Movie previews are also known as “trailers.” They are commercials for feature films that will be shown in future at a cinema.
Origins of movie previews:
The term “trailer” comes from the movie previews originally having been shown at the end of a feature film screening.
Movie makers realised that these movie previews were not reaching the intended audiences as people walked out of the movie theatre as soon as the movie ended. As a result, trailers are now shown before the film begins.
Movie previews nowadays:
In the face of dwindling movie ticket sales, big Hollywood studios often use movie previews to draw audiences to the cinema and to amp up the “wow factor” about movies.
Besides using movie previews for drawing more crowds to the cinema, movie companies have realised the value in using them as a selling point for the online movie download community. Most movie companies make movie previews freely available for viewing and download online as soon as the movies are about to hit the big screen.
In the past, television shows had the advantage of broadcasting movie previews and presenting them as exclusives. The rise of the digital era disrupted this trend. Movie previews have found new life online. Now anyone with good internet access and a computer, smartphone or tablet can access the latest movie previews.
Since entering the market back in 1998, DVDs have lost traction in the entertainment industry. Movie previews are still made available on this platform however. Many DVDs contain movie previews for other movies produced by the same company scheduled to be available shortly after the legal release. These previews are often a bonus feature.
A fact that remains is that movie studios need to use movie previews to get people excited about movies again.