Inside The Secretive, Pay-For-Play World Of Movie Trailers

By: bitcoin ethereum news|2025/05/02 19:30:02
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In a world where there are 25 minutes of previews before every movie, here’s why studios pay millions to secure a spot in front of summer’s biggest blockbusters. A nyone going to see Marvel Studios’ Thunderbolts* this weekend can expect to watch eight—perhaps even 10—movie trailers before the feature begins. Throw in an ad for popcorn and Nicole Kidman waxing poetic about the power of cinema, and the pre-show lineup can stretch to nearly a half-hour. Even if that can seem like a drag to an audience, those are highly valuable minutes to both the movie studios and the theater chains. In an era when theatrical attendance continues to decline—the domestic box office grossed $8.7 billion last year, a dip of more than 3% from 2023, and ticket sales dropped 7%—trailers remain the top driver of awareness and decision-making for most moviegoers. According to National Research Group’s biannual survey, 36% of those between the ages 12-74 say they first heard about the most recent movie they saw in theaters through a trailer, more than any other source. Because Thunderbolts* is the first anticipated blockbuster of the summer movie season—the 18-week period between the first of May and Labor Day that accounts for 40% of the annual box office total in the U.S. and Canada—its preview space is one of the most important marketing opportunities for the biggest releases, including Paramount’s Mission: Impossible – The Final Reckoning , Universal’s Jurassic World: Rebirth , and Warner Bros.’ Superman . With fierce competition for these theoretically finite slots, there’s another reason for the increased number of trailers—theater chains are selling preview time to the highest bidder. “The most valuable real estate this industry has is trailer play. That’s where we cross-pollinate success,” Neon CEO Tom Quinn said last month at Cinemacon in Las Vegas. “But I, as an independent, don’t always get trailer play. I have to go buy that trailer play with every other studio. And we play a big game, but it’s very expensive.” The particulars of this pay-to-play system are whispered about with a level of secrecy that Ethan Hunt’s Impossible Missions Force would appreciate. Despite the symbiotic relationship between studios and theaters—or mutually assured destruction, depending on who you ask—the two sides often operate on a need-to-know, no-paper-trail basis. For fear of upsetting the delicate system, neither side is eager to speak on the record. According to Hollywood lore, it was Sony executive Jeff Blake who first began paying for trailer placement in 2001. Back then, theaters averaged four previews per movie. The two slots closest to the actual feature were guaranteed to the company distributing the movie, and the others were chosen by the theater operator. That is until Blake shelled out an estimated $100,000, split among four theater chains, to ensure that a 60-second preview for the Rob Schneider comedy The Animal played in front of that summer’s big May release, The Mummy Returns. Today, Hollywood’s major studios routinely strike year-long marketing agreements with major theater chains including AMC, Regal and Cinemark to guarantee trailer play in front of the biggest releases. Those deals range from $2 million to $5 million each, proportionate to the size of the chain, and can include other in-theater marketing opportunities such as ads on concession stands or theater marquees. What exactly that money buys, however, is not always clear. Most moviegoers would assume the trailer system would be similar to any other advertising expenditure, but in practice studio executives say it can often feel closer to a bribe. Studios typically select “target” preferences for which trailers to put with which movies, and exhibitors reply with a certain percentage of screenings it can offer for each title, usually between 50% and 100%. The tradition of reserving the two final previews for free for the studio that produced the movie continues to hold, but the value of the other four to six slots is constantly in flux. Six-figure transactions for additional trailer play can often materialize at a moment’s notice. This dynamic marketplace is driven by a movie’s predicted popularity, the amount of money paid, and above all, the fear of competition. Further complicating the marketplace, each studio has no idea what the others are paying a particular chain, and chains don’t know what each studio is paying the competition. Beyond that, studios don’t know whether the preview screenings they receive will be in the best auditoriums or the best showtimes. To help strategize, some studios have hired third-party trailer auditing companies, who send people to physically sit in theaters across the country and write down the order of all the trailers played before a given movie. “It’s always been sensitive and back room,” says one distribution executive, who believes there should be more transparency but declines to be identified by