Creating the perfect trailer is an art in itself. After all, it should be so designed that the trailer hooks the audience’s interest, but does not reveal the plot – a fact that many recent movies miss out on.
However, there have been times when movies have nailed the trailer, only to lose out on the main offering, i.e., the film itself:
1. Moxie
Directed by Amy Poehler, Moxie hinted at being a feminist comedy-drama. But it ended up being a lackluster comedy that barely packed a punch, feminist or otherwise. In 2021, Moxie, with its slightly tone-deaf and unidimensional approach, just felt like an issue of “Feminism for Dummies & Beginners.”
2. Vote! Batman v Superman: Dawn of Justice (2016)
Oh, how or where does one even begin to talk about how vastly different emotions the trailer and movie evoked. Suffice to say, once the film released, it was clear that this was one battle where everyone lost.
3. Rangoon
When the trailer released, it added to the hype the film had already created with its starcast (Kangana Ranaut, Saif Ali Khan, Shahid Kapoor) and director (Vishal Bhardwaj). And then came the film. What a disappointment.
4. The Secret Life of Walter Mitty
Ben Stiller directed and starred in this comedy-drama. But while the trailer managed to evoke both, a warm fuzzy feeling and an excited curiosity among the audience, the film failed on both accounts.
5. Bhavesh Joshi Superhero
When the trailer for Motwane’s action-drama first released, it looked like Bollywood, after a series of failures, had finally cracked the code for a superhero story. Sadly, though the film had its finer moments, they were not enough to meet the expectations set-up by the trailer.
6. Dhoom 3
The franchise, the trailer, the starcast – the film got everything on point. Except for the plot. While the trailer, which was fairly intriguing, crossed 4 million views in six days, the film was difficult to sit through for even one complete viewing.
7. Bombay Velvet
Vintage aesthetic, beautiful music, a one-stop ticket to an era gone by – the Bombay Velvet trailer offered all this and more. Add to it the idea of Ranbir and Anurag Kashyap working together, and the film set everyone’s expectations soaring high. But the end result hardly found any fans. Even people who didn’t hate the film, like yours truly, admit it wasn’t anything close to what the trailer hinted at.
8. Spider-Man 3
To be honest, it’s hard to pinpoint where exactly did the film go all wrong. What is not hard to pinpoint is that the trailer, for all intents and purposes, was a classic Raimi. If only the film could have matched.
9. Chopsticks
When we saw Abhay Deol return as a conman, we saw hope blooming in our hearts. And the trailer was definitely on the right side of quirky. But the film, sadly, could not deliver on what the trailer promised.
10. Simran
Riding high on the success of her National Film Awards, Ranaut paired up with director Hansal Mehta for Simran. And while the trailer appeared to tap into her Queen persona and left us waiting for more, the film, despite being mired in controversy, could barely hold our attention.
Any movie trailer you’ll add to the list? Let us know in the comments section below.