays the game's protagonist, is dead last in the credits.
143* In ''VideoGame/CrashTeamRacingNitroFueled'', Tiny Tiger has been moved up from fifth in [[VideoGame/CrashTeamRacing the original game]] to third in the new character select, likely due to his popularity as a Speed-class character.
144* In ''VideoGame/TheLastOfUsPartII'', Troy Baker is billed second. [[spoiler: His character ends up dying relatively early in the game, and though he appears a few more times in flashback sequences, he doesn't get anywhere near as much screen time as Shannon Woodward, who is not listed in the opening credits at all.]]
145* ''VideoGame/TheQuarry'' bills Creator/DavidArquette first in the announcement trailer, and is the most prominent person on the box art. This is despite the fact that he's not one of the playable characters. [[spoiler:Arquette is barely in the game at all, only appearing in 2 out of the 10 chapters, one of which is little more than a cameo (he appears in werewolf form in 1-2 more chapters.)]] Creator/ArielWinter and Creator/HalstonSage are both playable characters and are billed second and fifth respectively. Winter and Sage are FAR from the main characters that their billing would imply (this honor goes to Creator/JusticeSmith, billed third, Creator/BrendaSong, billed fourth, and [[spoiler:Siobhan Williams, billed sixth).]] [[spoiler:Both Winter and Sage are barely featured past the first act of the game, and can both be killed off before its conclusion (Winter in Chapter 6 and Sage in Chapter 4).]] Compare this to Miles Robbins, billed ninth, who is easily the biggest character in the game outside of Smith, Song, and Williams. Creator/TedRaimi, billed eleventh, is not a playable character, but is much more important to the plot and receives more screen time than about half the playable characters, and especially Arquette.
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149* Netflix features cover images often with stills of supporting characters if they are a fairly big name actor. For example both ''Film/MyGirl'' films feature the friend/love interest versus Veda the actual main character of the films. ''Film/TheLovelyBones'' features Mark Wahlberg despite being the main characters father and ''Film/ValentinesDay'' features Music/TaylorSwift despite having less than ten minutes of screentime.
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153* ''WesternAnimation/TheAvengersEarthsMightiestHeroes'':
154** Amazon's listing for the sixth and final volume the American DVD releases gives top billing to the ComicBook/TheIncredibleHulk, who only appears in two of the twelve included episodes.
155** Their listings for the first four volumes give top billing to voice actors instead of fictional characters, but never to ComicBook/IronMan's voice actor, Eric Loomis.
156* A bit of an odd example in ''WesternAnimation/HarveyBirdmanAttorneyAtLaw'': the episode "The Dabba Don", a parody that imagines ''WesternAnimation/TheFlintstones'' as ''Series/TheSopranos'', had an opening credits sequence that parodied the Sopranos opening. Barney Rubble gets second placement in the credits, despite only appearing in one cameo scene and the TwistEnding. [[spoiler: Given said Twist Ending reveals he's the ''real'' mafia boss and not Fred, it makes a little more sense.]] Conversely, Harvey Birdman, despite being the title character of the series, and being co-protagonist alongside Fred Flintstone, only gets ''fifth'' billing. Phil Ken Sebben (who only appears in one scene), and Peanut (who's Harvey's ''assistant'') get higher billing than him.
157* On ''Literature/LlamaLlama'', Creator/JenniferGarner, as the CelebrityVoiceActor of Mama Llama is billed on her own screen in the credits as "Starring the voice of MAMA LLAMA - Jennifer Garner." Everybody else, including Shayle Simons as lead character Llama Llama is billed on the next credits screen, "Also starring the voices of."
158* On ''WesternAnimation/MissSpidersSunnyPatchFriends'', for his role as Spiderus, Creator/TonyJay is billed above everyone else as "Featuring Tony Jay as Spiderus" and appears above everyone else except for "Kristin Davis as Miss Spider," who gets her own credit before everyone else. This is despite the fact that Spiderus doesn't even appear at all in some stories and, when he does, he often only appears in a minor guest role.
159** Later, Kristin Davis' credit was dropped, giving Jay ''first billing''.
160* Cablevision's listings for ''WesternAnimation/TheLoudHouse'' list Fred Willard, the voice of Pop-Pop, as the main actor, despite the character not appearing in every episode, likely because he is the most well-known name in the cast of the show. His name even showed up on an early listing for ''WesternAnimation/TheCasagrandes'', as well as the [[PoorlyDisguisedPilot Casagrande-centric episode]] "No Show", which he has no presence in either.
161* Disney Junior shows ''WesternAnimation/SofiaTheFirst'', ''WesternAnimation/{{Vampirina}}'', and ''WesternAnimation/Eureka2022'' place the voice of TheHero in the middle, with supporting voices between them.
162* The promotional art for the ''WesternAnimation/SofiaTheFirst''[=/=]''WesternAnimation/ElenaOfAvalor'' crossover "Elena and the Secret of Avalor" has Elena front and center while Sofia is behind her. It's ''Sofia'' who's the main star, and Elena isn't released until the second half of the special.
163* ''WesternAnimation/ProducingParker'' is sometimes marketed as "''Producing Parker'' with Creator/KimCattrall" as well as the actor being put first in the credits despite not voicing the main character. Though the character she does voice, Dee, is [[MinorMajorCharacter the most important in-universe]], being the star of [[ShowWithinAShow the talk show]] the characters work at.
164* ''WesternAnimation/WinxClub'': In the Season 1 Cinélume intro, for the show's IntroductoryOpeningCredits, Stella was up first, while Bloom, TheHero, was introduced fourth. The end credits avert this, with Bloom always at the top. Averted for later opening credits where Bloom was the first introduced.
165* Most pressings of the ''WesternAnimation/{{Zeroman}}'' complete series DVD set list Creator/RyanReynolds' name on the top, and no one else's. Not only did he not play the title character (that would be Creator/LeslieNielsen), the character Ryan ''did'' play isn't even pictured!
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