5 Times a movie trailer ended up ruining the movie

Trailers are meant to generate excitement, not destroy the entire movie experience. But occasionally, in a desperate bid to appeal to the largest audience, studios inadvertently overload trailers with so much information that they undermine their own movies. Whether it's a plot revelation revealed months in advance or a dramatic scene employed as clickbait, some trailers have caused more damage than benefit. In an era where spoilers are transmitted as fast as fire and first reactions can break or make a movie's success, the trailer is a double-edged sword.

In recent years, the audience has grown increasingly conscious and irritable about this phenomenon. It's not simply generating buzz around a movie anymore; it's about maintaining the intrigue that gives storytelling its punch. The five nominees on this list are best-case examples of trailers that overstepped the line, revealing too much and taking away from the real experience on screen.

From surprise character reveals to revealing the literal last scene, these marketing blunders made fans feel cheated. So, let's have a look at five times movie trailers spoiled the magic, suspense, and occasionally even the box office prospects of the films they were advertising.

Note: This article reflects the author's personal opinions.

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The movie trailers ended up ruining the movies

1. Terminator: Genisys (2015)

Terminator: Genisys attempted to reboot the classic franchise with a new timeline twist, but the trailer spoiled the movie's biggest card: John Connor becomes a Terminator. What would have been a shocking plot twist was fed to viewers months in advance. It's a classic case of marketing trumping storytelling. Director Alan Taylor later admitted disappointment with the decision, affirming it was a studio choice. Audiences didn't get to see the twist as planned, which ruined audience interest. Ironically, the trailer created hype that the film couldn't maintain, so the viewing felt like a rerun rather than a surprise.

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2. Batman v Superman: Dawn of Justice (2016)

Rather than teasing the grand ideological conflict between two beloved legends, the trailer for Batman v Superman gave it all away through to the end-act big bad, Doomsday, and the entrance of Wonder Woman. Viewers entered theaters expecting to see the conflict's end, removing suspense from what had the potential to be a tremendously ambiguous story. Director Zack Snyder defended the trailer as a necessity for marketing purposes, but his fans were more critical. Years afterward, Snyder Cut fanatics revived enthusiasm for his vision, but the harm brought about by the initial reveal-heavy marketing remained. If trailers turn into plot summaries, what remains for the masses to discover in the cinema?

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3. Cast Away (2000)

Even though it is one of the most emotionally charged survival tales ever crafted, the trailer for Cast Away had Tom Hanks' character return safely to society. That single choice undermined the entire development of the story. People weren't left with questions about whether Chuck would make it through, only how. Director Robert Zemeckis has a well-documented tendency to show endings (recall What Lies Beneath?), in that he feels spoilers don't necessarily spoil a movie. But in a story founded on loneliness and survival tension, the payoff was stolen. Ironically, the movie is still critically acclaimed, but it's a classic example where the advertising miscalculated the strength of uncertainty.

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4. Kingsman: The Golden Circle (2017)

Fans were appalled and delighted to see Colin Firth's Harry Hart brought back from the dead in Kingsman: The Golden Circle. Or at least they would have been… had the trailer not shouted it out for them already. The original got credit for taking a chance by killing off one of its major characters, and the big plot twist of the sequel had the potential to be an instant shock moment. Instead, the trailer spoiled it, taking away impact and making the plot seem safe. Director Matthew Vaughn even said he was opposed to the spoiler, but the studio insisted on it to sell tickets. Spoilers sell, but they also sour.

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5. Quarantine (2008)

Quarantine, the American remake of Spain's [REC], brought found-footage terror with claustrophobic dread. But its trailer committed the ultimate faux pas. It featured the last shot in the movie: Jennifer Carpenter pulled into the blackness. That's the final thing audiences get to see in the real film, so tension is DOA. Horror is based on dread and uncertainty, and showing us the end slays both. Viewers of the genre were also aggravated, particularly since [REC] was tighter with its secrets. This experience became the spark of a continuing argument as to whether studios know and grasp the genre's psychological mechanisms or not at all when coming up with promos.

Trailers are supposed to tantalize, not reveal. But in the race for box office chatter, studios will sometimes spill far too much information, undercutting the joy of discovery in seeing a movie play out on its own terms. The movies on this list are warning examples for marketers and filmmakers both: withhold enough to entice, but never so much that the punch of the plot is lost. In a time of ever-more discerning audiences, maintaining mystery is stronger than ever. As audience members, we hunger for the unexpected. So, let's hope future trailers take note of these mistakes and leave the best surprises where they should be: onscreen.