The unlisted trailer for Paul Thomas Anderson’s upcoming film “One Battle After Another, which has been playing in front of “Superman” showings, has mysteriously racked up over 6 million views on YouTube.
The trailer, which is tucked away on Warner Bros.’ official YouTube channel, is virtually undiscoverable unless you have the direct link. It’s not searchable, not embedded anywhere official, and somehow has only one comment despite the massive view count.
This raises serious questions about what WB is doing with the marketing for this film. The prevailing theory is that the studio uploaded the trailer early in preparation for a public drop later this week, but that doesn’t explain the astronomical—and frankly suspect—view numbers on a video with near-zero engagement. It looks and feels like a soft launch, or worse, a glitch or placeholder that someone forgot to properly lock down.
The marketing for this one has been bizarre. Odd since “One Battle After Another” has reportedly been testing well with audiences, with early word suggesting it could be a decent commercial play. Still, the rollout is baffling, especially for a filmmaker of PTA’s stature. We’ll keep an eye on this—expect the trailer to go fully public any day now. I also wouldn’t be surprised if Warner Bros takes it down in the next hour.