Posted on Dec 20, 2021

The 10 Best Movie Trailers Of 2021, Ranked By Someone Who Literally Writes About Movie Trailers For A Living

Or as I've always preferred to call trailers: "Lil' Movie Foreplay Nuggets."

BuzzFeed Staff

Warner Bros.

In case you have zero idea who I am or what I'm talking about (so, basically, in case you're not my mom), I do a lot of rankings for this site you're on. In fact, here are some other ones, if you want to check 'em out: Horror Movie Jump Scares, 21st-Century Fight Scenes, Underrated Disney Songs, Shocking Plot Twists, Gory Scenes in Horror Movies, Love Declarations in Romantic Movies, Musical Moments In Non-Musical Movies, and most recently Best First Kisses In Movies.

Starting our list off strong with a nostalgia-riddled, scare-filled sequel (fifth-quel?), this is the only one to make our list for a film whose trailer dropped in 2021 but whose movie didn't. (It hits theaters in January 2022.) So why's it on here? Well, the pacing and editing are absolutely fantastic and the trailer does a great job of balancing the old and the new. We're introduced to our new band of potential blood bags — I mean, characters — while still getting glimpses of our longtime faves. Now, I'm admittedly biased, as I'm a big horror fan, so it was really fun to see the original trio together onscreen again! — Paramount Pictures / Via youtube.com

Starting our list off strong with a nostalgia-riddled, scare-filled sequel (fifth-quel?), this is the only one to make our list for a film whose trailer dropped in 2021 but whose movie didn't. (It hits theaters in January 2022.) So why's it on here? Well, the pacing and editing are absolutely fantastic and the trailer does a great job of balancing the old and the new. We're introduced to our new band of potential blood bags — I mean, characters — while still getting glimpses of our longtime faves. Now, I'm admittedly biased, as I'm a big horror fan, so it was really fun to see the original trio together onscreen again!

Paramount Pictures / Via youtube.com

Starting our list off strong with a nostalgia-riddled, scare-filled sequel (fifth-quel?), this is the only one to make our list for a film whose trailer dropped in 2021 but whose movie didn't. (It hits theaters in January 2022.) So why's it on here? Well, the pacing and editing are absolutely fantastic and the trailer does a great job of balancing the old and the new. We're introduced to our new band of potential blood bags — I mean, characters — while still getting glimpses of our longtime faves. Now, I'm admittedly biased, as I'm a big horror fan, so it was really fun to see the original trio together onscreen again!

This is one of those trailers where — if you're watching it with zero context — it almost feels like you're watching something made decades ago. Something from before the time of "movie trailers revealing the entire plot of the movie to us for some reason," ya know? Plus, the way the clips are all synced perfectly to the Bowie lyrics makes it feel special. Also, we really are blessed to be living in the "Bradley Cooper at the height of his Leonardo DiCaprio 'please for the love of all that is holy someone please just give this man an Oscar already'" era. — MGM / Via youtube.com

This is one of those trailers where — if you're watching it with zero context — it almost feels like you're watching something made decades ago. Something from before the time of "movie trailers revealing the entire plot of the movie to us for some reason," ya know? Plus, the way the clips are all synced perfectly to the Bowie lyrics makes it feel special. Also, we really are blessed to be living in the "Bradley Cooper at the height of his Leonardo DiCaprio 'please for the love of all that is holy someone please just give this man an Oscar already'" era.

MGM / Via youtube.com

This is one of those trailers where — if you're watching it with zero context — it almost feels like you're watching something made decades ago. Something from before the time of "movie trailers revealing the entire plot of the movie to us for some reason," ya know? Plus, the way the clips are all synced perfectly to the Bowie lyrics makes it feel special. Also, we really are blessed to be living in the "Bradley Cooper at the height of his Leonardo DiCaprio 'please for the love of all that is holy someone please just give this man an Oscar already'" era.

No matter how you felt about this not-quite-a-sequel/not-quite-a-reboot, there's no denying this initial trailer kicked all kinds of butt. Having the first real look at the film be a red band trailer was fitting for the overall tone of the movie and the sound mixing was next-level. Like, if anything can unironically be called "a good use of Steely Dan," it deserves a medal of some kind. — Warner Bros. / Via youtube.com

No matter how you felt about this not-quite-a-sequel/not-quite-a-reboot, there's no denying this initial trailer kicked all kinds of butt. Having the first real look at the film be a red band trailer was fitting for the overall tone of the movie and the sound mixing was next-level. Like, if anything can unironically be called "a good use of Steely Dan," it deserves a medal of some kind.

