Movie trailers compete for glory, one comes out victorious

Many movie goers often talk through previews, but those promos are a big deal, big enough to get their own version of the Oscars.

In 70 categories and with a shiny trailer statue, movie previews were recognized Friday night at "The Golden Trailer Awards" in Hollywood. "Iron Man 3" took home the prize for summer 2013 blockbuster trailer. The promo for "Les Misérables" won the award for - what else - best music. And the award for best voice over went to the film "John Dies At The End."

"It really helps to have big bombastic music, it really helps to show the audience something that it looks like they've seen before and liked," said Sam Thielman, staff writer at Adweek. And "it's great to have a super hero attached to it."

The ads may only last a minute or so, but they can make or break a two-hour feature. In the case of "Iron Man 3", the mission was accomplished in historic fashion. The movie dominated the box office, raking it more than $175 million in ticket sales, making it the second biggest opening in Hollywood history, just behind another comic book blockbuster "The Avengers."

"The industry is mammoth, it's huge. It's worth an incredible amount of money for each individual film," said Thielman, adding that the average marketing budget for a movie is $30 million, the majority of which goes to trailer production.

So the next time you feel like fast forwarding through the previews, stop and watch, you may be skipping over a winner.