name. “It’s coming from this place of we’re going to maximize our leverage against you. A lot of theatrical distribution is rooted in that tradition.” Until the pandemic, Disney was known for never having to pay for trailer placement because of its dominant position in the marketplace. The mere threat of withholding a film or increasing its rental fee (the percentage split of box office gross) was enough to ensure good trailer placement from theater chains. Rival studios also relied on Disney’s new releases so they could advertise their biggest movies ahead of them. However, Disney has only held the largest market share of the domestic box office once in the five years since the pandemic, and in recent years Hollywood insiders believe the company has started to participate in the pay-for-play trailer system like everyone else. (Disney declined to comment for this story.) The trailer strategy gets even more complicated after that. Any preview slots not reserved by these annual guarantees are sold on a one-off basis or in mini-packages to independent distributors such as A24 and Neon, who in some cases pay up to $1 million across all the chains to secure a percentage of trailer play in front of a particular movie. The irony of this high-pressure environment is that it is relatively low stakes. A presumed blockbuster like Thunderbolts* has a marketing budget of well over $100 million, and the amount of money spent on TV advertisements for one movie alone can be more than a studio might spend on trailer placement for the entire year. Still, studio executives say that reaching people who have already bought movie tickets and then getting their undivided attention for a trailer can often the moment when they decide whether they want to see an upcoming movie. Meanwhile, TV commercials, digital ads and billboards serve primarily to remind viewers of a movie’s release date. That’s why studios can spend as much as $200,000 to produce a two-and-a-half minute trailer—or, in the case of Thunderbolts*, even three full-length trailers across a seven-month marketing campaign. This combination of the increased length of trailers and the increased inventory over the years has seemingly pushed some moviegoers to the edge of their patience. In Connecticut, a state senator introduced a bill in January that would require theaters to post the movie’s actual start time as opposed to the time when the previews begin.. And at CinemaCon, the national gathering of theater owners, there were multiple conversations around reviving the effort to cap trailers at two minutes (a guideline sent out in 2014 by the National Association of Theater Owners was mostly ignored by studios). “People love trailers,” says Paul Dergarabedian, a senior media analyst at ComScore, a leading box office data provider. “But [theaters] have to walk that fine line—you don’t want to overdo it because then you burn people out before the curtains even open on the feature.” For studios, a good trailer often doubles as the most impactful piece of digital marketing in a movie’s campaign, once it is posted on YouTube and other social media platforms. According to the same NRG survey, Gen-Z moviegoers said that social media and word of mouth outrank trailers in influence, but when asked what type of social media content drives their choices, trailers once again reigned supreme. Brandon Katz, a box office analyst at Observer and former senior strategist at the Los Angeles-based Parrot Analytics, says that online trailer views are a strong indicator of box office performance. “That’s a big data point that we use here internally in our forecasting,” Katz says. “Having trailers available online is a real game changer for movie marketing.” There is, however, one other marketing force that in recent years has proven even more powerful and unpredictable—online virality. When a movie catches on organically—whether it’s an army of teen “Gentleminions” in suits going to see Minions: The Rise of Gru , the M3gan dance trend, or the recent “chicken jockey” mania around A Minecraft Movie —it can cause a movie to vastly overperform the predicted box office results. But attempts by distributors to create those viral moments have proven largely futile, so for now, the focus remains on trailers. “I think what everyone in this industry has learned is that viral moments of the movies have to be organic. You can’t will a Barbenheimer into existence,” says Katz. “But in a theater, you know you’ve got their attention. And you’ve got two to three minutes to sell the movie. That is so valuable.” More from Forbes Forbes The Highest-Paid Actors Of 2024 By Matt Craig Forbes Why This Film Financing Company Is The Safest Bet In Hollywood By Matt Craig Forbes Why Hollywood Is Bearish On The Future Of Television By Matt Craig Forbes Forbes Richest Person In Every State 2025 By Forbes Wealth Team Forbes He Made A Billion Building Houses For Florida’s ‘Marvelous Middle.’ Now Things Aren’t So Marvelous. By Monica Hunter-Hart Source: https://www.forbes.com/sites/mattcraig/2025/05/02/inside-the-secretive-pay-for-play-world-of-movie-trailers/