Warner Bros. / Via youtube.com

No matter how you felt about this not-quite-a-sequel/not-quite-a-reboot, there's no denying this initial trailer kicked all kinds of butt. Having the first real look at the film be a red band trailer was fitting for the overall tone of the movie and the sound mixing was next-level. Like, if anything can unironically be called "a good use of Steely Dan," it deserves a medal of some kind.

Holy hell, did I love this movie. And the only reason I even knew it existed was because I happened upon this trailer one day while (of all places) on an airplane. As semi-stated above, a good trailer captures the tone of the overall film and this one does that expertly. You feel the anxiety and tension building the longer the trailer goes on, like a rubber band being stretched and stretched to its breaking point before finally bouncing back. It's marvelous. If this trailer looks even remotely interesting to you, I genuinely can't recommend this movie highly enough. — Utopia / Via youtube.com

Holy hell, did I love this movie. And the only reason I even knew it existed was because I happened upon this trailer one day while (of all places) on an airplane. As semi-stated above, a good trailer captures the tone of the overall film and this one does that expertly. You feel the anxiety and tension building the longer the trailer goes on, like a rubber band being stretched and stretched to its breaking point before finally bouncing back. It's marvelous. If this trailer looks even remotely interesting to you, I genuinely can't recommend this movie highly enough.

Utopia / Via youtube.com

Holy hell, did I love this movie. And the only reason I even knew it existed was because I happened upon this trailer one day while (of all places) on an airplane. As semi-stated above, a good trailer captures the tone of the overall film and this one does that expertly. You feel the anxiety and tension building the longer the trailer goes on, like a rubber band being stretched and stretched to its breaking point before finally bouncing back. It's marvelous. If this trailer looks even remotely interesting to you, I genuinely can't recommend this movie highly enough.

My absolute favorite type of trailer is the one that — the very moment they finish — makes you go, "Huh, well what the actual heck was that all about?!" And boy howdy did this movie ever do that to me. Is it a traditional horror movie? Is it a heart-racing thriller? Is it a drama with some creepy moments?! Who's to say! But the editing combined with Anya Taylor-Joy's haunting rendition of "Downtown" was next-level. (Yes, that's actually her singing in the movie!) — Focus Features / Via youtube.com

My absolute favorite type of trailer is the one that — the very moment they finish — makes you go, "Huh, well what the actual heck was that all about?!" And boy howdy did this movie ever do that to me. Is it a traditional horror movie? Is it a heart-racing thriller? Is it a drama with some creepy moments?! Who's to say! But the editing combined with Anya Taylor-Joy's haunting rendition of "Downtown" was next-level. (Yes, that's actually her singing in the movie!)

Focus Features / Via youtube.com

My absolute favorite type of trailer is the one that — the very moment they finish — makes you go, "Huh, well what the actual heck was that all about?!" And boy howdy did this movie ever do that to me. Is it a traditional horror movie? Is it a heart-racing thriller? Is it a drama with some creepy moments?! Who's to say! But the editing combined with Anya Taylor-Joy's haunting rendition of "Downtown" was next-level. (Yes, that's actually her singing in the movie!)

When I first saw this trailer premiere on TV, I fully gasped. There is not one part of this that doesn't speak to me and my (bad) taste on a visceral level. The Lady Gaga! The Adam Driver! The costumes! The odd wigs! The groovy use of classic disco! The sheer and immediate memeability! The absolutely wild "Italian" accents! I was immediately hooked and never looked back. I only wish the movie had been as marvelously campy as this initial trailer, TBH. — MGM / Via youtube.com

When I first saw this trailer premiere on TV, I fully gasped. There is not one part of this that doesn't speak to me and my (bad) taste on a visceral level. The Lady Gaga! The Adam Driver! The costumes! The odd wigs! The groovy use of classic disco! The sheer and immediate memeability! The absolutely wild "Italian" accents! I was immediately hooked and never looked back. I only wish the movie had been as marvelously campy as this initial trailer, TBH.

