10 Movie Trailers That Pointlessly Spoiled Huge Details

6. Apollo Creed's Death - Rocky IV

Speak No Evil 2024
MGM

Sports movies generally aren't known for their unpredictability, and that's certainly true of the Rocky franchise, though the fourth movie had quite the shocking surprise up its sleeve - the death of Apollo Creed (Carl Weathers) at the hands of villain Ivan Drago (Dolph Lundgren) during a boxing match in the first act.

Even accepting that this happens early in the movie, it's such a jaw-dropping, devastating moment that fans should've been bamboozled by it in the cinema - not months beforehand!

All the trailers really had to focus on was Drago's ferocity as a seemingly insurmountable opponent for Rocky, but spoiling Apollo's demise was a cheap shot by the marketing department, pressing fans' emotional buttons in a desperate attempt to get their butts in seats. And to their begrudging credit, the gambit evidently worked, as Rocky IV remains the highest-grossing entry in the entire nine-film franchise almost four decades later.

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Contributor

Stay at home dad who spends as much time teaching his kids the merits of Martin Scorsese as possible (against the missus' wishes). General video game, TV and film nut. Occasional sports fan. Full time loon.