Are we living in spoiler-verse? Is pre-release content killing the hype for films?

India Today

14 hours ago

There was a time - not that long ago - when walking into a theatre felt like stepping into the unknown. You might've caught a poster outside, a teaser that barely gave anything away, or a song you couldn't stop humming without even knowing its place in the story. And then came the film - and with it, magic.And like most of us, 'Darlings' director Jasmeet K Reen also enjoys the thrill of watching a film fresh in theatres. Speaking to IndiaToday.in, she shared, 'I try to do that often - watch the trailer, then the film. It helps you create your own experience and form a personal connection with the story and its characters. It's a beautiful and intimate process. Later, if needed, you can read about the making or even rewatch the film to learn more, especially as a filmmaker.'advertisementCut to 2025. It often feels like we've already watched half the movie before it's even released. There's a teaser, a second teaser, then a character teaser, a motion poster, five songs, and a behind-the-scenes featurette. By the time we actually sit in the theatre, the surprise is long gone.WELCOME TO SPOILER NATION
Let's start with the obvious villain in this story: trailers that feel like mini-movies and an overload of content that basically no one asked for.Last year, the makers of the magnum opus 'Kalki 2898 AD' didn't just drop a teaser - they dropped an entire rollout calendar. Multiple teasers, two full-blown trailers, character intros, promo clips, and leaked fan footage. Reddit threads were already piecing the plot together weeks in advance. 'Where's the intrigue in that?' asks every moviegoer who once loved the thrill of not knowing. advertisementThis year, 'Housefull 5' took things up (or down?) a notch. The teaser - though later taken down - managed to give away major gags, the vibe of every character, and even flashes of the climax. It wasn't a tease - it was practically a narrated Google Slides presentation.Hollywood's guilty too. Remember 'Madame Web'? The trailer gave away the villain, the emotional core, and nearly every twist. By the time the film hit screens, audiences had already memed it to death. The Marvels suffered similarly, with audiences feeling more connected to press junket content than the actual movie.The question that arises here is: is this newfound strategy actually working? According to popular Tamil film producer SR Prakashbabu, 'Good content combined with strong publicity works well and bad content and no publicity goes unnoticed.' OVEREXPOSURE: THE NEW MARKETING PLAYBOOK'Hype is great. But we're not building curiosity any more - we're feeding people the whole meal before they even arrive at the table,' says senior marketing executive Vamsi Kaka in an interview with IndiaToday.in, and he's not wrong.Actor Vijay Sethupathi once expressed his fear that too much public exposure may disconnect his audience from his on-screen characters. While promoting his film 'Merry Christmas' with the Film Companion, he said, 'I fear too much exposure, talking so much about films and about myself. I fear I may detach my audience from my characters and my films. I don't want to disturb them while watching films.'advertisementHe added, 'Even on my Instagram, I have only a couple of personal photos. Earlier, there were only one or two award shows, and you would get to see actors at very few moments. Now, there is too much exposure, which makes me afraid.''Pushpa 2' was on top trends weeks, months even before its release in December last year. Every move Allu Arjun made on and off set became a reel material. Fan-shot leaks, behind-the-scenes glimpses, and official promos dominated feeds. While fans love the access, where's the sense of discovery when everything is already on your phone? Director Anil Sharma echoed this sentiment while talking to IndiaToday.in. 'Earlier, a poster and a trailer were enough. But now there's OTT, reels, satellite, social media - so much going on that a single trailer or poster risks getting lost. That fear drives filmmakers to overcompensate," he told us.Even Tamil cinema, known for its grand reveal style, is slipping. Lokesh Kanagaraj's 'Leo' campaign was massive - but also too revealing. "By the time you sit in the theatre, you're just waiting for the scenes you've already seen in promos," noted one fan on X.advertisementJasmeet Reen, who directed Alia Bhatt in the Netflix film 'Darlings', shared whether she ever felt pressured by studios or marketing teams to 'give more'?'We wanted to and did reveal that Alia would eventually stand up against violence, and many people who watched the film felt connected and invested in the journey, waiting for when the tables would turn. Sometimes you have to trust your audience this way. Like Hitchcock would bring the audience in before his characters,' she said in the interview with us.ARE SONGS THE NEW SPOILERS?Remember when film songs offered a vibe without giving away the plot? That era seems to be close to being over, according to moviegoers.'Sitaare Zameen Par's' emotionally packed ballads already hinted at pivotal moments in the protagonist's arc. 