Greta Baldwin
Comm 225: Film Form and Context
Professor Messaris
October 15, 13
The Fall of the “In a World…” Cliché
Introduction
Movie trailers have always been an important aspect of the pre-promotion of movies. The
success of a trailer influences the production of films and can often times predict box office success1.
There are many conventions that have been established within movie trailers. This study examines the
use of non-diegetic sound in movie trailers and the relationship between box office hits.
Non diegetic sound, also called “voice of God” narration, is a voice that emerges from outside
the world of the film. In the 80’s and 90’s most of the big trailers contained a strong, deep voice that
exaggerated the drama and introduced the audience to the world of the film2. For example, common
conventions of the introduction to a drama trailer is when an unknown voice emerges saying “In a
World….” or “Will embark on a journey….”. A comedy trailer would start with “Meet ____” or
“…Until one day…”3. These elements have been fundamental in successful films but have recently
been subverted in trailers of the new century. This study focuses on trailers for successful movies in the
80’s, 90’s, and 00’s decades that use a narration from an outside voice rather than narration from a
character in the movie, which many times is a voiceover narrating their thoughts. It will determine the
possible effect of the voice-of-god narration in successful box office movies, which is expected to be
detrimental to creating a hit movie in today’s world.
Procedure
Due to there being no data on the top fifty domestic gross profits of films per decade, the data
collected for this study was obtained by gathering records of the profits for films by year and then
combining and organizing the profits into a cohesive list by decade4. Each trailer for the fifty top films
of the 80’s, 90’s, and 2000’s decade were examined. The presence of a non-diegetic, voice-of-god
narration, was documented and then formulated into a chart to compare the use of this convention in
films through the span of three decades.
In addition, the films were categorized into genres and assessed in accordance with their time
period and the prevalence of voice-of-god narration for specific genre.
Findings
The following chart proves that there has been a decline in the number of trailers that employ an
outside narration. This means that box office hits today do not use non-diegetic narration in trailers
because it would be detrimental to the success of a film.
Watercutter, Angela. "To Predict the Next Box Office Hit, Look at Google Movie
Trailer Searches." Wired.com. Conde Nast Digital, 04 June 0013. Web. 10 Oct. 2013.
2 Kehe, Jason, and Katie M. Palmer. "The Gripping, Mind-Blowing, Thrilling Evolution
of the Movie Trailer." Wired.com. Conde Nast Digital, 16 June 0013. Web. 10 Oct.
2013.
3 "In a World." TV Tropes. TV Tropes Foundation, LLC, Web. 11 Oct. 2013.
4 Table 1; all data obtained through yearly summaries from Box Office Mojo
1
An interested point in the data was the comparison between the Indiana Jones sequels from the 80’s and
2000’s. The Indiana Jones from the 80’s employed use of outside narration for the trailer and was a
successful movie. The Indiana Jones from the 2000’s was also a success but the trailer did not have the
voice-of-god element. This exemplifies the change in trailer conventions even within the same movie
franchise.
Furthermore, there is a significant switch in the top grossing profits for films pertaining to certain
genres, which in turn is also seen in the use of the non-diegetic voice of trailers.
These charts show the shift in genres for top box office hits of the 80’s, 90’s, and 2000’s:
This genre data can be broken down into segments for films that had trailers with the non-diegetic
sound, as seen in these charts:
Conclusion
These charts show that there has been a switch with the non-diegetic use in films between decades and
also in the genres that employ such voice-of-god narration. The most significant change can be seen in
the animation and family genre films. In the 1980’s, trailers with non-diegetic sound were not widely
used with children’s films. This is because this genre was not as significant in the film industry, in
comparison to comedy and action-adventure. The use of the narration in these popular genres enhanced
the dramatic effect of the story presented. In the 2000’s the market for children’s films picks up and the
non-diegetic voice skyrockets in its trailer industry, with 75% of the voice-of-god trailers being
animation-family. This shows the shift in tastes with audiences. The once powerful and strong voice to
generate intensity and enthusiasm in action adventure is now seen as overrated and cliché in such
dominate genres. It has now grown in popularity in family films, utilizing the narration to demonstrate
the specific tone of the film, generally happy and hopeful, creating an innocent and juvenile aura to the
trailer.
With action-adventure films dominating the film industry, with 66% of the top grossing domestic
films categorized into this genre, there is a dramatic drop in the number of non-diegetic narration in film
trailers. With the cliché tone that voice-of-god narrations have gained in their dominance in children’s
films, it would be detrimental for action-adventure film trailers to use this element for the promotion.
Thus, the majority of top domestic grossing films are negatively impacted by non-diegetic narration.
Table 1:
Top 50 Grossing Films by Decade
Highlighted are films that have trailers with non-diagetic sound
The 1980 Decade
1.
E.T.: The Extra-Terrestrial
$359,197,037
Action/Adventure
2.
