History Main / TheTeaser

* The ''JamesBond'' movies almost always start with an introductory sequence before the episode itself.
* The title card of ''Film/IronMan'' is preceded by Tony Stark's capture by Afghan rebels [[spoiler: using weapons he developed himself]]. The movie then backtracks 36 hours to show a story-within-a-story recap of Tony's life and an introduction to his playboy ways.
* ''TheDeparted'' also had no opening credits. When the title finally appeared ''18 and a half minutes later'', you wonder why they even bothered.
* The opening credits of ''EternalSunshineOfTheSpotlessMind'' are roughly 15 minutes into the movie.
* The film ''RaisingArizona'' goes through a 10:43 [=cold open=], setting up the story and introducing us to (nearly) all the characters.

* ''[[OneHundredAndTwentySevenHours 127 Hours]]'' does not display its title card until roughly 20 minutes into the film, immediately after Aron's arm gets pinned by a rock.
* The opening of ''MysteryTeam'' shows the eponymous trio harassing a comatose man, suspecting him of murder.

* Each ''Film/LordOfTheRings'' film runs the main title immediately following the VanityPlate, but the instalment title follows a prologue. The first one gave a few thousand years' worth of {{backstory}}, the other two were more standard {{flashback}}s. The director deliberately wanted to emulate a James Bond teaser for the first film, which resulted in an epic battle scene that would be called back to in the climaxes of parts two and three.
** Ditto with ''[[Film/TheHobbit The Hobbit]]'''s first instalment, with an epic backstory opening.

* The ''VideoGame/MetalGearSolid'' games start off with Snake performing an infiltration and then cut to a credit sequence between 5-20 minutes into the game, as a [[SatireParodyPastiche pastiche]] of the ''JamesBond'' movies which spawned the whole idea of them. In more detail:

* A recent issue of ''Webcomic/TheAdventuresOfDrMcNinja'' presented the title on page 46 -- right before the Doctor's [[SpoofAesop final thoughts]].

* Special case: ''OjamajoDoremi'' opened its eps with an avant-title that relates to the plot, then the opening titles, then a short scene before the title card. When 4Kids dubbed it for America, they cut out the avant-title, and used the short scene before the title card as the ColdOpening instead. Sometimes, they cut out the short scene entirely, meaning that in those episodes, the show starts with the opening titles.

* ''GlobalFrequency'' would usually end each issue with the title in a "closing credits" fashion.

Though it technically does not really set up the plot, as there is usually no lengthy continuous plot, the first sketch right before the opening credits in sketch comedy shows like ''Series/SaturdayNightLive'' and ''Series/{{MADtv}}'' is also called a cold opening. (The show ''Studio60OnTheSunsetStrip'' actually had an episode titled "Cold Open" in which the writing of such a sketch is a plot element.)- non sketch entertainment programming often also uses a comedy sketch as a Cold Open.

* ''Series/SapphireAndSteel'' actually delivered its teaser in the ''middle'' of the TitleSequence: a short sequence showing the title and stars was shown, followed by TheTeaser, after which the rest of the sequence (with the ThemeTune and OpeningNarration) was shown. Such a style of opening (title both before and after the cold open) is more common these days.

** Some animated Disney movies actually begin this way, starting with ''Disney/TheRescuers''. Others include ''Disney/TheBlackCauldron'', ''Disney/TheGreatMouseDetective'', ''Disney/TheLittleMermaid'', ''The Rescuers Down Under'', ''Disney/BeautyAndTheBeast'', ''{{Pocahontas}}'', ''Disney/TheHunchbackOfNotreDame'', ''Disney/{{Hercules}}'', ''Disney/TheEmperorsNewGroove'', ''Disney/AtlantisTheLostEmpire'', ''LiloAndStitch'', ''Disney/ChickenLittle'', ''Disney/{{Bolt}}'', ''Disney/ThePrincessAndTheFrog'', and ''{{Tangled}}''.

* Each ''LordOfTheRings'' film runs the main title immediately following the VanityPlate, but the instalment title follows a prologue. The first one gave a few thousand years' worth of {{backstory}}, the other two were more standard {{flashback}}s. The director deliberately wanted to emulate a James Bond teaser for the first film, which resulted in an epic battle scene that would be called back to in the climaxes of parts two and three.