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China's Central Bank and Eight Other Departments' Latest Regulatory Focus: Key Attention to RWA Tokenized Asset Risk


Foreword: Today, the People's Bank of China's website published the "Notice of the People's Bank of China, National Development and Reform Commission, Ministry of Industry and Information Technology, Ministry of Public Security, State Administration for Market Regulation, China Banking and Insurance Regulatory Commission, China Securities Regulatory Commission, State Administration of Foreign Exchange on Further Preventing and Dealing with Risks Related to Virtual Currency and Others (Yinfa [2026] No. 42)", the latest regulatory requirements from the eight departments including the central bank, which are basically consistent with the regulatory requirements of recent years. The main focus of the regulation is on speculative activities such as virtual currency trading, exchanges, ICOs, overseas platform services, and this time, regulatory oversight of RWA has been added, explicitly prohibiting RWA tokenization, stablecoins (especially those pegged to the RMB). The following is the full text:


To the people's governments of all provinces, autonomous regions, and municipalities directly under the Central Government, the Xinjiang Production and Construction Corps:


  Recently, there have been speculative activities related to virtual currency and Real-World Assets (RWA) tokenization, disrupting the economic and financial order and jeopardizing the property security of the people. In order to further prevent and address the risks related to virtual currency and Real-World Assets tokenization, effectively safeguard national security and social stability, in accordance with the "Law of the People's Republic of China on the People's Bank of China," "Law of the People's Republic of China on Commercial Banks," "Securities Law of the People's Republic of China," "Law of the People's Republic of China on Securities Investment Funds," "Law of the People's Republic of China on Futures and Derivatives," "Cybersecurity Law of the People's Republic of China," "Regulations of the People's Republic of China on the Administration of Renminbi," "Regulations on Prevention and Disposal of Illegal Fundraising," "Regulations of the People's Republic of China on Foreign Exchange Administration," "Telecommunications Regulations of the People's Republic of China," and other provisions, after reaching consensus with the Cyberspace Administration of China, the Supreme People's Court, and the Supreme People's Procuratorate, and with the approval of the State Council, the relevant matters are notified as follows:


  I. Clarify the essential attributes of virtual currency, Real-World Assets tokenization, and related business activities


  (I) Virtual currency does not possess the legal status equivalent to fiat currency. Virtual currencies such as Bitcoin, Ether, Tether, etc., have the main characteristics of being issued by non-monetary authorities, using encryption technology and distributed ledger or similar technology, existing in digital form, etc. They do not have legal tender status, should not and cannot be circulated and used as currency in the market.


  The business activities related to virtual currency are classified as illegal financial activities. The exchange of fiat currency and virtual currency within the territory, exchange of virtual currencies, acting as a central counterparty in buying and selling virtual currencies, providing information intermediary and pricing services for virtual currency transactions, token issuance financing, and trading of virtual currency-related financial products, etc., fall under illegal financial activities, such as suspected illegal issuance of token vouchers, unauthorized public issuance of securities, illegal operation of securities and futures business, illegal fundraising, etc., are strictly prohibited across the board and resolutely banned in accordance with the law. Overseas entities and individuals are not allowed to provide virtual currency-related services to domestic entities in any form.


  A stablecoin pegged to a fiat currency indirectly fulfills some functions of the fiat currency in circulation. Without the consent of relevant authorities in accordance with the law and regulations, any domestic or foreign entity or individual is not allowed to issue a RMB-pegged stablecoin overseas.


