Don't let your trailer write checks your movie can't cash. The studio marketing teams behind some major Hollywood films should consider adopting this mantra. But they probably won't because their job is to make people look forward to an upcoming film. And if they have to lie to do it, then so be it.
Ideally, a trailer is meant to tease, not to mislead. It's meant to give audiences a tiny bite so they can crave for more. But sometimes what appears in the trailer doesn't end up appearing in the movie. Sometimes this is deliberate and sometimes it's due to the fact that the specific scene was cut while doing the final editing. Either way, fans are normally not happy about it. Here are trailers that lied about the story.
Suicide Squad (2016)
The first culprit is quite obvious, right? All hopes were on Suicide Squad to save the DCEU after Batman v Superman: Dawn of Justice was poorly received. The movie had a star-studded cast that included Margot Robbie, Jared Leto, and Will Smith. What could go wrong?
The answer is... everything. Especially when the trailer lied about what the movie was really about. The teasers made fans believe that Suicide Squad was a movie about the Joker leading other Gotham villains in causing havoc. Jared Leto's Joker was used heavily in all promotional material but ended up having very little screentime in the movie.
Drive (2011)
There's something not right about naming a movie Drive yet there is very little driving in it. It's even worse when the trailer suggests the film is a competitor for the Fast & Furious films. The trailer was full of chase scenes and well-choreographed fight scenes.
However, the movie also had very few fights. Critics loved it because of the solid plot and Ryan Gosling's dedicated performance but the action was all too minimal. A disappointed woman from Michigan went on to sue the distributor of the film for false advertising.
Godzilla (2014)
Back in 2014, Bryan Cranston was as popular as ever. He was still Walter White in the AMC series Breaking Bad so any movie he'd star in was guaranteed to be a huge success. The marketing team behind Godzilla took advantage of his star power and packed the trailer with his face.
Everyone couldn't wait to see the master of chemistry dealing with monsters. However, Cranston as Joe Brody is only in the movie for about 30 minutes. Most of the focus is on his son Ford Brody who is an army lieutenant tracking Godzilla.
Sweeney Todd: The Demon Barber of Fleet Street (2007)
A lot of people went to watch the movie thinking it was a dark period slasher film. Well, that's what the trailer made it out to be. They had no idea it was a musical. 70% of the film consisted of the characters singing not-so-good songs and this shocked audiences.
Some felt the movie wasted Johnny Depp's abilities. He would have been better off going on a rampage and killing dozens of people instead of trying to be like Adele on the Grammy stage. But Sweeney Todd has been a Broadway musical for a long time, so we can only blame the marketers of the film for not making it clear.
Avengers: Infinity War (2018)
The Infinity War trailer featured a euphoric clip of all the heroes running together in Wakanda. Hulk was shown too in his angry green form, ready to knock out everyone. But he never appeared as portrayed. Instead, it was Bruce Banner wearing the Hulkbuster suit.
The trailer also showed Captain America fighting with Thanos in Wakanda. Cap was holding back the Gauntlet hand which showed that he had only collected two infinity stones at that point. This meant there was still a lot of work for him to do. However, in this specific scene in the movie, he is only missing one stone.
Jarhead (2005)
The trailer of Jarhead made it look like it was a blend of Saving Private Ryan and a Rambo movie. There was plenty of action in the trailer about the Gulf War movie starring Jamie Foxx and Jake Gyllenhaal. Foxx was fresh from winning an Oscar so he was a huge draw.
And with a Kanye West song as a soundtrack, viewers knew they were in for a treat. Sadly, the movie was full of endless tension and conversations. The action scenes only covered a tiny fraction of the movie's running time. In the end, Jarhead appeared to have a clear message: War is boring!
Star Wars: The Force Awakens (2015)
The Force Awakens is undoubtedly one of the best movies in the franchise. It grossed $2.1 billion at the box and it was well-received by critics (93% on Rotten Tomatoes). However, some of the trailers for the movie promised us a few things that never happened.
For example, there was a stylishly shot scene in the trailers showing Kylo Ren using his Proto-saber to defend himself in a forest. This was missing in the movie. Maz was also shown giving her brother's lightsaber to Leia but this was missing too.
After Earth (2013)
Will Smith went on record to state that this is a movie he regrets doing. He described it as "the most painful failure in my career." It pretty much killed his son Jayden's career too, before it even took off. The post-apocalyptic film also got a dismal 11% score on Rotten Tomatoes.
The trailer implied that the movie had Will Smith as the main man with his son, Jayden as a co-star. So, logically, most people went to the cinema to see Will. However, Cypher Raige (Will Smith) breaks his legs very early in the film and his son is left to traverse the post-apocalyptic world on his own the rest of the film.
Predators (2010)
When the best part about a trailer is modified in the film, there's a huge problem. At the very end of the trailer for Predators, several predator laser lights appear on US Special Operations Forces veteran Adrien Brody's body in quick succession. His body eventually gets lit up with red dots.
It was a good way to let the viewers know that this time, there would be many threats (Predators, rather than just a predator). However, in the film, only one laser light appears on Brody's body, making the scene less iconic. Had the others ran out of alien battery?
Kangaroo Jack (2003)
A kangaroo that can rap? Two criminals tracking it in the semi-arid plains of Australia? Bring it on. Kangaroo Jack's trailer made it look like the perfect movie for kids and many parents must have taken their children to the cinema. However, the movie is pretty violent with plenty of adult jokes.
The kangaroo also doesn't talk, let alone rap. It just does so once in a dream sequence. Critics bashed the movie and it currently sits at 8% on Rotten Tomatoes. The weirdest thing is that this non-child-friendly comedy won a Kids’ Choice Award for “Favorite Fart in a Movie.” Wow!