MGM / Via youtube.com

When I first saw this trailer premiere on TV, I fully gasped. There is not one part of this that doesn't speak to me and my (bad) taste on a visceral level. The Lady Gaga! The Adam Driver! The costumes! The odd wigs! The groovy use of classic disco! The sheer and immediate memeability! The absolutely wild "Italian" accents! I was immediately hooked and never looked back. I only wish the movie had been as marvelously campy as this initial trailer, TBH.

The Harder They Fall is the title of this film, but also a summation of my reaction to seeing this trailer because THIS CAST?! IT'S STACKED LIKE A TURKEY AND CHEESE LUNCHABLE, Y'ALL. The second — and I mean the second — I saw Regina King's eyes I was like...just take my money. Take all my money right now (like, student loan repayment doesn't restart until January 2022 anyway, right?). And then the teaser just continues to build more and more to epic proportions and the movie as a whole delivered! If you haven't had a chance yet, check it out! — Netflix / Via youtube.com

The Harder They Fall is the title of this film, but also a summation of my reaction to seeing this trailer because THIS CAST?! IT'S STACKED LIKE A TURKEY AND CHEESE LUNCHABLE, Y'ALL. The second — and I mean the second — I saw Regina King's eyes I was like...just take my money. Take all my money right now (like, student loan repayment doesn't restart until January 2022 anyway, right?). And then the teaser just continues to build more and more to epic proportions and the movie as a whole delivered! If you haven't had a chance yet, check it out!

Netflix / Via youtube.com

The Harder They Fall is the title of this film, but also a summation of my reaction to seeing this trailer because THIS CAST?! IT'S STACKED LIKE A TURKEY AND CHEESE LUNCHABLE, Y'ALL. The second — and I mean the second — I saw Regina King's eyes I was like...just take my money. Take all my money right now (like, student loan repayment doesn't restart until January 2022 anyway, right?). And then the teaser just continues to build more and more to epic proportions and the movie as a whole delivered! If you haven't had a chance yet, check it out!

Ooooh, a little controversial here. Why, you ask? Well, first off, it's not number one (which I bet many readers — including my editor — assumed it might be), and second off, it's not the "Official Trailer," but the "Official Teaser." A lot to unpack here — but also, not really! I just personally liked this teaser more than the full-length trailer! It's not that deep! While it was just a teaser, it got everyone SO HYPED, and it was the first piece of marketing to ~officially~ confirm the return of Doc Ock and the Green Goblin. It's literally only not number one because, ya know, I personally preferred the next two trailers more. But you're allowed to tell me I'm wrong in the comments! — Marvel Studios / Via youtube.com

Ooooh, a little controversial here. Why, you ask? Well, first off, it's not number one (which I bet many readers — including my editor — assumed it might be), and second off, it's not the "Official Trailer," but the "Official Teaser." A lot to unpack here — but also, not really! I just personally liked this teaser more than the full-length trailer! It's not that deep! While it was just a teaser, it got everyone SO HYPED, and it was the first piece of marketing to ~officially~ confirm the return of Doc Ock and the Green Goblin. It's literally only not number one because, ya know, I personally preferred the next two trailers more. But you're allowed to tell me I'm wrong in the comments!

Marvel Studios / Via youtube.com

Ooooh, a little controversial here. Why, you ask? Well, first off, it's not number one (which I bet many readers — including my editor — assumed it might be), and second off, it's not the "Official Trailer," but the "Official Teaser." A lot to unpack here — but also, not really! I just personally liked this teaser more than the full-length trailer! It's not that deep! While it was just a teaser, it got everyone SO HYPED, and it was the first piece of marketing to ~officially~ confirm the return of Doc Ock and the Green Goblin. It's literally only not number one because, ya know, I personally preferred the next two trailers more. But you're allowed to tell me I'm wrong in the comments!

