10 Great Movies With Weak Trailers (2024)

Movie trailers have the most important task of any marketing, selling audiences on the bold and imaginative journeys of these delightful productions. Some of the greatest films have earned a gigantic Box Office because of their excellent trailers, which did a spectacular job of showing why audiences needed to see them. However, sometimes these trailers can miss the mark, and undersell a movie that turns out to be a fantastic watch. Following the recent D23 convention, which revealed new trailers for Mufasa: The Lion King and Snow White, audiences are disclosing the worst trailers for the best films.

While these motion pictures proved a hit with audiences, their trailers proved less than impressive. They failed to show the amount of love and dedication pumped into the finished product, making the movies appear generic and uninteresting. Sometimes these trailers also reveal too much about the films that they are advertising, making viewers feel as though they have seen the movie already.

10 Venom's Trailer Suggests It Is A Generic Sci-Fi Thriller

Venom

PG-13

Action-Adventure

Sci-Fi

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A failed reporter is bonded to an alien entity, one of many symbiotes who have invaded Earth. But the being takes a liking to Earth and decides to protect it.

Director

Ruben Fleischer

Release Date

October 5, 2018

Cast

Tom Hardy , Michelle Williams , Riz Ahmed , Scott Haze , Reid Scott

Runtime

112 minutes

Sony's announcement of Venom was hit with skepticism in 2017, due to audiences being underwhelmed by the idea of a Spider-Man universe without Spider-Man. Fortunately, the film turned out to be a fun buddy-cop comedy, following Daily Bugle reporter Eddie Brock's unlikely bond with the violent symbiote, Venom. Venom's trailer contained none of this promise, seemingly confirming fans' fears.

Venom's trailer suggests the movie to be a run-of-the-mill sci-fi thriller, showing Eddie screaming while using an MRI machine to separate Venom from his body. It depicts a more serious and grounded tone than the eventual Venom movie, with Eddie and Venom flinging people across rooms and hanging them by their necks.

9 The World's End Is An Amusing Comedy Spoiled By The Trailer's Twist Reveal

The World's End

R

Sci-Fi

Comedy

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Five friends who reunite in an attempt to top their epic pub crawl from twenty years earlier unwittingly become humanity's only hope for survival.

Director

Edgar Wright

Release Date

August 23, 2013

Cast

Simon Pegg , Nick Frost , Martin Freeman

Writers

Simon Pegg , Edgar Wright

Runtime

1 Hour 49 Minutes

Main Genre

Action

Production Company

Universal Pictures, Focus Features, Relativity Media.

The World's End is highly regarded as one of the best horror comedies. The childish and irresponsible Gary King's pub crawl with his best buddies is deeply amusing to witness. The World's End trailer disappointingly decides to ruin the film's big twist, that the pub's visitors have been replaced by alien androids.

Learning that The World's End is actually about Gary and his friends battling aliens would have been a jaw-dropping twist to discover in the theater. Instead, audiences find themselves waiting for the extra-terrestrials to be exposed, while Gary and the gang remain clueless regarding the pub's customers' odd behavior. This can make The World's End feel slowly paced compared to the other Cornetto Trilogy films.

8 Lightyear's Trailers Failed To Sell Its Interesting Premise

Lightyear

PG

Action

Adventure

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While spending years attempting to return home, marooned Space Ranger Buzz Lightyear encounters an army of ruthless robots commanded by Zurg who are attempting to steal his fuel source.

Director

Angus MacLane

Release Date

June 8, 2022

Cast

Peter Sohn , Taika Waititi , Chris Evans , Keke Palmer

Runtime

1 hour 45 minutes

Main Genre

Animation

Lightyear is an underrated Toy Story spin-off, delivering an entertaining sci-fi that sees the heroic Buzz Lightyear take on the evil Emperor Zurg and his robot army. While Lightyear is a creative take on the Toy Story franchise, its trailers did a poor job of explaining how the film is the same movie that Woody's owner Andy saw as a child.

They also ignored the most interesting aspect of Lightyear. Buzz experiences time dilation after performing a test flight to obtain fuel for his crew's spacecraft. While only four minutes have passed for Buzz upon returning from his first flight, it has been four years since his crew last saw him, which is a bold concept for a family movie.

7 Kung-Fu Panda's Trailers Portrayed None Of Its Smart Comedic Writing

Kung Fu Panda

PG

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Studio

Dreamworks

Jack Black has had many great movies, and one of his best is Kung-Fu Panda. This charming animation follows the lazy panda Po, who is unexpectedly picked as the new Dragon Warrior by the wise tortoise Oogway. Although Kung-Fu Panda is a hilarious animated movie, the trailers portrayed none of its smart comedic writing.

