# The Phantom Menace trailer

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

- Owner: Lucasfilm
- Kind: Film
- Sector: Entertainment
- Seed date: 1998-11-17
- Milestone date: 1998-11-20
- Date basis: Documented milestone; not a measured attention peak.
- Spread Score: 47 (Notable, provisional), v1.3
- Mechanics: Mystery & lore, Fandom mobilisation, Platform jump, Press loop, Pairing

## Summary

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.

## Timeline

- 1998-10-25 — Garth Franklin / Dark Horizons (Open web) — Dark Horizons published a shot-by-shot account of the unfinished teaser.
- 1998-11-10 — Lucasfilm (Open web) — Lucasfilm released the teaser poster showing Anakin with a Darth Vader shadow.
- 1998-11-16 — Industrial Light & Magic (Box office) — ILM employees watched the trailer at a private screening.

The full timeline, metrics and sources are on the case page, or via the Pro API (https://howitspread.com/developers).

Canonical URL: https://howitspread.com/cases/star-wars-episode-i-trailer

Cite as: How It Spread (2026). “The Phantom Menace trailer.” Case HIS-01450. Spread Score v1.3: 47/100. Updated 2026-10-23. https://howitspread.com/id/HIS-01450