Another year, another major collection of movie trailers to promote films of all shapes and sizes, with some of the best ones being works of art in their own right, along with promoting the film in question.
With the recent court case in regards to “Yesterday” which deals with movie trailers and false advertising claims, creative film trailers potentially could be harder to come by in the next few years and so it’s important to savour what we have now.
Below is a list of what Dark Horizons considers the best film trailers of the year. The list is restricted to films only, no TV series despite some trailers in that field sitting alongside the best here (most notably both trailers for HBO’s “The Last of Us”). It’s also restricted to trailers that came out in this calendar year, doesn’t matter when the film came out.
Last year there was a hands-down winner with the first trailer for “The Matrix Resurrections” making brilliant use of Jefferson Airplane’s ‘White Rabbit’ along with strong runners up with the “Lightyear” teaser using Bowie’s ‘Starman’ and “House of Gucci” early trailer set to Blondie’s ‘Heart of Glass’.
This year we have a tie with two first trailers for films easily stealing the show. There’s the early teaser for Christopher McQuarrie’s “Mission: Impossible – Dead Reckoning Part One” which was originally only supposed to be shown to exhibitors at CinemaCon and ended up being attached to “Top Gun: Maverick”. It’s a brilliant quick montage of shots and sequences and a great score that builds momentum and thrills every time along with promising epic scale.
The other winner is the first trailer for “Black Panther: Wakanda Forever,” one of the most melancholy openings ever for a trailer that promises heartbreak before smartly ramping up the pacing and action as the Bob Marley cover of “No Woman No Cry” gives way to Kendrick Lamar’s “Alright”. It has only one use of dialogue in the whole clip, and it’s a superb choice that has a real impact.
After that, there are the recent slick teasers for “Indiana Jones and the Dial of Destiny,” “Barbie” and “The Super Mario Bros. Movie,” the final trailer for the blockbuster masterpiece “Top Gun: Maverick,” the recent full trailer for “John Wick Chapter 4” set to an inspired cover of ‘Seasons in the Sun’, and the pervasive dread of the teaser for “Men” and trailers for “Tar” and “Nope”.
Feel free to revisit below:
1. Mission: Impossible – Dead Reckoning Part One – Teaser (Tie)
1. Black Panther: Wakanda Forever – Teaser (Tie)
3. Indiana Jones and the Dial of Destiny – Teaser
4. Top Gun Maverick – Official Trailer
5. Barbie – Teaser
6. John Wick Chapter 4 – Trailer
7. Men – Teaser
8. Nope – Trailer
9. TÁR – Official Trailer
10. The Super Mario Bros. Movie – Second Trailer
Honorable Mentions:
Babylon – Teaser, Prey – Teaser, Violent Night – Trailer, Barbarian – Trailer, Cocaine Bear – Teaser, Oppenheimer – Teaser, Creed III – Teaser, Jurassic World Dominion – Official Trailer, Fall -Teaser, Bullet Train – Trailer 1, The Northman – Trailer 2, M3GAN – Official Trailer, The Whale – Trailer, Avatar: The Way of Water – Teaser, Ant-Man and the Wasp: Quantumania – Teaser