(II)Tokenization of Real-World Assets refers to the use of encryption technology and distributed ledger or similar technologies to transform ownership rights, income rights, etc., of assets into tokens (tokens) or other interests or bond certificates with token (token) characteristics, and carry out issuance and trading activities.


  Engaging in the tokenization of real-world assets domestically, as well as providing related intermediary, information technology services, etc., which are suspected of illegal issuance of token vouchers, unauthorized public offering of securities, illegal operation of securities and futures business, illegal fundraising, and other illegal financial activities, shall be prohibited; except for relevant business activities carried out with the approval of the competent authorities in accordance with the law and regulations and relying on specific financial infrastructures. Overseas entities and individuals are not allowed to illegally provide services related to the tokenization of real-world assets to domestic entities in any form.


  II. Sound Work Mechanism


  (III) Inter-agency Coordination. The People's Bank of China, together with the National Development and Reform Commission, the Ministry of Industry and Information Technology, the Ministry of Public Security, the State Administration for Market Regulation, the China Banking and Insurance Regulatory Commission, the China Securities Regulatory Commission, the State Administration of Foreign Exchange, and other departments, will improve the work mechanism, strengthen coordination with the Cyberspace Administration of China, the Supreme People's Court, and the Supreme People's Procuratorate, coordinate efforts, and overall guide regions to carry out risk prevention and disposal of virtual currency-related illegal financial activities.


  The China Securities Regulatory Commission, together with the National Development and Reform Commission, the Ministry of Industry and Information Technology, the Ministry of Public Security, the People's Bank of China, the State Administration for Market Regulation, the China Banking and Insurance Regulatory Commission, the State Administration of Foreign Exchange, and other departments, will improve the work mechanism, strengthen coordination with the Cyberspace Administration of China, the Supreme People's Court, and the Supreme People's Procuratorate, coordinate efforts, and overall guide regions to carry out risk prevention and disposal of illegal financial activities related to the tokenization of real-world assets.


  (IV) Strengthening Local Implementation. The people's governments at the provincial level are overall responsible for the prevention and disposal of risks related to virtual currencies and the tokenization of real-world assets in their respective administrative regions. The specific leading department is the local financial regulatory department, with participation from branches and dispatched institutions of the State Council's financial regulatory department, telecommunications regulators, public security, market supervision, and other departments, in coordination with cyberspace departments, courts, and procuratorates, to improve the normalization of the work mechanism, effectively connect with the relevant work mechanisms of central departments, form a cooperative and coordinated working pattern between central and local governments, effectively prevent and properly handle risks related to virtual currencies and the tokenization of real-world assets, and maintain economic and financial order and social stability.


  III. Strengthened Risk Monitoring, Prevention, and Disposal


  (5) Enhanced Risk Monitoring. The People's Bank of China, China Securities Regulatory Commission, National Development and Reform Commission, Ministry of Industry and Information Technology, Ministry of Public Security, State Administration of Foreign Exchange, Cyberspace Administration of China, and other departments continue to improve monitoring techniques and system support, enhance cross-departmental data analysis and sharing, establish sound information sharing and cross-validation mechanisms, promptly grasp the risk situation of activities related to virtual currency and real-world asset tokenization. Local governments at all levels give full play to the role of local monitoring and early warning mechanisms. Local financial regulatory authorities, together with branches and agencies of the State Council's financial regulatory authorities, as well as departments of cyberspace and public security, ensure effective connection between online monitoring, offline investigation, and fund tracking, efficiently and accurately identify activities related to virtual currency and real-world asset tokenization, promptly share risk information, improve early warning information dissemination, verification, and rapid response mechanisms.


