Trailer for 'White House Down' drops in the wake of 'Olympus Has Fallen''s success

Everyone was surprised when Olympus Has Fallen debuted to over $30 million last weekend. It was considered the "lesser" Die Hard-in-the-White House movie. White House Down, which will release in three months, was supposed to be the one everyone would see of the two lookalike films. Now the trailer has dropped for White House Down, so I compared the two. At least when it comes to the trailer, White House Down has the upper hand.

 

Olympus Has Fallen is more about the man: the trailer lets us know that the First Lady died under leading man Gerard Butler's watch, because the Secret Service agent pulled the President out of a car wreck first. He's then trapped in the White House, John McClane-style, as North Koreans take over the Presidential residence.

White House Down expands the scope beyond the White House. We see crowds of people running around the lawns of various monuments, and the dome of the White House in flames. There are helicopters, planes, and missiles. Every effort is made to expand the scope outside the building, although the few scenes with star Channing Tatum give me a sneaking suspicion that more of the movie takes place inside the White House than the trailer lets on. It also heralds the credentials of the director, Roland Emmerich, who has destroyed the White House (and the rest of the world) multiple times, most memorably in Independence Day.

Moviegoers might even have a sneaking suspicion that if White House Down weren't good, there's no way the studio behind it would release it three months after a similar film. THR does a rundown of similar movies that released close together, and it appears that the second film often takes the cake. Meteor disaster pic Armageddon bested Deep Impact, despite releasing second, and Friends with Benefits and No Strings Attached ended up in a draw back in 2011. Last year, Snow White-themed Mirror, Mirror floundered despite being first to the theatres, while Snow White and the Huntsman took the bulk of the box office. White House Down should be in good shape come June, and it wins the trailer contest by besting Olympus' explosions, having a broader scope, a more popular leading man and recognizable director.