Movies trailers are everywhere: TV, the mall, before other movies, just to name a few. Sometimes you even see unwanted trailers before videos on sites like YouTube, making it hard to avoid spoilers before a movie is released. The problem is that nobody wants to pay money to watch a movie when they feel like they've already seen 90% of it.
Understandably, studios want to push upcoming releases as hard as possible. After all, they need to make their money - and more - back. Minions: The Rise Of Gru, for instance, cost a reported $85M to make and that's not including marketing costs. But trailers that give away too much of the movie are becoming an annoying trend, and these are the worst offenders according to Reddit.
Doctor Strange In The Multiverse Of Madness (2022)
There's a lot to like about the Doctor Strange movies: strong acting, interesting plots, and mind-blowing special effects. But some Redditors thought the marketing of Doctor Strange In The Multiverse Of Madness was too aggressive and the trailers practically gave away the entire movie.
User karavasis says: "I've seen the movie at this point just in trailer footage alone." This entire Reddit thread was started by a user who intentionally avoided watching too many trailers for the movie and was glad they did. Doctor Strange In The Multiverse Of Madness is now available to stream with a Disney+ subscription so at least MCU fans won't lose too much cash if they feel disappointed.
Ambulance (2022)
Jake Gyllenhaal stars as a bad guy who hijacks an ambulance to use as a getaway vehicle after a botched robbery. Directed by action aficionado Michael Bay, Ambulance didn't connect with audiences but it was sure fun for the audience to root against the protagonist for once.
One reason moviegoers may have stayed at home is they felt the trailer showed the entire movie. Jekkelstein commented: "Listen, I understand that the plot is super unconventional and you had to show it in the trailer. But it felt like the whole movie was shown here." User griffshan wasn't happy with the amount of footage given away, either, rhetorically asking: "So we just show the entire film how it plays out in trailers now?"
Nope (2022)
There's a lot of excitement around Jordan Peele's Nope, his long-awaited follow-up to the excellent Us. Peele has a knack for building tension in his movies and frightening viewers without having to over use jump scares. Some of his fans are trying to avoid watching trailers for Nope altogether and feel his movies are the most impactful when you don't know much about them.
Redditor futurespacecadet says modern trailers "chronologically spoil the whole plot for you." The trailer for Nope certainly gives away some of the plot, setting, and even humor, so if viewers who want to be surprised should follow the path set out by user Plops__: "Stopped watching trailers long time ago, regret nothing".
Morbius (2022)
In Morbius, Jared Leto stars as Dr. Michael Morbius, an experimental scientist suffering from a rare blood disorder. Dr. Morbius attempts to save his own life and those of others in the future by trying a new procedure on himself, but it backfires and turns him into a bloodthirsty vampire-type creature.
Morbius faired poorly at the box office but has done well on streaming platforms. Oddly, the trailer would spoil scenes at the end of the movie. Revolutionary-Bee135 says: "The end credit scenes were spoiled in the trailers. What the...?" Despite the spoilers, fans have found comfort in creating some pretty funny Morbius memes.
The Unbearable Weight Of Massive Talent (2022)
Nicolas Cage plays a version of himself in this self-referential comedy. Down on his luck and facing financial ruin, Cage takes a gig to appear at a wealthy family's birthday party. In a strange twist, Cage is recruited by the CIA and is forced to play his previous film characters to get out of a mess.
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The synopsis is promising but some fans thought the previews showed too much Nicolas Cage. After watching the trailer, Redditor thomas2026 said: "This was cool but I had to stop watching before it gave away the whole damn movie." Others agreed and wished the trailer showed more restraint. "Well now I know the whole plot," colin8696908 complains.
The Lost City (2022)
Loretta Sage (Sandra Bullock) writes adventure novels featuring a hero named Alan (Channing Tatum) When Loretta is kidnapped and forced to help a billionaire find a hidden treasure from one of her novels, Alan is determined to show her that he can be a hero in real life, too. The Lost City had some cringe-worthy scenes, but overall it was a fun rom-com action movie that didn't take itself too seriously.
While most of the Reddit reactions to The Lost City were positive, Lunasera had mixed feelings, saying that Bullock and Tatum "have great comedic chemistry" but also the "trailers gave away too many of the funny bits". A major spoiler revealed in the trailer was a cameo from Brad Pitt, which Redditor JediJones77 calls "another thing that was almost fully chronicled in the trailer".
The Batman (2022)
The Batman arrived to some pretty lofty expectations in 2022. DCU fans were hungry for a different version of the character after Ben Affleck's darker, more mature takes on Bruce Wayne. Director Matt Reeves was charged with creating a trailer that generated hype but also showed enough restraint to keep fans guessing where his epic crime thriller would go.
Both fan and critical reactions to the movie were overwhelmingly positive, and The Batman could be up for an Oscar in 2023. That didn't stop some Redditors from voicing their concerns about spoilers, though. Bobinton2006 argues: "I really hate the fact they showed Riddler getting caught in the trailer, would've been way more interesting if we saw it for the first time in the movie." MrBatman2531 agrees, adding: "Not to mention some of the action scenes like him (Batman) beating up that thug to a pulp."
Venom: Let There Be Carnage (2021)
After the events of Venom (2018), Eddie Brock (Tom Hardy) is still struggling to cope with the alien symbiote infecting his body. When killer Cletus Kassidy (Woody Harrelson) is also infected with the symbiote, Brock must find a way to embrace his new identity and prevent Kassidy from turning into Carnage and creating more chaos.
High-budget superhero movies want to generate as much buzz as possible but the trailer for Venom: Let There Be Carnage didn't excite some viewers. "Not too excited for this. I think we're in an age where superhero movies need to move beyond the hero and villain having the same powers," said O5CR. Redditor danielcookscoolokay took issue with the lighting in the trailer, stating: "The lighting in this just makes it it look so weird. Like they made everything darker for some reason?"
Jurassic World: Dominion (2022)
Fans were excited to see characters like Dr. Alan Grant (Sam Neil), Dr. Ellie Sattler (Laura Dern), and Dr. Ian Malcolm return to the Jurassic World franchise, but their return - among other plot points - were ruined in the trailer. Reddit user wellimjustthere took issue with the number of dinosaurs in the previews, stating: "They really did show every single dinosaur in the trailers".
Striking-Platypus-72, on the other hand, took issue with a different aspect of the trailer, saying it "implies world spanning issues of dinos and humans sharing the same world" but that the film itself is "just locusts." Not only was the trailer misleading and spoiler-heavy, the movie Jurassic World: Dominion still didn't make dinosaurs right.
Fantastic Beasts: The Secrets Of Dumbledore
Harry Potter fans are as hardcore as they come. Some Hogwarts fanatics are so familiar with the characters, settings, and spinoffs that it's nearly impossible to surprise them. Still, the trailer for Fantastic Beasts: The Secrets of Dumbledore was pretty detailed, with Redditor SleepyOllow commenting: "I think 90% of the film's scenes were in the trailers."
User Bottom-CH took it a step further, believing "a lot of cool shots from the trailer had zero significance in the actual film". The Secrets of Dumbledore subsequently had the lowest opening weekend of all the Harry Potter movies. The film cost $200USD to make so they should've kept some of those pricey scenes out of the trailer.