Our modern movie-trailer fatigue

Perhaps it’s the current style of the ads—overstuffed, insanely fast, generally incomprehensible—that is so universally trying. In the 1940s and ’50s, previews tried to persuade the viewer of the movie’s superlative qualities with caps-locked placards and narration (“A mad adventure fraught with bold intrigue!” “The most exciting movie ever screened!” “The most memorable event in the annals of the motion pictures!”). Today they’re still hyperselling, just showing, not telling: Trailers are faster, contain less narration and more explosions, give away key scenes, and contain frames shot in production just for the trailer. Visually, they’re a sequence of show-offs. Viscerally, they are exhausting.

Of course, there’s a method behind the madness. Studies show the wearisome rapid-fire of striking shots can be effective. It can also turn viewers way off from becoming emotionally invested. In 2013 an Innerscope Research study using neuroscience to gauge the effect brain feedback has on box-office receipts found viewership was highest when audiences engaged emotionally. Trailers should grab the audience early; they should also hold back on “pivotal moments” and special effects, which pull them out of the moment. Sparing audiences of spoilers is important, too. Johnston’s own study of The Hobbit: The Desolation of Smaug trailer this year found over 80 percent reported feeling disappointed with the movie after seeing the trailer, which was jam-packed with “money shots” of Middle Earth.