It can be tough distinguishing between a trailer that’s legitimately exciting and well done versus one with inherent appeal to a segment of the movie-going public, regardless of the trailer’s quality. The trailer for Man of Steel was can’t-miss for the latter reason, though the one on this list (trailer #3) also met the parameters of the former. (No surprise there—Zack Snyder’s a master of the movie trailer.) Still, for whatever reason—and often for a combination of them—some trailers stand out. Here are twenty of the best from 2013.
10. I Give It a Year
The trailers may give away every joke in this film, but even if they do, there are a lot of jokes, and they are pretty damn funny.
9 Saving Mr. Banks
This trailer actually does some things—like seeming to telegraph most of the plot points—that, absent other factors, would be irritating. But it knows it has three immensely appealing things going for it. Tom Hanks. Emma Thompson. Mary Poppins. Supercalifragilisticexpialidocious, indeed.
8. Her
Good romances make you fall in love with the relationship as well as the actors in it. Spike Jonze manages to convey a bit of “Aww…” with a premise that should be mostly “Eww…” in this trailer for his 2014 film.
7. The Visitor
Sure, this film was originally released in the late 1970s, but the trailer for the remastered effort was just unleashed on us in 2013. Lucky, lucky us.
6. American Hustle
It’s hard to disentangle the knotted up elements that make this trailer so exciting for film fans. The next David O. Russell film? More Bradley Cooper and Jennifer Lawrence? Super sexy Amy Adams? Yes, please.