Hvad hedder filmen?

Because Danish usually uses hedde when talking about names.

• hedde = to be called / to have the name
• hedder = present tense, is called

So:

• Hvad hedder filmen? = What is the movie called?

Using er would not be the normal way to ask for a name in Danish.

Compare:

• Han hedder Jonas. = He is called Jonas.
• Bogen hedder ... = The book is called ...
• Filmen hedder ... = The movie is called ...

Filmen means the movie or the film.

In Danish, the definite article is often added to the end of the noun instead of being a separate word.

• en film = a movie
• filmen = the movie

So the -en ending here is the definite form.

This is very common in Danish:

• en bog → bogen = the book
• en bil → bilen = the car
• en film → filmen = the movie

Because Danish main clauses usually follow the verb-second pattern.

In a question with a question word:

1. the question word comes first
2. the finite verb comes second
3. the subject comes after that

So:

• Hvad = question word
• hedder = finite verb
• filmen = subject

That gives:

• Hvad hedder filmen?

Hvad filmen hedder is not normally a complete main question. But it can appear inside a larger sentence, for example:

• Jeg ved ikke, hvad filmen hedder. = I don't know what the movie is called.

So:

• Hvad hedder filmen? = correct as a direct question
• ... hvad filmen hedder = correct inside a subordinate clause

In normal modern Danish, the h in hvad is usually silent.

So hvad is pronounced roughly like:

• vad

For an English speaker, that is a good practical approximation.

The exact Danish vowel is a little different from English a, but vad is close enough to get started.

Hedder is pronounced roughly like:

• HE-thuh
• or more carefully, something like HE-dhur

A few useful notes:

• the first syllable is stressed: HE-
• the d is a soft Danish d, often a bit like the th in this
• the final -er is usually weak and reduced

So an English-friendly approximation of the whole sentence is:

• Vad HE-thuh filmen?

That is not perfect native pronunciation, but it is a useful learner version.

It can definitely be used for things.

Danish uses hedde for the names of:

• people
• animals
• places
• books
• films
• songs
• companies
• and more

Examples:

• Hvad hedder du? = What is your name?
• Hvad hedder hunden? = What is the dog called?
• Hvad hedder byen? = What is the city called?
• Hvad hedder filmen? = What is the movie called?

So this sentence is completely natural.

Yes, that is understandable, but it is less natural in everyday Danish.

• Hvad er filmens navn? literally means What is the movie’s name?
• Hvad hedder filmen? is the normal, idiomatic way to ask

So a learner should strongly prefer:

• Hvad hedder filmen?

It sounds more natural and more like what Danes usually say.

The base form is hedde.

• at hedde = to be called
• hedder = present tense

So this sentence is in the present tense.

Related forms:

• at hedde = infinitive
• hedder = present
• hed = past

Examples:

• Filmen hedder ... = The movie is called ...
• Filmen hed ... = The movie was called ...

Yes.

If everyone already knows which movie you mean, Danish often uses den:

• Hvad hedder den? = What is it called?

That is very natural in conversation.

Use filmen when you want to name the noun clearly, and den when the reference is already obvious from context.