Return of the Jedi
$252,583,617
Action/Adventure
3.
Batman
$251,188,924
Action/Adventure
4.
Beverly Hills Cop
$234,760,478
Action/Adventure
5.
Ghostbusters
$229,242,989
Comedy
6.
Raiders of the Lost Ark
$212,222,025
Action/Adventure
7.
Back to the Future
$210,609,762
Action/Adventure
8.
The Empire Strikes Back
$209,398,025
Action/Adventure
9.
Indiana Jones and the Last Crusade
$197,171,806
Action/Adventure
10. Indiana Jones and the Temple of Doom
$179,870,271
Action/Adventure
11. Tootsie
$177,200,000
Comedy
12. Top Gun
$176,781,728
Action/Adventure
13. Crocodile Dundee
$174,803,506
Action/Adventure
14. Rain Man
$172,825,435
Drama
15. Three Men and a Baby
$167,780,960
Comedy
16. Fatal Attraction
$156,645,693
Drama
17. Who Framed Roger Rabbit
$156,452,370
Animation/Family
18. Beverly Hills Cop II
$153,665,036
Action/Adventure
19. Rambo: First Blood Part II
$150,415,432
Action/Adventure
20. Gremlins
$148,168,459
Comedy
21. Lethal Weapon 2
$147,253,986
Action/Adventure
22. Look Who's Talking
$140,088,813
Comedy
23. Platoon
$138,530,565
Action/Adventure
24. Honey, I Shrunk the Kids
$130,724,172
Comedy
25. An Officer and a Gentleman
$129,795,554
Drama
26. Coming to America
$128,152,301
Comedy
27. Rocky IV
$127,873,716
Drama
28. Rocky III
$124,146,897
Drama
29. Good Morning, Vietnam
$123,922,370
Comedy
30. On Golden Pond
$119,285,432
Drama
31. Back to the Future Part II
$118,450,002
Action/Adventure
32. The Karate Kid Part II
$115,103,979
Animation/Family
33. Big
$114,968,774
Comedy
34. Ghostbusters II
$112,494,738
Comedy
35. Twins
$111,938,388
Comedy
36. Star Trek IV: The Voyage Home
$109,713,132
Action/Adventure
37. Crocodile Dundee II
$109,306,210
Action/Adventure
38. Terms of Endearment
$108,423,489
Drama
39. Superman II
$108,185,706
Action/Adventure
40. Driving Miss Daisy
$106,593,296
Comedy
41. Porky's
$105,492,483
Comedy
42. 9 to 5
$103,290,500
Comedy
43. Stir Crazy
$101,300,000
Comedy
44. Parenthood
$100,047,830
Comedy
45. Dead Poets Society
$95,860,116
Drama
46. Arthur
$95,461,682
Comedy
47. The Color Purple
$94,175,854
Drama
48. Flashdance
$92,921,203
Drama
49. When Harry Met Sally...
$92,823,546
Comedy
50. Back to School
$91,258,000
Comedy
The 1990 Decade
1.
Titanic
$600,788,188
Drama
2.
Star Wars: Episode I - The Phantom Menace
$431,088,295
Action/Adventure
3.
Jurassic Park
$357,067,947
Action/Adventure
4.
Forrest Gump
$329,694,499
Drama
5.
The Lion King
$312,855,561
Animation/Family
6.
Independence Day
$306,169,268
Action/Adventure
7.
The Sixth Sense
$293,506,292
Drama
8.
Home Alone
$285,761,243
Animation/Family
9.
Men in Black
$250,690,539
Comedy
10. Toy Story 2
$245,852,179
Animation/Family
11. Twister
$241,721,524
Action/Adventure
12. The Lost World: Jurassic Park
$229,086,679
Action/Adventure
13. Mrs. Doubtfire
$219,195,243
Comedy
14. Ghost
$217,631,306
Drama
15. Aladdin
$217,350,219
Animation/Family
16. Saving Private Ryan
$216,540,909
Action/Adventure
17. Austin Powers: The Spy Who Shagged Me
$206,040,086
Comedy
18. Terminator 2: Judgment Day
$204,843,345
Action/Adventure
19. Armageddon
$201,578,182
Action/Adventure
20. Toy Story
$191,796,233
Animation/Family
21. Dances with Wolves
$184,208,848
Action/Adventure
22. Batman Forever
$184,031,112
Action/Adventure
23. The Fugitive
$183,875,760
Action/Adventure
24. Liar Liar
$181,410,615
Comedy
25. Mission: Impossible
$180,981,856
Action/Adventure
26. Pretty Woman
$178,406,268
Comedy
27. There's Something About Mary
$176,484,651
Comedy
28. Home Alone 2: Lost in New York
$173,585,516
Animation/Family
29. Air Force One
$172,956,409
Action/Adventure
30. Apollo 13
$172,071,312
Action/Adventure
31. The Matrix
$171,479,930
Action/Adventure
32. Tarzan
$171,091,819
Animation/Family
33. Robin Hood: Prince of Thieves
$165,493,908
Action/Adventure
34. Big Daddy
$163,479,795
Comedy
35. Batman Returns
$162,831,698
Action/Adventure
36. A Bug's Life
$162,798,565
Animation/Family
37. The Waterboy
$161,491,646
Comedy
38. The Firm
$158,348,367
Drama
39. The Mummy
$155,385,488
Action/Adventure
40. Jerry Maguire
$153,952,592
Comedy
41. Runaway Bride
$152,257,509
Comedy
42. As Good as It Gets
$148,478,011
Comedy
43. True Lies
$146,282,411
Action/Adventure
44. Beauty and the Beast
$145,863,363
Animation/Family
45. The Santa Clause
$144,833,357
Animation/Family
46. Lethal Weapon 3
$144,731,527
Action/Adventure
47. Doctor Dolittle
$144,156,605
Comedy
48. Pocahontas
$141,579,773
Animation/Family
49. A Few Good Men
$141,340,178
Drama
50. Rush Hour
$141,186,864
Comedy
The 2000 Decade
1.
