The 10 Worst Trailers Of 2017

Trailers are an essential part of a movie’s marketing campaign. They’re essential in getting casual moviegoers interested in a project, and when they do their job well can be truly exceptional and remembered, if not copied, for years to come. Unfortunately, this isn’t always the case; a handful can be so bad that audiences may find themselves disinterested in a property. Here are 10 of the worst trailers to release in 2017.

10. JURASSIC WORLD: FALLEN KINGDOM
J.A. Bayon’s Jurassic World: Fallen Kingdom is the fifth installment in Universal Pictures’ Jurassic series and the sequel to Colin Trevorrow’s record-breaking 2015 film, Jurassic World. The movie seeks to take the franchise back to its horror roots and present a new threat – a volcanic eruption on Isla Nublar – and a new task that involves saving the dinosaurs from yet another extinction-level event. Unfortunately, the movie’s first teaser trailer was an underwhelming depiction of that goal. It just seemed like more of the same. While that may be good for business, it’s not good for longtime fans.

9. READY PLAYER ONE
Steven Spielberg is returning to the realm of science fiction in 2018’s Ready Player One, based on the novel of the same name by Ernest Cline. The first teaser trailer for Ready Player One debuted at San Diego Comic-Con 2017 and did a fine job at presenting the pop culture-filled world of the Oasis – but that’s all it did. The teaser was all spectacle and no substance – weaponized nostalgia – whereas the official trailer actually shed some light on what the film is going to be about, all while still managing to explore Cline’s video game world even more.

8. SPIDER-MAN: HOMECOMING
Jon Watts’ Spider-Man: Homecoming marked the first standalone Spidey film to release as part of the Marvel Cinematic Universe. And while the movie contained its fair share of twists and turns – with one specifically taking the cake – its marketing campaign didn’t leave much to the imagination. Take Homecoming‘s second trailer, for instance. Virtually everything about the story and the characters are explained in great detail. What’s more, the trailer shows Iron Man, not Spider-Man, saving the day on the ferry.

7. MAZE RUNNER: THE DEATH CURE
The third and final installment in 20th Century Fox’s Maze Runner series, based on the novels of the same name by James Dashner, is finally releasing after being delayed almost one year due to injuries Dylan O’Brien suffered on set. While The Death Cure seeks to conclude the Maze Runner trilogy and provide audiences (those who haven’t read the books) with answers, the final trailer isn’t doing a great job at exciting fans. It’s choppy and out-of-sync with its music, seemingly trying to replicate perfectly-timed trailers seen for movies such as Kong: Skull Island and Suicide Squad.

6. BAYWATCH
Seth Gordon’s Baywatch movie adaptation, starring Dwayne Johnson, Zac Efron, and Alexandra Daddario, is an unnecessary continuation of a TV series that didn’t need a silver screen version in the first place. Getting the movie off the ground and in front of audiences was an uphill battle from the start, and the movie’s trailers certainly didn’t help its cause. It was filled with tasteless humor and ridiculous sequences that didn’t evoke what made Baywatch so popular on TV. As the marketing went on, it even dropped the faux-21 Jump Street riff.

5. THE MUMMY
Alex Kurtzman’s The Mummy reboot was meant to launch Universal’s Dark Universe, but it seems the studio’s newly-formed shared universe may be dead on arrival. And one thing’s for sure, The Mummy‘s marketing certainly didn’t help. The movie’s first teaser became a joke for the faulty sound edited version, but it only got worst; this second trailer contained conflicting tones that bordered on action, with mild horror elements spread throughout, and music that didn’t fit with the overall direction the universe is supposed to be going in.

4. GEOSTORM
Disaster movies can usually attract hordes of people who want to see the spectacle of the world coming undone. But not every silver screen apocalypse is successful… or good. Dean Devlin’s Geostorm is one of those misfires, and its quality is painfully obvious upon watching any of the movie’s trailers. The question is, should the trailer be faulted for the movie – its source material – being fundamentally bad itself? After all, just take a look at Geostorm‘s most brutal reviews.

3. CHIPS
Remakes and reboots may be the name of the game these days, but audiences shouldn’t overlook the recent trend in movie adaptations of notable TV shows, such as the aforementioned Baywatch as well as CHiPs, directed by and co-starring Parenthood’s Dax Shepard. The buddy comedy also starred Michael Pena, Rosa Salazar, and more. While critics lamented the movie, the trailer wasn’t much better.

The marketing’s biggest blunder is most likely the numerous crotch-related jokes it forced upon audiences/ Sure, they may generate a chuckle here or there in the movie, but it’s not the best way to convince audiences to spend top-dollar to see it in theaters.

2. THE DARK TOWER
Nikolaj Arcel’s The Dark Tower, starring Idris Elba as Roland Deschain and Matthew McConaughey as the Man in Black, was a disaster for Sony Pictures, both critically and commercially. To start off, the studio didn’t release the first trailer until just a few months prior to the film hitting theaters. And when the trailer finally did release, it did little to capture audiences’ attention and elevate excitement for the long-awaited adaptation. Instead, viewers were left disinterested. The trailer failed to present the expansive world that Stephen King’s novel is known for having.

1. THE EMOJI MOVIE
Emojis have certainly taken hold of modern text-based communications, but that’s not a reason to go ahead and make a blockbuster-sized movie out of it. Still, there was surely a way to do it right. That clearly wasn’t going to happen with The Emoji Movie after the official trailer in May. It checked off all the marks for an animated film, but it did so without any amusement. As it turns out, the trailer (and the movie, for the most part) has more in common with the name of its titular character, Meh, than anything else.