As the new movie trailers have been released for 2026, a lot of people are asking the question: What happened to the marketing for movies? It feels as though companies care less and less about the products surrounding movies as time goes on.
As for Spider-Man: Brand New Day, the movie is scheduled to release in five months, yet there is no trailer for it. Five months, and there is no trailer. The director, Dustin Daniel Creighton, stated that he finds it “hilarious” that fans are so desperate for a trailer.
When it comes to movies outside of the superhero genre, the amount of marketing put into movies is the bare minimum as of recently. Back before COVID-19, the movies being released were backed up by toys, consistent advertising, random items, and more. It all contributed to the overall sales and popularity of the movie, yet movies seem to lack any of those things post COVID-19. Why is this?
Well, companies producing movies simply won’t put the trust into their products anymore. The extra cost that goes into the marketing of movies isn’t viewed as important anymore, and with the integration of social media into everyday lives now more than ever, the advertising goes into that instead of the typical TV ads.
While most movies don’t receive the same marketing that they used to, certain movies such as Avengers: Doomsday, The Odyssey, and Supergirl all have been releasing good marketing products. Avengers: Doomsday released 4 different trailers over the course of December and January, with fans widely loving them. Supergirl and The Odyssey both released trailers as well, with both being widely loved by audiences.
The reception of these trailers shows that marketing truly does help a movie’s profits. The movie trailers also provide a significant profit to the companies, with websites like YouTube paying around 26 cents for every 1,000 views.
When asked about how he felt about marketing for movies recently, Marrtez Portis (11th) stated, “Yeah I feel like they could do a lot better. A lot of them don’t really show the true potential of the movies, so people don’t go see it…they don’t reach the right audience.”
While marketing might not be the entire reason that movies make less in the theatres, it definitely contributes to the loss of income. Thunderbolts*, despite being a spectacular movie with an 88% Rotten Tomatoes review, it flopped at the box office. The fans simply don’t trust that movies will satisfy them anymore.
So, what can they do to fix it? Well, putting more of the budget into marketing will surely fix a significant amount of income issues (TV ads, toys, etc.) With the way society is going, leaning on social media, perhaps movie ads will lessen the amount of time spent looking at our phones. Sure, TVs are still a screen, but they’re far less addictive than cell phones. Better marketing for movies will not only better profits, but people as well.