These Kung-Fu Panda trailers propose the film to be a generic martial arts comedy. They make the film appear as though it is largely for kids, making it seem like a Saturday morning cartoon instead of an animation that's perfect for all ages. Kung Fu-Panda's trailers also ignore the movie's important message of self-acceptance, leading audiences to believe it to be a basic martial arts parody.

6 Fantastic Four's Trailers Fail To Capture The Film's Lively Spirit

Fantastic Four (2005)

PG-13

Action

Sci-Fi

Superhero

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Not available

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A group of astronauts gain superpowers after a cosmic radiation exposure and must use them to oppose the plans of their enemy, Doctor Victor Von Doom.

Director

Tim Story

Release Date

July 8, 2005

Cast

Ioan Gruffudd , Jessica Alba , Chris Evans , Michael Chiklis , Julian McMahon , Kerry Washington

Writers

Mark Frost , Michael France

Runtime

106 Minutes

Main Genre

Action

Budget

$87.5-100 Million

Studio(s)

Constantin Film , Marvel Enterprises , 1492 Pictures

Distributor(s)

20th Century Fox

2005's Fantastic Four is a deeply humorous adaptation of the comics, showcasing the titular superhero team as a dysfunctional family unit, tasked with stopping the nefarious Doctor Doom from exacting his revenge against Reed Richards for his disfigurement. The film is an absolute blast to watch, even though its trailers fail to capture the film's lively spirit.

Fantastic Four's advertisem*nts contain none of the warmth or humor of the movie. Instead of showcasing the brilliant banter between Ben Grimm and Johnny Storm, they focus on the doomed space mission that gives the team their powers. Fantastic Four's plot is also unclear from the trailers, preferring to focus exclusively on the group's origins and their powers rather than Doom's revenge.

5 Madagascar Had Misleading Trailers

Madagascar (2005)

PG

Adventure

Comedy

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A group of animals who have spent all their life in a New York zoo end up in the jungles of Madagascar, and must adjust to living in the wild.

Director

Eric Darnell , Tom McGrath

Release Date

May 27, 2005

Studio

Dreamworks Animation

Cast

Chris Rock , Jada Pinkett Smith , David Schwimmer , Ben Stiller

Runtime

1 hour 26 minutes

Main Genre

Animation

DreamWorks Animation has introduced some of the best-animated characters, and some of their finest efforts can be found in Madagascar. This larger-than-life offering follows a group of zoo animals who escape from New York and find their way to Madagascar. The movie has developed a large fan base due to its quirky narrative, despite its trailers being underwhelming.

The commercials for Madagascar are a poor representation of the film. They feature more of the New York setting than the Madagascar location, misleading viewers into believing the movie is about the zoo animals running amok in New York. It's a shame as Madagascar's titular setting is gorgeous, and contains some of the most beautiful animation seen in film.

4 Sonic The Hedgehog's First Trailer Nearly Killed The Movie

Sonic the Hedgehog

PG

Animation

Adventure

Comedy

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Sonic, a speedy blue hedgehog from another world, is forced to flee to Earth to escape evil forces seeking his unique abilities. He settles in the quiet town of Green Hills, where he lives in secret until his powers accidentally trigger a massive power outage. This catches the attention of Dr. Robotnik, a mad scientist obsessed with capturing Sonic and harnessing his power.

Director

Jeff Fowler

Release Date

February 14, 2020

Cast

Jim Carrey , James Marsden , Neal McDonough , Tika Sumpter , Ben Schwartz , Adam Pally

Writers

Worm Miller , Patrick Casey , Oren Uziel , Yuji Naka , Naoto Ohshima , Hirokazu Yasuhara

Runtime

99 minutes

Main Genre

Animation

Franchise

Sonic the Hedgehog

Cinematographer

Stephen F. Windon

Producer

Toru Nakahara, Takeshi Ito, Neal H. Moritz

Production Company

Sega, Paramount Pictures, DJ2 Entertainment, Original Film, Marza Animation Planet, Paramount Animation, Stories International, Blur Studio, Sega Sammy Group

Sfx Supervisor

Alessandro Cioffi, Ged Wright, Michael Wortmann, Lindsay Adams, Chris Uyede, David Nelson

Budget

$95 million

Sonic The Hedgehog's delightfully silly undertones keep viewers laughing throughout the motion picture, pitting the titular hero against the evil Doctor Robotnik for the first time. Its first trailer, however, disappointed many fans, due to the poor CGI.

