Theatrical trailer conventions

Despite the following theatrical trailers belonging to varying genres, the conventions found across them are relatively similar.

What If

Hostiles

The Equalizer 2

There are many similarities between the conventions included in theatrical trailers, teaser trailers and TV spots including the use of images from the film, production company logos and the title of the film but there are notable differences, particularly the length of the trailer, the inclusion of more plot detail and references to the main actors names.

Conventions of theatrical trailers include:

• Production company logos (often appearing after some inital images from the movie)
• Many more moments/images from the film that help devleop the narrative
• Character development of not only the protagonist, but other important characters
• Clear indication of genre
• A number of different musical tracks
• Significant changes in the pace of editing - often slow editing to begin with building towards a montage at the end
• A combination of editing transitions including fades and cuts
• More dialogue than in other types of trailers
• Multiple taglines 
• Director/producers name and/or reference to previous films
• Names of main actors
• The title of the film
• Release date (often a specific month or specific date).
• Credits
• Websites and social media links 
• Reviews and ratings
• Reference to awards/film festivals (particularly if the film is a low budget independent movie)