10 Monster Movies No One Was Ready For

5. The Cloverfield Paradox

A slight shift in gears now, as this entry focuses not on a movie that took audiences by surprise with what happened on the screen, but instead with an incredibly risky and unique trailer. No one could have been ready for The Cloverfield Paradox, because the marketing team didn't give them the chance.

As the project that put Matt Reeves on the map as a director, Cloverfield was a hit in 2008, followed up almost a decade later by a strong sequel, 10 Cloverfield Lane. After another two years came the aforementioned trailer for The Cloverfield Paradox.

Typically, this would be a studio's chance to get as much hype built around a release as possible, with the risk here being that the trailer only dropped mere hours before the film. In a move that was completely unprecedented, the trailer debuted during Super Bowl LII in 2018, advertising the picture's release on Netflix at the end of the game.

Unfortunately, the viewing figures simply weren't good, and the outing is easily the worst reviewed of the franchise. It's a shame, because such a bold marketing play could have returned so much more had the final product been stronger.