* ''Series/BreakingBad'' used these to great effect in multiple ways besides as the continuation of the previous episode's cliffhanger. The first two seasons mostly use straight cold opens (though one is a music video about Walt's Heisenberg persona) but seasons 3, 4, and 5 frequently featured flashbacks that feature a dead character, added depth to the series' world or shed light on certain themes of that episode.

* Similar to ''Series/LawAndOrder'', ''Series/{{CSI}}'' does this, often showing a bystanders view of the murder or the (attempted) [[DisposingOfABody disposal of the body]] or someone finding said body. Like Lenny Briscoe, [[QuipToBlack Gil Grissom]] almost always gets to say the OneLiner before the opening credits.

* The first season of ''ThreeTwoOneContact''.

* All 3 SlyCooper games feature some sort of "heist" prior to the first cutscene.

* ''Series/{{Supernatural}}'' always uses this to show the murder that the Winchesters will investigate in the episode. Even arc-related episodes have Teasers.

* Similar to ''Series/LawAndOrder'', ''Series/{{CSI}}'' does this, often showing a bystanders view of the murder or the (attempted) [[DisposingOfABody disposal of the body]] or someone finding said body. Like Lenny Briscoe, [[[=QuipToBLack=] Gil Grissom]] almost always gets to say the OneLiner before the opening credits.

* All the ''LawAndOrder'' shows use a cold open, with a stock opening title card and narration. The action is either the crime itself or the discovery of a body, and thirty seconds of the detectives opening the investigation. While Jerry Orbach was still with us, almost always ended on a Lenny Briscoe OneLiner.
* Similar to ''LawAndOrder, Series/{{CSI}}'' does this, often showing a bystanders view of the murder or the (attempted) [[DisposingOfABody disposal of the body]] or someone finding said body. Like Lenny Briscoe, [[QuipToBLack Gil Grissom]] almost always gets to say the OneLiner before the opening credits.

* ''BreakingBad'' uses these to great effect in multiple ways besides as the continuation of the previous episode's cliffhanger. The first two seasons mostly use straight cold opens (though one is a music video about Walt's Heisenberg persona) but seasons 3 and 4 have frequently featured flashbacks that feature a dead character, ad depth to the series' world or shed light on certain themes of that episode.

Though it technically does not really set up the plot, as there is usually no lengthy continuous plot, the first sketch right before the opening credits in sketch comedy shows like ''Series/SaturdayNightLive'' and ''MADtv'' is also called a cold opening. (The show ''Studio60OnTheSunsetStrip'' actually had an episode titled "Cold Open" in which the writing of such a sketch is a plot element.)- non sketch entertainment programming often also uses a comedy sketch as a Cold Open.

* ''Film/FightClub'' Opens with a close up (cellular level) of how the human body sweats before zooming out to show Edward Norton with a gun between his teeth with a voice over saying "People are always asking me if I known Tyler Durden". The rest of the film from then on is a recap of the last year or so of his life to how he ended up in that position

* ''Series/{{Stargate SG-1}}''and [[Series/StargateAtlantis Atlantis]] feature these.

** DramaticChaseOpening

* Books 1, 4, 6, and 7 of ''HarryPotter'' start with such a chapter. In fact, the sixth double-stacks.

** Pixar examples include the first ''WesternAnimation/ToyStory'' film, ''WesternAnimation/FindingNemo'', ''TheIncredibles'', ''WesternAnimation/{{Cars}}'', ''{{Ratatouille}}'' ''WesternAnimation/{{WALL-E}}'', ''Film/{{Up}}'', and ''Cars 2''.

* ''Series/DoctorWho'' has used it in the show since the second episode of the revival "The End of the World", often with someone getting killed by a monster before the "scream" of the theme music. It appeared only four times before 2005- "Castrovalva", "The Five Doctors", "Time and the Rani" and "Remembrance of the Daleks"; instead, the original run of ''Doctor Who'' used the first episodes of a serial to fulfill the same function as a cold open.

* All of the episodes of ''PrincessTutu'' open with barely-animated charcoal drawings on the screen while a female narrator grimly tells a fairytale that's somehow related to the episode. After a dramatic music swell, the gentle opening theme starts up.