While there's still a few weeks left to 2021, I feel very confident definitively announcing that The Green Knight was my personal favorite movie of the year. Period. While I respect that others did not like it, I loved it enough for pretty much all of those people anyway; so there's that. It has everything! A big tree man! Dark Lord of the Rings vibes! Gorgeous cinematography! Dev Patel at the most attractive the world has ever seen an actor in any movie (a statement that's Seth Rogen–approved)! A talking CGI fox! Did I mention the big tree man already?! Anyway, all of that love started with this incredibly well-crafted trailer and I still find myself going back to rewatch it sometimes like it's a stand-alone short film just to enjoy the ~vibes~ (and Dev Patel). — A24 / Via youtube.com

While there's still a few weeks left to 2021, I feel very confident definitively announcing that The Green Knight was my personal favorite movie of the year. Period. While I respect that others did not like it, I loved it enough for pretty much all of those people anyway; so there's that. It has everything! A big tree man! Dark Lord of the Rings vibes! Gorgeous cinematography! Dev Patel at the most attractive the world has ever seen an actor in any movie (a statement that's Seth Rogen–approved)! A talking CGI fox! Did I mention the big tree man already?! Anyway, all of that love started with this incredibly well-crafted trailer and I still find myself going back to rewatch it sometimes like it's a stand-alone short film just to enjoy the ~vibes~ (and Dev Patel).

A24 / Via youtube.com

While there's still a few weeks left to 2021, I feel very confident definitively announcing that The Green Knight was my personal favorite movie of the year. Period. While I respect that others did not like it, I loved it enough for pretty much all of those people anyway; so there's that. It has everything! A big tree man! Dark Lord of the Rings vibes! Gorgeous cinematography! Dev Patel at the most attractive the world has ever seen an actor in any movie (a statement that's Seth Rogen–approved)! A talking CGI fox! Did I mention the big tree man already?! Anyway, all of that love started with this incredibly well-crafted trailer and I still find myself going back to rewatch it sometimes like it's a stand-alone short film just to enjoy the ~vibes~ (and Dev Patel).

Y'all, this trailer. It's art. No notes. It wins. It's one of those trailers that I watched, needed a minute to compose myself, then watched again. And while I am, admittedly, extremely susceptible to nostalgia, here's a quick fun fact about me, Allie, the human writing this post: I hadn't actually seen the original Matrix when this trailer dropped! I know! (But don't worry, I have since watched them all multiple times and they are now among my faves — yes, even the sequels! I told you, my taste is bad!) So my point here is that it wasn't the nostalgia that got me. It was genuinely the greatness of the trailer, which catapulted it to my number one favorite of 2021. Plus, the use of Jefferson Airplane's "White Rabbit" is the first to rival the use of Gil Scott-Heron's "The Revolution Will Not Be Televised" in the 2017 Black Panther teaser as my favorite use of music in a trailer. It's just... It's very good.
Also, if we've learned anything about me through this journey of a post, it's that your girl here sure does love the color green. — Warner Bros. / Via youtube.com

Y'all, this trailer. It's art. No notes. It wins. It's one of those trailers that I watched, needed a minute to compose myself, then watched again. And while I am, admittedly, extremely susceptible to nostalgia, here's a quick fun fact about me, Allie, the human writing this post: I hadn't actually seen the original Matrix when this trailer dropped! I know! (But don't worry, I have since watched them all multiple times and they are now among my faves — yes, even the sequels! I told you, my taste is bad!) So my point here is that it wasn't the nostalgia that got me. It was genuinely the greatness of the trailer, which catapulted it to my number one favorite of 2021. Plus, the use of Jefferson Airplane's "White Rabbit" is the first to rival the use of Gil Scott-Heron's "The Revolution Will Not Be Televised" in the 2017 Black Panther teaser as my favorite use of music in a trailer. It's just... It's very good.
Also, if we've learned anything about me through this journey of a post, it's that your girl here sure does love the color green.

Warner Bros. / Via youtube.com

Y'all, this trailer. It's art. No notes. It wins. It's one of those trailers that I watched, needed a minute to compose myself, then watched again. And while I am, admittedly, extremely susceptible to nostalgia, here's a quick fun fact about me, Allie, the human writing this post: I hadn't actually seen the original Matrix when this trailer dropped! I know! (But don't worry, I have since watched them all multiple times and they are now among my faves — yes, even the sequels! I told you, my taste is bad!) So my point here is that it wasn't the nostalgia that got me. It was genuinely the greatness of the trailer, which catapulted it to my number one favorite of 2021. Plus, the use of Jefferson Airplane's "White Rabbit" is the first to rival the use of Gil Scott-Heron's "The Revolution Will Not Be Televised" in the 2017 Black Panther teaser as my favorite use of music in a trailer. It's just... It's very good.
Also, if we've learned anything about me through this journey of a post, it's that your girl here sure does love the color green.

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