Avatar
$749,766,139
Action/Adventure
2.
The Dark Knight
$533,345,358
Action/Adventure
3.
Shrek 2
$441,226,247
Animation/Family
4.
Pirates of the Caribbean: Dead Man's Chest
$423,315,812
Action/Adventure
5.
Spider-Man
$403,706,375
Action/Adventure
6.
Transformers: Revenge of the Fallen
$402,111,870
Action/Adventure
7.
Star Wars: Episode III - Revenge of the Sith
$380,270,577
Action/Adventure
8.
The Lord of the Rings: The Return of the King
$377,027,325
Action/Adventure
9.
Spider-Man 2
$373,585,825
Action/Adventure
10. The Passion of the Christ
$370,274,604
Drama
11. The Lord of the Rings: The Two Towers
$339,789,881
Action/Adventure
12. Finding Nemo
$339,714,978
Animation/Family
13. Spider-Man 3
$336,530,303
Action/Adventure
14. Shrek the Third
$322,719,944
Animation/Family
15. Transformers
$319,246,193
Action/Adventure
16. Iron Man
$318,412,101
Action/Adventure
17. Harry Potter and the Sorcerer's Stone
$317,575,550
Action/Adventure
18. Indiana Jones and the Kingdom of the Crystal Skull
$317,101,119
Action/Adventure
19. The Lord of the Rings: The Fellowship of the Ring
$313,364,114
Action/Adventure
20. Pirates of the Caribbean: At World's End
$309,420,425
Action/Adventure
21. Pirates of the Caribbean: The Curse of the Black Pearl
$305,413,918
Action/Adventure
22. Star Wars: Episode II - Attack of the Clones
$302,191,252
Action/Adventure
23. Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince
$301,959,197
Action/Adventure
24. The Twilight Saga: New Moon
$296,623,634
Action/Adventure
25. Up
$293,004,164
Animation/Family
26. Harry Potter and the Order of the Phoenix
27. The Chronicles of Narnia: The Lion, the Witch and the
Wardrobe
$292,004,738
Action/Adventure
$291,710,957
Action/Adventure
28. Harry Potter and the Goblet of Fire
$290,013,036
Action/Adventure
29. The Matrix Reloaded
$281,576,461
Action/Adventure
30. Meet the Fockers
$279,261,160
Comedy
31. The Hangover
$277,322,503
Comedy
32. Shrek
$267,665,011
Animation/Family
33. Harry Potter and the Chamber of Secrets
$261,988,482
Action/Adventure
34. The Incredibles
$261,441,092
Animation/Family
35. How the Grinch Stole Christmas
$260,044,825
Animation/Family
36. Star Trek
$257,730,019
Action/Adventure
37. I Am Legend
$256,393,010
Action/Adventure
38. The Blind Side
$255,959,475
Drama
39. Monsters, Inc.
$255,873,250
Animation/Family
40. Night at the Museum
$250,863,268
Action/Adventure
41. Harry Potter and the Prisoner of Azkaban
$249,541,069
Action/Adventure
42. Cars
$244,082,982
Animation/Family
43. Bruce Almighty
$242,829,261
Comedy
44. My Big Fat Greek Wedding
$241,438,208
Comedy
45. X-Men: The Last Stand
$234,362,462
Action/Adventure
46. War of the Worlds
$234,280,354
Action/Adventure
47. Cast Away
$233,632,142
Drama
48. Signs
$227,966,634
Drama
49. Hancock
$227,946,274
Action/Adventure
50. The Bourne Ultimatum
$227,471,070
Action/Adventure