Hoyts Cinemas

Background
Hoyts Cinemas is a Chinese-owned Australian cinema chain, and is also the largest cinema group in Australia.

1st Trailer (1988-1992)
Visuals: Against a starry background, a series of coloured light beams fly across from the left and right sides of the screen. Soon after, a glowing white light (likely a star) begins to flash rapidly in the centre, sending more coloured light beams out to the edges of the screen. As the white light continues to flash a series of coloured outlines of the Hoyts logo begin to trail into the centre of the screen, leading to a filled version of the logo (stylised to look like embossed gold) fading in. After a brief shine runs over the logo, it flashes and flattens into a ring. The ring flashes again, causing two more rings, smaller in size, to quickly fade in below. The rings flash and fade to a bucket of popcorn, rotating clockwise to reveal a soda cup, both in Hoyts branding and animated fizz coming out of the soda. Other generically branded boxes float across the screen from the left and right during this time: Mints, Chocolate, and Candy, which zooms towards the viewpoint before quickly sliding to the left. Shortly after, a white light draws a simple, blue outline of a trash bin, in which various items rotate into it and fade out. After the bin zooms towards the viewpoint, another white light draws a red circle and a cigarette in the middle before two red lines cross it out. The complete 'no smoking' symbol flashes, and the sends a wave of red circles out towards the viewpoint. The line rotates vertically before flashing yellow and spinning clockwise to become an 'exit' sign. Three more exit signs flash into view, in the corners, as the newly formed one moves into the bottom right. During this time, another white light writes out ' Please note the locations of EXITS ' and afterwards, ' They are at the front and the rear of this auditorium '. The text sends a cross of lasers out, slicing the exit signs in half. The pieces then reform, jigsaw style, in the centre of the screen. Blue flashes light up the outlines of the pieces and fade out, the new text reading ' Thank you for not talking during the movie '. The text flashes out and the remaining yellow border spins to reveal the golden Hoyts logo again. Afterwards, a glowing white light begins to flash behind the logo again and sends more coloured light beams out to the sides. Finally, another white light writes the text 'ENJOY THE SHOW! ' under the logo before the two flash on the final hit.

Technique: 2D computer animation produced by Pike Production Inc. of Boston, Massachusetts.

Audio: An edited version of Pathfinder by Andy Quinn (0:27-0:34, 2:25-2:45, 2:48-3:10) plays throughout the trailer as well as various sound effects. (e.g. a 'Zap' when the No Smoking symbol flashes and when the lasers hit the exit signs, and a 'Shhh' for when the exit signs reform into the "Thank you for not talking during the movie." sign.)

Availability: This was also used for Hoyts' U.S. branch, which was sold in 2003 to Regal Cinemas.

2nd Trailer (1992-mid 1990s?)
Visuals: Unknown.

Technique: 3D computer animation

Audio: Unknown.

3rd Trailer (mid 1990s?-1997)
Visuals: Against a blue sky background, there is a reddish-pink Hoyts logo fly across the screen before centring itself. A series of grey tubes begin protruding out of the logo, then rotate upwards until they stretch across the screen from top to bottom while a star shines from the middle of the logo. The logo fades out to a row of candy dispensers which pan downwards until a close up of some gummy bears appears. The gummy bears are then seen raining down until landing inside a bag marked "Candy". The screen then cuts to a close-up shot of a popcorn popper, followed by a Coca-Cola cup being filled. The screen then cuts again to a rotating series of soft drink cups (Sprite on the left, Coke in the centre, and Diet Coke on the right). A CGI trash receptacle with various containers flies into it, the word "Please" flies in next to the receptacle before dispensing itself. The flap closes to briefly reveal the words "Pitch In" before the screen cut to a series of exit signs detach from one another and fly towards the four corners of the screen. The text "Exits are located at the front and rear of this auditorium." slide into the centre while this happens. The signs then fly away as the text zooms out, then a cigarette rotates into place. Four red circles with lines across them fly towards the cigarette and combine to form a "No Smoking" sign. The word "Talking" flies towards the centre as the "No" signs flip apart around it to indicate "No Talking". The signs then remerge around the word before flying off the screen as the tubes reappear. The words "Enjoy The Show" form a spinning ring which descends and places itself at the centre of the tubes. The completed piece then pans towards the screen at a right angle as the trailer fades out.

Technique: 3D computer animation.

Audio: A cinema fanfare.

Availability: Like the 1988 trailer, this was used at both the Australian and U.S. branches.