  (6) Strengthened Oversight of Financial Institutions, Intermediaries, and Technology Service Providers. Financial institutions (including non-bank payment institutions) are prohibited from providing account opening, fund transfer, and clearing services for virtual currency-related business activities, issuing and selling financial products related to virtual currency, including virtual currency and related financial products in the scope of collateral, conducting insurance business related to virtual currency, or including virtual currency in the scope of insurance liability. Financial institutions (including non-bank payment institutions) are prohibited from providing custody, clearing, and settlement services for unauthorized real-world asset tokenization-related business and related financial products. Relevant intermediary institutions and information technology service providers are prohibited from providing intermediary, technical, or other services for unauthorized real-world asset tokenization-related businesses and related financial products.


  (7) Enhanced Management of Internet Information Content and Access. Internet enterprises are prohibited from providing online business venues, commercial displays, marketing, advertising, or paid traffic diversion services for virtual currency and real-world asset tokenization-related business activities. Upon discovering clues of illegal activities, they should promptly report to relevant departments and provide technical support and assistance for related investigations and inquiries. Based on the clues transferred by the financial regulatory authorities, the cyberspace administration, telecommunications authorities, and public security departments should promptly close and deal with websites, mobile applications (including mini-programs), and public accounts engaged in virtual currency and real-world asset tokenization-related business activities in accordance with the law.


  (8) Strengthened Entity Registration and Advertisement Management. Market supervision departments strengthen entity registration and management, and enterprise and individual business registrations must not contain terms such as "virtual currency," "virtual asset," "cryptocurrency," "crypto asset," "stablecoin," "real-world asset tokenization," or "RWA" in their names or business scopes. Market supervision departments, together with financial regulatory authorities, legally enhance the supervision of advertisements related to virtual currency and real-world asset tokenization, promptly investigating and handling relevant illegal advertisements.


  (IX) Continued Rectification of Virtual Currency Mining Activities. The National Development and Reform Commission, together with relevant departments, strictly controls virtual currency mining activities, continuously promotes the rectification of virtual currency mining activities. The people's governments of various provinces take overall responsibility for the rectification of "mining" within their respective administrative regions. In accordance with the requirements of the National Development and Reform Commission and other departments in the "Notice on the Rectification of Virtual Currency Mining Activities" (NDRC Energy-saving Building [2021] No. 1283) and the provisions of the "Guidance Catalog for Industrial Structure Adjustment (2024 Edition)," a comprehensive review, investigation, and closure of existing virtual currency mining projects are conducted, new mining projects are strictly prohibited, and mining machine production enterprises are strictly prohibited from providing mining machine sales and other services within the country.


  (X) Severe Crackdown on Related Illegal Financial Activities. Upon discovering clues to illegal financial activities related to virtual currency and the tokenization of real-world assets, local financial regulatory authorities, branches of the State Council's financial regulatory authorities, and other relevant departments promptly investigate, determine, and properly handle the issues in accordance with the law, and seriously hold the relevant entities and individuals legally responsible. Those suspected of crimes are transferred to the judicial authorities for processing according to the law.


 (XI) Severe Crackdown on Related Illegal and Criminal Activities. The Ministry of Public Security, the People's Bank of China, the State Administration for Market Regulation, the China Banking and Insurance Regulatory Commission, the China Securities Regulatory Commission, as well as judicial and procuratorial organs, in accordance with their respective responsibilities, rigorously crack down on illegal and criminal activities related to virtual currency, the tokenization of real-world assets, such as fraud, money laundering, illegal business operations, pyramid schemes, illegal fundraising, and other illegal and criminal activities carried out under the guise of virtual currency, the tokenization of real-world assets, etc.


  (XII) Strengthen Industry Self-discipline. Relevant industry associations should enhance membership management and policy advocacy, based on their own responsibilities, advocate and urge member units to resist illegal financial activities related to virtual currency and the tokenization of real-world assets. Member units that violate regulatory policies and industry self-discipline rules are to be disciplined in accordance with relevant self-regulatory management regulations. By leveraging various industry infrastructure, conduct risk monitoring related to virtual currency, the tokenization of real-world assets, and promptly transfer issue clues to relevant departments.