'Chandu Champion's' transformation arc? Already charted through motivational songs and clips. It begs the question: what's left for the big screen?Compare that to 'Barfi!' or 'Tumbbad', where the music set the tone but didn't narrate the entire story. That was storytelling. But again, according to director Anil Sharma, overexposure is birthing new fears.advertisementDiscussing the methods adopted by marketing agencies to sell their movie, he noted, "The current obsession is with opening day and weekend numbers. So, producers and actors have become extremely fearful, leading to aggressive promotion.'He explained, 'Audience memory has shortened - show them something today, and they'll forget it by evening, buried under ten more pieces of content. That's why constant visibility is now necessary."THE GREAT DILEMMA: STAY OR SCROLL AWAYBeing chronically online comes with a curse: we love trailers, aesthetic edits, and fan theories - but we also crave surprise. The lines are blurry. Do you avoid social media and risk FOMO, or stay in the loop and get served spoilers every hour?A growing movement called #NoTrailerClub on Reddit and X is choosing to skip trailers altogether. Their goal? Preserve the first-time theatre magic. Because honestly, nothing beats the moment when the lights dim, and you don't know what's coming next.And as the 'Gadar 2' director mentioned, "People are always scrolling - in buses, trains, or even at home. If they miss the poster, they might see the teaser, and if not that, maybe the trailer. One way or another, information has to reach the viewer."advertisementAnd if the overdose of content is helping with an increase in footfall, there's no harm. THE PRESSURE TO PERFORMLet's talk about why this overexposure even exists. The film industry today, or at least post Covid-19, is in performance mode 24x7. With hundreds of films releasing each year and OTT competition surging, filmmakers are afraid of being invisible."Today, it's all about 'out of sight, out of mind'," said Sharma.This explains why every new promo drop has a 'now or never' energy. As viewers, we're part of the problem too - we scroll endlessly, consuming content with such speed that nuance often gets lost in the noise.And every pre-release content out there only leads to something great, said Jasmeet Reen. 'We sell dreams, and a trailer is an unfinished dream. If people want to know the whole dream they will go and watch the film. All we can do is stay true to the DNA of the film while marketing,' she mentioned.WHERE TO DRAW THE LINE?Let's be honest. Theatres aren't just competing with other films - they're competing with YouTube thumbnails, OTT banners, Instagram Reels, and AI-generated movie scenes. In this chaos, studios think the only way to win attention is by giving it all away.Remember the excitement of watching 'Kahaani' or 'Andhadhun' without knowing what twist would hit you? Or the thrill of 'RRR', which, despite its massive promo campaign, kept enough secrets to make theatres erupt with joy?That's the kind of cinematic joy we're losing.Vamsi Kaka, who has worked on close to 450 films over his career, noted an incident where he was tempted to watch Aamir Khan's 'Dangal' only after watching one of his work-out videos months ahead of its release.He narrated, "At that time, I only knew he was doing a film - I had no clue what it was about. But the moment I saw that video, I decided I would watch the film on the first day, first show in theatres. That was the kind of impact it had - at least on me."Now, according to the people who have associated themselves with films for ever now say that the approach might be tiring once you start applying for every other film.Kaka stated that the problem only arises when "the same level of promotion is done for a film with a budget of just Rs 2–3 crore."He explained, "For example, if you're releasing a teaser, pre-trailer, BTS, and multiple promos for a film like 'Baahubali', 'Pushpa', or 'Ponniyin Selvan' - there's genuine anticipation, and people are invested. There's a lot at stake; big investments, big expectations. So it's the makers' responsibility to reach the right content to the audience. That makes sense." "But doing the same kind of build-up for a Rs 5–10 crore film or a small love story is, in my opinion, overkill. On the other hand, for a film like 'Kalki', 'War 2', or 'Coolie', not doing aggressive promotions would be a mistake," he added.A good marketing campaign builds curiosity. A great one makes you restless with anticipation but reveals nothing substantial. Studios need to trust that less can truly be more.Sure, people love content. But they also love the experience. That moment when you gasp in a theatre, not because you knew it was coming, but because you didn't - that's priceless.So here's a humble request: Tease us. Intrigue us. But don't overfeed us. Let us feel something again - without deja vu.Because honestly? The best kind of spoiler is no spoiler at all.