4th Trailer (2002?-2009?)
Visuals: On a black background, there is the word "Experience" in a faint green light, with a star-like shape representing the "X". A series of blue lights shine vertically from each of the letters, which fades into a series of crystals. A new group of darker blue lights begin firing at and breaking the crystals, before descending into a pit of fire. The screen flies across the fire pit until exiting out from the opposite side, where it's revealed to be a star around which several asteroids orbit. The asteroids fly out of orbit before breaking apart and turning back into crystals. The asteroid-crystals now orbit a ring of red light, one of which flies across the screen as the scene changes to a series of tubes crisscrossing each other. The tubes pull back until reforming the "X" star from earlier, which flies out until it meets with the other letters in the word "Cinemaxx". The "X" flashes to form the "M" while the two "X's" at the end form themselves from a separate set of star-shapes. A red laser light jumps around the letters until the entire word flips out and explodes into a bright yellow light. The yellow light zooms out until aligning with a red light to form once again the "X" in "Experience" while the other letters slide back into place. The text again flips out into another series of crisscrossing red lights with an orange star at its centre. A series of disconnected circles emerge from the star while its light forms the Hoyts logo one letter at a time. When it's finished, the text "Cinemas" fades in underneath the logo while a barely visible spotlight shines vertically across the logo. The logo then centres itself and then holds against a ring of fire before fading out.

Technique: 3D computer animation.

Audio: A dreamy space fanfare accompanied by various sci-fi sound effects and a woman's singing voice. A narrator is also heard reciting "Digital Sound...Stadium Seating...Larger Screens...Cinemaxx.....Hoyts."

5th Trailer (2003?-2004?)
Visuals: The sequence opens with a close-up shot of a film projector turning on and beginning to play a film, after which follows a live-action montage of people preparing to see a movie (buying tickets, purchasing concessions, walking the aisles, a red carpet opening, a close-up of a seat's cup holder, and finally a couple sitting in the auditorium) plus a computer diagram rendering of a pair of seats, and a close-up of an eye. Between each of the clips are a series of orange filmstrips displaying a variation of Hoyts's then current "Hot" campaign slogan ("Hot Tickets", "Hot Stuff", "Hot Deals", "Hot Events", "Hot Sound", "Hot Seats", "Hot Screens", "Hot Movies") It ends with the last filmstrip displaying the single word "Hot" until shifting upwards to show the full slogan of "If it's hot, it's Hoyts" before a blue light appears and flashes out of the filmstrip (much like a TV turning off) to show Hoyts's website.

Technique: A mix of live-action and slit-scan animation.

Audio: A generic pop tune with various singers shouting out "It's Hot, Hot, Hot!" At the end a narrator voices the above slogan.

6th Trailer (2009-2012)
Visuals: Same as the last Hoyts Distribution logo except "DISTRIBUTION" is changed to "CINEMAS".

Technique: 3D computer animation.

Audio: Same as the last Hoyts Distribution logo.

7th Trailer (2012-2014)


Visuals: On a space background, a sudden light burst appears and the radiation blasts off into space, the screen zooms into the supernova, zooming in to reveal the then-new Hoyts logo in orange as the letters zoom into place, the Hoyts logo fades to red, with a supernova like radiation core behind it, keeping the letters together, it slightly turns to the right, before fading out.

Technique: 3D computer animation.

Audio: A beacon noise resmbling a ding plays, followed by bass whirring sounds before whooshing as the viewer zooms to the logo, then a strange whirring sound which holds until the logo completes.

Availability: Seen after the ads and trailers, immediately after the "Turn off your phones" ad from Telstra or Optus.

8th Trailer (2014-2018)
Visuals: The screen pans around the "H" symbol in "HOYTS", as it slides into place, the screen fades out, then the screen pans around as the "OYTS" in "HOYTS" slide into place, as they slide into place two half cross lines light up, then as the camera slowly zooms out the cross marks close up (like a door) to create an "X" which covers the screen, it shrinks and spins into the words "eXperience more", a white blast zone ripple effect is around the "X", then the "X" spins and zooms through the camera and the Hoyts logo is seen being panned around one more time, the screen fades to black.

Technique: CGI.

Audio: A bass riff, similar to the Vue Cinemas theme, a descending bass tone, a laser zap, accompanied by an orchestra theme akin to that of a superhero movie, then as the orchestra tenses and rises (the "X" doing its thing), a blast, sort of like something heavy hitting the ground and the sound of electricity crackling, a bass drop, ("X" zooms at camera) a shifting sort of whoosh, then the Hoyts logo appears again as the orchestra ends its piece.

Availability: Same as before.

9th Trailer (2018- )
Visuals: On a white background, the screen pans around as what appears to be wine flows into the centre of the screen and fills in the Hoyts logo, the screen cuts to a birds eye view of the logo and the text "Experience More" fade in beneath it.

Technique: CGI.

Audio: A sudden, loud flowing of liquid.

Availability: Current.