Top 10 Movie Trailers That Broke the Internet

Over 30 years after “Return of the Jedi’s” satisfying conclusion, the official trailer for the “Force Awakens” showed us an exciting glimpse at the future of the Skywalker Saga. It starts by giving audiences a look at the very different lives Rey, Finn and Kylo Ren have led. Then it hits us with scenes of epic ship shootouts and the promise of a lightsaber battle. In between introducing the main characters and action, fan-favorite faces like Chewie and Han got to step into the spotlight. This trailer's blend of nostalgia and new concepts earned it 112 million views across different media platforms in around a day. The force was very strong with this sneak peek at a brand new “Star Wars” entry.

Although many previews like to show off big plot points and dialogue right away, “Frozen II” took a different approach. The first teaser dedicates around a minute of its run time showing Elsa trying to overcome waves with her ice powers. After we see her fight the elements, scenes of familiar characters in distress and shots of a forest environment raise even more questions. “Frozen’s II” mysterious and somewhat unconventional approach to a teaser translated to huge success. By pulling in over 116 million views in 24 hours, this sequel became the most watched animated preview when it was released. “Frozen II’s” journey into the unknown achieved success while taking the top animated trailer crown from the “Incredibles 2”.

Thor became known as both the god of thunder and trailers after this game-changing look at his apocalyptic film. After the disappointing second entry in the Asgardian franchise, Marvel needed to get fans excited about the character again. Fortunately, 136 million people couldn't wait more than a day to see what Thor was up to. The teaser promised to deliver big battles and scenes of epic destruction. While Led Zeppelin’s Immigrant song didn’t seem like an obvious song choice on paper, it somehow fit this Thor preview perfectly. The intense action and catchy melody led up to one of the best endings to an MCU trailer that we’ve seen so far.

After a trailer for the “Fate of the Furious” earned 139 million views in 24 hours, it was outsped by the very next entry in the franchise. “F9”’s official preview opens with Dom enjoying a quiet night with his loved ones before it fully careens into fast-paced and explosive action. The theme of family continues to be significant when we learn John Cena's new villain is Dom's brother. And to top it all off, the preview lets us know that great franchise characters we haven’t seen in a while like Mia, members of“ Tokyo Drift’s” cast,and Han would all be along for the next ride. All the amazing action and characters revved the trailer up to 151 million views within a day.

When Disney announced that they would be making a live-action Mulan, fans of the company’s animated take on the character were ready to see her on the big screen. Audiences showed up in droves to see her first teaser. Over a span of 24 hours, 175 million people saw Mulan struggle to fit into traditional gender roles. The teaser brilliantly contrasts images of who her society thinks she should be with scenes of her fighting as a fierce warrior. This preview also hinted at large scale scenes of war and creative choreography. “Mulan’s” stunning success proved that audiences were eager to see this courageous heroine carve out her own destiny.

The creatives behind “It: Chapter One” terrified us with an unsettling and hugely effective teaser. It's full of creepy glimpses of what we'll see in the movie. And despite being less than 3 minutes, the teaser wisely takes time to build up to its most horrifying moments. The most brilliant aspect of the trailer involves the antagonist Pennywise the Clown. Instead of putting him front and center, we only see brief suggestions and glimpses of the vicious villain. This further built up audience anticipation and fear to the moment Pennywise would be fully revealed. Smart creative choices led the teaser to scare up 197 million views after its initial release. In the process, it set the gold standard for how horror trailers should be made.

While 1994’s “Lion King” has plenty of admirers, even the most die-hard fans had to wonder how these animated animals would look in live-action. Disney answered that question with a stunning and gorgeous teaser. Our first look at the photo-realistic animals that live in the Pride Lands was accompanied by powerful narration from James Earl Jones as Mufasa. The creative team also played up the nostalgia factor by recreating the 1994 movie’s iconic opening. Playing on what audiences knew about the animated Lion King and adding incredible visuals was a winning combo. The 2019 “Lion King” film can proudly say it attracted over 224 million viewers for its first look at the Pride lands.

In 2017, Marvel Studios showed off its hugely ambitious crossover event movie by dropping a breathtaking trailer on the world. Nearly every Avenger we knew of at the time showed up in the preview looking ready for a fight. And their timing couldn’t be better. With the threat of Thanos growing closer, every hero would be needed to stop him. Their efforts would involve fun hero team ups we had never seen on screen before and excellent action. We’d also get a bearded Cap, Hulkbuster armor and a massive war. Fans were so excited for those awesome scenes and more that the trailer received 230 million views in just 24 hours. This amazing trailer sent hype through the roof for this crossover event.

There was so much hype for every little detail of this movie that Marvel Studios didn’t even reveal the full title in the description of the trailer. Audiences had to watch the somber teaser to learn that their favorite heroes were in the endgame now. Around 289 million people saw that Hawkeye, Thor and Iron Man were still all struggling to accept the loss of half the universe. But Cap and Black Widow were still determined to fix everything. Their resolve would be needed because a quick shot of Thanos hinted that the heroes would have to face the mad titan again. While the plot details were scarce, an epic title drop and a surprising finale that gave fans hope made it a tremendous teaser.

Before we reveal our top pick, here are a few honorable mentions.

“Batman v Superman: Dawn of Justice” (2016)
Pitting Two Famous Superheroes Against Each Other Is a Good Way to Pull In Audiences

“Space Jam: a New Legacy” (2021)
Nostalgia For the Looney Original Inspired Audiences to Check out the Sequel

“Venom: Let There Be Carnage” (2021)
This Preview Gave The Fans a Great Glimpse of Woody Harrelson’s Carnage

“Godzilla vs. Kong” (2021)
Tons of People Wanted to See How This Massive Kaiju Battle Would Play Out

“Zack Snyder’s Justice League” (2021)
A Massive Fan Campaign Helped Ensure We Got this Awesome Trailer

For a while, it seemed like fans weren’t getting an official trailer for “No Way Home”. But on one August 23rd, AKA, Wanda and Vision’s anniversary day, we finally got our first look. The trailer shows the fallout of Spider-Man's identity being revealed. After Peter asks the magical Dr. Strange to fix things, a spell accidentally opens a door to new threats. While multiple villains are hinted at, fans really went wild when they saw Alfred Molina return as Doc Ock. His inclusion, an intriguing story and an incredibly long wait all helped the teaser break records. It webbed up over 355 million views in 24 hours. The only way Sony can get higher numbers is if Tobey Maguire shows up for the next trailer.