When Are Film Trailers Released?

When films are released in cinema, commonly called the 'positioning' of a film, is a very important decision because often, part of a film's success can depend on it- for instance, releasing a small UK independent film in the same time frame as an upcoming blockbuster would have a very detrimental impact on how much money it makes, as the mainstream blockbuster is obviously going to be dominant in terms of attention. A film's genre also has to be taken into account- for example family or children's comedies are most likely to be released during a half term or break from school, when families will be looking for activities to do together and to get the kids out of the house.
Similarly, when trailers are released is just as important: the films need to be marketed to generate a 'hype' for the film and establish an audience, but not advertised so early that they are forgotten about. For films with even smaller marketing budgets, it is even more imperative, as they may not be able to afford to advertise multiple times leading up to its release date. Generally, trailers are produced during the editing process of the film.

So, what are the key release dates? As aforementioned, there are the holidays when children and teenagers are away from school- bank holidays, half terms, summer, and so on. Other key dates can include widely-celebrated holidays such as Valentine's Day (for the romance comedies and such), Easter (Easter-themed animations targeted towards children, possibly), Mother's/Father's Day (family-themed films), Halloween (horror films), and Christmas. In places such as the US, the first weekend a film is shown can amount to as much as 70% of a film's total profit, and after about a week, the hype dispels as ratings from critics and cinema-goers appear, and the takings drop.
Factors that distributors take into account when selecting a release date mainly concern the genre and what time of year may be most suitable, along with what other films are due to be released at that time. Small budget independent films are very unlikely to be willing to compete against a high-concept film; similarly, two mainstream blockbusters may or may not wish to go against each other, taking into account awards ceremonies where they may want less competition.

Examples of positioning:

Krampus, 4th December 2015

Krampus is a Christmas-themed film, hence the release date in December, that advertised itself as convention-breaking and unique through its twist on the typical family holiday film, being a sort of family/horror hybrid. Its plot revolves around a boy who accidentally summons a demon, named 'Krampus' to his home when he's not having a good Christmas. This may have been attractive to older audiences who are tired of the typical 'happy family' Christmas film (as the film first appears to be in its trailer), and would have been shocked when the trailer took a sinister turn and became a supernatural horror. I saw this trailer in the cinema myself, nearing Halloween, as I waited to see the horror film Crimson Peak (October 2015). The Christmas time of year is very important because it's when families tend to be getting together, spending time with each other and looking for things to do- giving film producers the valuable opportunity to target and attract a very large audience, due to the varying age groups within families (although, Krampus may not be the best example for this particular aspect, as it is a horror and therefore unsuitable for children).

The BFG, 22nd July 2016

The BFG is a family adventure/fantasy book-to-movie adaption from Disney (the book being by Roald Dahl), released during the lead up to the summer holidays and targeted towards children (although many children may not know of the original book published 1982 and the 1989 TV movie). Its appeal, as well as the main factor of how it is a book adaption and by Disney, lies with its refurbished look of the CGI and visual effects, which in the trailer serve to enhance its storytelling. The positioning of the film was just as crucial, as because so much of its target audience is made up of children, it needed to be at a time when they wouldn't be at school (as well as at a time in which parents are taking time away from work and needing to entertain their children). According to Pearl & Dean, a UK cinema advertising contractor, it was released alongside the popular science-fiction film Star Trek: Beyond, a sequel in the already well-known franchise. I think that the distributor of The BFG chose this date, considering Star Trek's release at the same time, in order to provide an alternative for those in the Star Trek target audience who have children who may not be willing or able to see a sci-fi intended for an older generation (a tactic that is not uncommon- for example, when Star Wars: The Force Awakens was released on 18th December 2015, so was Snoopy and Charlie Brown: The Peanuts Movie, on the same day).
(Source: http://business.pearlanddean.com/films_guide)