In an era of over-saturation, audiences are constantly bombarded by trailers and advertisements while watching tv, scrolling social media, or sitting in a theater. It’s entirely possible that you may involuntarily stumble upon the same trailer for the same film multiple times a day just because the almighty algorithm pins you as a sucker for witty rom-coms or high-concept sci-fi. Small jokes, subtle (or massive) plot points, and clever foreshadowing are engrained in our memories, allowing modern audiences time and opportunity to chew on these beats and, at times, easily guess the plot, twist, or ending before they even walk into the theater and eat their first piece of popcorn.
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With over-saturation can come over-speculation. Moments after a movie trailer release, armies of YouTubers and fans are intensely combing footage in hyper slow-motion, breaking down every available clip and trailer frame-by-frame to extrapolate each twist and turn beat-for-beat. While the thrill of the search for hidden clues and easter eggs can be fun and enthralling, it begs the question: are some movie trailers ruining our expectations of the final product?
Spoiled or Not?
Warner Bros. Discovery
Most movie trailers aren’t controlled by the film’s director or producing studio; they’re often outsourced to trailer houses like Mark Woollen & Associates and Kandoo Films. These studios specialize in cutting together trailers based on targeted demographics and detailed marketing strategies. While these trailer houses are populated with talented artists that often produce stunning trailers that function to sell a finished product, they sometimes fail to stay a step ahead of a modern audience trying to solve the mystery the second a trailer grabs their attention. At times, this can backfire when a trailer or marketing campaign either oversells or misrepresents the film.
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In the case of a trailer misrepresenting or overselling, the portrayed footage and tone may risk leading the audience’s expectations in drastically different directions, and the reality of the product may not live up to intense speculation during a film’s marketing cycle. Can expectations tarnish the perception of a movie? A hypothetical question: if a film critic could experience a movie for the first time twice in their life, once without witnessing any previous marketing and once after watching some marketing material, which would they prefer? There’s something special about watching a movie with little-to-no information.
In many ways, if we strip away the expensive marketing campaigns and analytics on demographic quadrants, that’s precisely how most movies are made to be seen. Often, a movie trailer will spoil information that’s revealed early in the film, and while many would argue that it is a minor gripe, the film’s flow and intent would say otherwise. It’s a moment that could play for a hard-hitting emotional beat or shock value if an oversharing marketing campaign hasn’t spoiled you, like any of the trailers (more like summaries) for Zack Snyder’s Batman v. Superman: Dawn of Justice, for example.
The Art of the Trailer
Searchlight Pictures
Should trailer studios stop making trailers or completely change their successful marketing paradigms? Absolutely not. Should film directors and producing studios have more creative control over their trailers? Possibly.
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Well-made trailers can add to the overall intrigue of a film. As audiences evolve, trailers must evolve with them. In recent years, Marvel Studios have employed CGI fakery to alter characters, plot points, and environments to stay ahead of trailer sleuths. Christopher Nolan creates concise and ambiguous trailers to maintain his project’s secrecy while feeding just enough information to satiate the audience. These trailer styles seem to be the most effective; snapshots of a film’s feeling and ambiance, a glimpse into a meticulously crafted world and its cast of vibrant characters.
Audiences don’t need the entire plot spelled out for them; they don’t need a trailer that promises one thing and delivers another. They need a feeling, a subtle understanding that the world studios are pitching to them is worth their time and hard-earned money. The trailer for 2022’s standout, The Menu, is a perfect example of selling us a true snapshot of a film without revealing any of the plot’s trajectory.
The average consumer sees more trailers than ever in an era where our phones act as tv screens, giving trailer houses and producers more opportunities to get creative with the trailers we consume. While speculation over upcoming films will always exist and may only grow more robust, it’s possible to preserve the magic of the movies by remaining a step ahead of curious audiences that yearn to leave a theater in awe, despite trying to guess all the answers beforehand.
A movie trailer, after all, is an art form in itself; a snappy first impression that can bring an audience in like moths to the flame or repel them completely. Despite the multiple stances on trailers, one thing is for certain: the best movie trailers can enhance the overall experience; the worst can ruin it altogether.
