What does Preview mean?
Preview refers to performances or screenings of a production held before its official opening or public release — used by the creative team to evaluate audience response and make final adjustments. In theater, preview performances are sold to paying audiences but not formally open for published reviews. In film, previews (test screenings) are shown to audience panels before release to gauge reactions and sometimes inform final editing decisions.
Example:The theater’s production was in its second week of previews when the director made significant changes to the second act — rearranging scenes, cutting a song, and adjusting the ending based on audience response that consistently showed the original structure was not working.
Example: The film’s preview screenings revealed that test audiences were confused by the non-linear narrative structure — information the studio used to pressure the director for a re-edit, and that the director used as evidence that the film required more sophisticated marketing rather than a structural change.
Did you know?
Fatal Attraction’s now-famous ending — in which Glenn Close’s character is killed — was added after preview audiences rejected the original ending. Blade Runner’s theatrical version was given a voice-over narration and happy ending after preview audiences responded negatively to the uncompromising original cut. Preview screening history is full of such interventions, some improving films and some diminishing them.
You can also find “Preview” and related terms in this category: Theater Acting.
