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Library/Film/The Phantom Menace trailer
Grade B19 sourcesHIS-01450

The Phantom Menace trailer

Film · 1998 · Notable

47Editable slideCertificate

Fans paid cinema admission for a teaser Lucasfilm said drew over 10 million downloads.

Trailer · Star Wars on YouTube
Episode I Teaser Trailer - Star Wars: The Phantom Menace (Episode I)
Lucasfilm
Episode I trailer download page preserved in Lucasfilm's oral history.
Lucasfilm
Star Wars: The Phantom Menace | Remastered Trailer
Star Wars on YouTube
'Star Wars' Flashback: What Happened When 'The Phantom Menace' Teaser Debuted
The Hollywood Reporter
History in Objects: Commemorating The Phantom Menace
Lucasfilm
Star Wars: Episode I – The Phantom Menace trailer
Empire

Spread Score

How it works
ReachNo data yetContagion35Breadth40VelocityNo data yetLongevity7447

Numbers

Seed to milestone
3 days
Nov 17 ’98 to Nov 20 ’98
Platforms
4
Started on Box office
Leverage
9.1×
$1.05B on $115M budget

Mechanics

  • Mystery & lore
  • Fandom mobilisationPrimary
  • Platform jump
  • Press loop
  • Pairing

How it spread

Trace the origin

Fans paid to see the teaser in cinemas, then shared a camcorder copy online. Lucasfilm posted a clean version and later reported over 10 million downloads. The parent film opened in May with a record single-day gross.

Documented milestone; not a measured attention peak.

Nov ’97Sep ’98DecApr ’99Jun ’01Jun ’05Jun ’09Jun ’13Jun ’17Jun ’21Aug ’24Open webBox officePressYouTube
Open webBox officePressYouTube

13 more events on this chart

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Timeline (16)

  1. October 1998

    Garth Franklin / Dark Horizons precursor · Oct 25 ’98

    Dark Horizons published a shot-by-shot account of the unfinished teaser.[1]

    Open the first post ↗

  2. November 1998

    Lucasfilm precursor · Nov 10 ’98

    Lucasfilm released the teaser poster showing Anakin with a Darth Vader shadow.[2]

  3. Industrial Light & Magic precursor · Nov 16 ’98

    ILM employees watched the trailer at a private screening.[3]

  1. seed · Nov 17 ’98

  2. commercial · Nov 17 ’98

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Why it worked

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  1. 1
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Origin
Mixed
Sector
Entertainment
Region
US
Reported figure
—
Evidence
Grade B

Spread the same way

Series · Open web · 201752

Dark

Netflix; Wiedemann & Berg Television; creators Jantje Friese and Baran bo Odar

Netflix said more than 90% of viewing of its German series Dark came from abroad.

1 / 8

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New cases, every week

How the next thing spread, the week it does.