Looking for a change of space? Look no further than “Cosmic Sin”. This epic sci-fi adventure stars Bruce Willis as a retired general who is called back into service after soldiers on a remote planet are attacked by a hostile alien fleet.
Each week YouGov Direct investigates how effective a collection of movie trailers is in persuading people to consider seeing a film, what they think about the content of the trailer, and how good or bad they expect the movie to be. Thousands of people provide immediate feedback on movie trailers using the YouGov Direct platform.
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Of all the trailers tested this week, “Cosmic Sin” was the most effective. Prior to watching the trailer, just one in ten YouGov Direct respondents said they were somewhat or very likely to see it (10%). After viewing the clip on the YouGov Direct platform, that number rose to 41%.
Action fans were unsurprisingly excited to see this Armageddon-inspired flick. Of those who said they were fans of the action film genre, nearly half said they wanted to watch it after seeing the trailer (49%).
But what made this sci-fi stand out from the crowd? The chance to see Bruce Willis suit up and do battle with aliens appears to have been the biggest draw for viewers. When we asked them what they liked best about the trailer, 47% said it was one or more of the actors featured. A further 41% said they enjoyed the trailer's CGI-heavy look.
Of all the cinematic releases tested this week, “Cosmic Sin” was the film respondents most wanted to see on the big screen. More than a quarter (29%) of viewers who said they were likely to see “Cosmic Sin” after watching the trailer said they would prefer to watch it right away in movie theatres, as opposed to watching it via download services at a later date. That level of interest was lower for this week’s other cinematic releases: action thriller “Dark Web: Cicada 3301” (22%) and steamy romantic drama “Trust” (18%).
The other sci-fi flick turning heads this week was cyber-thriller “Dark Web: Cicada 3301”. Based on an online conspiracy theory of the same name, “Dark Web: Cicada 3301” tells the story of a cunning hacker who competes in a secret society's global recruitment game.
“Dark Web: Cicada 3301” scored the second most effective trailer of the week. Before viewing the trailer, 21% of respondents said they were very or somewhat likely to see this high-speed action thriller. After viewing the trailer, that number increased to 44%.
But who exactly is interested in watching “Dark Web: Cicada 3301”? This web-driven drama had an equal impact on viewers of both genders: 42% of female and 43% of male YouGov Direct viewers said they were very or somewhat likely to see the movie. It also had a degree of cross-generational appeal. After viewing the trailer, 42% of respondents aged between 18-39 and 42% of respondents aged 40 and over said they were interested in seeing it post-trailer.
Not everyone, however, was a fan of the film. When we asked viewers what they liked best about the trailer for “Dark Web: Cicada 3301”, more than two in five claimed they ‘didn’t like anything about it’ (24%).
YouGov Direct also asks respondents to tell us how good or bad they think a movie will be based on the trailer. Of all the trailers we tested this week, “Yes Day” - a Netflix family film asking what if your parents said ‘yes’ to your wildest requests - came out on top with a score of 3.7 out of a possible 5.0. This is compared to a median score of 3.5 for all trailers tested to date.
Related:
- “Chaos Walking” has the most effective trailer this week
- Viewers show some love for “The Father”
- “Blithe Spirit” trailer has the last laugh
- “The Mauritanian” turns heads with its trailer
Image: Getty
Methodology: Data is based on 4,000 interviews, including a minimum of 400 responses for each movie trailer tested. Surveys were conducted online on March 14, 2021.