The initial design for Sonic The Hedgehog horrified fans during the first trailer, with many labeling it "horrific" and "creepy." The backlash was so bad that Paramount delayed the Sonic The Hedgehog movie by three months so that Sonic could be redesigned. Sonic The Hedgehog's original trailer nearly killed interest in the movie before it was released, but thanks to Paramount's commitment to make changes in response to the feedback, it emerged triumphant as one of the greatest videogame movies.

3 Wonka's Trailers Avoided Advertising The Film As A Musical

Wonka

PG

Fantasy

Adventure

Comedy

Where to Watch

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With dreams of opening a shop in a city renowned for its chocolate, a young and poor Willy Wonka discovers that the industry is run by a cartel of greedy chocolatiers.

Director

Paul King

Release Date

December 15, 2023

Cast

Timothee Chalamet , Hugh Grant , Olivia Colman , Keegan-Michael Key , Rowan Atkinson , Sally Hawkins

Writers

Simon Farnaby , Paul King , Roald Dahl

Runtime

116 minutes

Main Genre

Fantasy

One of the 2020s' best fantasy movies is Wonka, telling Willy Wonka's origin story. This charming tale shows Wonka trying to sell his chocolate inventions to the world, and evading Arthur Slugworth and his cronies' attempts to shut him down. Wonka is a wholesome family adventure, but its trailers are not an accurate depiction of the movie.

Wonka's trailers avoid advertising the film as a musical completely, despite its songs frequently being a highlight of the movie. Tunes like "Scrub Scrub" and "You've Never Had Chocolate Like This" capture the whimsical nature of Roald Dahl's timeless stories nicely, and deserve to be highlighted in the movie's marketing.

2 Doctor Who: The Movie's Trailers Mislead Audiences Into Believing The Daleks Had A Big Role

Doctor Who

The further adventures in time and space of the alien adventurer known as the Doctor and his companions from planet Earth.

Created by

Sydney Newman

First TV Show

Doctor Who

Latest TV Show

Doctor Who: The Complete David Tennant

First Episode Air Date

November 23, 1963

Latest Episode

Wild Blue Yonder (2023)

TV Show(s)

Doctor Who , Doctor Who: Pond Life , Doctor Who: Scream of the Shalka , Doctor Who: The Matt Smith Collection , Doctor Who: The Complete David Tennant , Doctor Who: The Peter Capaldi Collection , Doctor Who: The Jodie Whitaker Collection , Doctor Who: The Christopher Eccleston & David Tennant Collection

The 1996 Doctor Who TV Movie is a thrilling sci-fi, seeing Paul McGann's Doctor face off against Eric Roberts' Master. Paul McGann makes for a charismatic lead, in his debut story, making it a crying shame that this was his only TV adventure. Perhaps if its trailers had been better, the Doctor Who movie may have been more successful, as its advertising was extremely poor.

The Doctor Who TV Movie's advertisem*nts are hard to take seriously, with a cheesy narrator declaring that "there can only be one Master," referencing Eric Roberts' scheming Time Lord. It also teases the Daleks' involvement, suggesting that they have a big role in the film, despite only having a vocal cameo in the movie.

1 Ghostbusters: Answer The Call's Trailers Contain Some Factual Blunders

Ghostbusters: Answer the Call

PG-13

Sci-Fi

Adventure

Fantasy

Action

Erin Gilbert, Abby Yates, Jillian Holtzmann, and Patty Tolan join forces to form a ghost-hunting team in New York City. Utilizing innovative ghost-catching gadgets, they confront a malevolent spirit determined to wreak havoc. The team navigates spectral encounters and high-stakes challenges, blending action and humor in their quest to protect the city from a supernatural invasion.

Director

Paul Feig

Release Date

July 15, 2016

Cast

Kate McKinnon , Melissa McCarthy , Kristen Wiig , Chris Hemsworth , Leslie Jones

Writers

Katie Dippold , Paul Feig , Dan Aykroyd , Harold Ramis

Runtime

117 Minutes

Main Genre

Adventure

Budget

144 million

Studio(s)

Sony

Distributor(s)

Sony

prequel(s)

Ghostbusters (1984)

Franchise(s)

Ghostbusters

Paul Feig's Ghostbusters reboot expertly captures the feel-good vibe of the original films, following an all-female team of Ghostbusters dealing with the gigantic threat of Rowan's ghost. Ghostbusters: Answer The Call evokes the workplace comedy of the original Ghostbusters films better than the more recent movies. Ghostbusters: Answer The Call's trailers contain some embarrassing factual blunders.

One of the most notable mistakes is the claim that the original Ghostbusters were all scientists when in reality, only three of the original crew held scientific credentials. The trailers also contain the movie's weakest jokes, like "Ghosts From Our Past" author Erin Gilbert moaning that ectoplasm gets into "every crack" of her skin, leaving viewers underwhelmed by the commercial's footage.