In our current blockbuster age the release of an anticipated trailer is an event almost on par with the release of the movies themselves. There are few films in recent memory as anticipated as Avengers: Infinity War, and every trailer for the film has drawn excitement and speculation. With a little over a month until its release, a new final trailer debuted last Friday to give us a last glimpse at the cosmic clash. This trailer was a blast and revealed quite a lot about the film, but it couldn't quite top the first trailer in terms of total number of views in its first day.
The trailer that debuted on Friday to coincide with tickets going on sale was viewed an incredible 179 million times in the first 24 hours, making it the third biggest trailer release in history. It also now stands as the biggest release for a film's second trailer, besting the live-action Beauty and the Beast's 128 million views according to The Hollywood Reporter. The biggest release for a trailer overall, however, was the first trailer for Infinity War, which had a hype video heralding its coming and gave us our first look at the battle with Thanos. That trailer set the ridiculous mark of 230 million views in the first 24 hours when it debuted back in November. For those curious about the second biggest trailer release, it was the first trailer for IT, which racked up 197 million views as people flocked to see the Pennywise for a new generation.
Now second trailers usually fall short of the first so its not surprising that the first trailer for Infinity War set the bar so high. The build to see something, anything from the biggest event in the Marvel Cinematic Universe was a long time coming and fans rushed to get that first look. The second look, while still exciting, couldn't have matched that, kind of like how The Last Jedi stood little chance of matching The Force Awakens at the box office, regardless of reception, the build just wasn't the same.
Comparing the two trailers, there's a lot to like in each. The first trailer was more about tone and mood, letting fans know that the threat that has been teased for ages will finally arrive. I also like the score a lot better in the first trailer. The second trailer is more Thanos-centric, giving audiences a better idea of who the villains are and their goal. This final trailer also has a lot more humor and makes the plot of this movie much clearer for audiences who can't name all the Infinity Stones and their current locations off the top of their heads.
It is kind of funny that trailer releases are a metric worthy of analysis these days, but they do give fans a good idea of the interest and enthusiasm related to a particular movie. Needless to say, enthusiasm is high with this one, and that fervor bore out when Infinity War became the best advance-selling superhero movie of all time in a mere six hours. So it's safe to say that all those views will translate into lots of very real dollars when Avengers: Infinity War hits theaters on April 27th.