  IV. Strict Supervision of Domestic Entities Engaging in Overseas Business Activities


(XIII) Without the approval of relevant departments in accordance with the law and regulations, domestic entities and foreign entities controlled by them may not issue virtual currency overseas.


  (XIV) Domestic entities engaging directly or indirectly in overseas external debt-based tokenization of real-world assets, or conducting asset securitization activities abroad based on domestic ownership rights, income rights, etc. (hereinafter referred to as domestic equity), should be strictly regulated in accordance with the principles of "same business, same risk, same rules." The National Development and Reform Commission, the China Securities Regulatory Commission, the State Administration of Foreign Exchange, and other relevant departments regulate it according to their respective responsibilities. For other forms of overseas real-world asset tokenization activities based on domestic equity by domestic entities, the China Securities Regulatory Commission, together with relevant departments, supervise according to their division of responsibilities. Without the consent and filing of relevant departments, no unit or individual may engage in the above-mentioned business.


  (15) Overseas subsidiaries and branches of domestic financial institutions providing Real World Asset Tokenization-related services overseas shall do so legally and prudently. They shall have professional personnel and systems in place to effectively mitigate business risks, strictly implement customer onboarding, suitability management, anti-money laundering requirements, and incorporate them into the domestic financial institutions' compliance and risk management system. Intermediaries and information technology service providers offering Real World Asset Tokenization services abroad based on domestic equity or conducting Real World Asset Tokenization business in the form of overseas debt for domestic entities directly or indirectly venturing abroad must strictly comply with relevant laws and regulations. They should establish and improve relevant compliance and internal control systems in accordance with relevant normative requirements, strengthen business and risk control, and report the business developments to the relevant regulatory authorities for approval or filing.


  V. Strengthen Organizational Implementation


  (16) Strengthen organizational leadership and overall coordination. All departments and regions should attach great importance to the prevention of risks related to virtual currencies and Real World Asset Tokenization, strengthen organizational leadership, clarify work responsibilities, form a long-term effective working mechanism with centralized coordination, local implementation, and shared responsibilities, maintain high pressure, dynamically monitor risks, effectively prevent and mitigate risks in an orderly and efficient manner, legally protect the property security of the people, and make every effort to maintain economic and financial order and social stability.


  (17) Widely carry out publicity and education. All departments, regions, and industry associations should make full use of various media and other communication channels to disseminate information through legal and policy interpretation, analysis of typical cases, and education on investment risks, etc. They should promote the illegality and harm of virtual currencies and Real World Asset Tokenization-related businesses and their manifestations, fully alert to potential risks and hidden dangers, and enhance public awareness and identification capabilities for risk prevention.


  VI. Legal Responsibility


  (18) Engaging in illegal financial activities related to virtual currencies and Real World Asset Tokenization in violation of this notice, as well as providing services for virtual currencies and Real World Asset Tokenization-related businesses, shall be punished in accordance with relevant regulations. If it constitutes a crime, criminal liability shall be pursued according to the law. For domestic entities and individuals who knowingly or should have known that overseas entities illegally provided virtual currency or Real World Asset Tokenization-related services to domestic entities and still assisted them, relevant responsibilities shall be pursued according to the law. If it constitutes a crime, criminal liability shall be pursued according to the law.


  (19) If any unit or individual invests in virtual currencies, Real World Asset Tokens, and related financial products against public order and good customs, the relevant civil legal actions shall be invalid, and any resulting losses shall be borne by them. If there are suspicions of disrupting financial order and jeopardizing financial security, the relevant departments shall deal with them according to the law.


  This notice shall enter into force upon the date of its issuance. The People's Bank of China and ten other departments' "Notice on Further Preventing and Dealing with the Risks of Virtual Currency Trading Speculation" (Yinfa [2021] No. 237) is hereby repealed.


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