If you managed to catch Materialists (2025), you would have noticed that the film opens with a prehistoric couple exchanging flower rings. Writer and director Celine Song mentioned in an interview that she wanted people to feel like, “I thought I came here to watch Dakota, Chris, and Pedro. What’s happening? Why am I watching ancient people be in love?“
After this scene, the title slate and opening credits appear.
This opening scene is an excellent example of a cold open because it may initially catch you off guard (when I went to watch it, the woman beside me turned to me and asked, “Is this Materialists, or am I in the wrong room?”). But eventually, it made sense as the story progressed.
But what exactly is a cold open? Here we break down its definition and mechanics, and also look at cold opens from classic sitcoms and films to illustrate how this storytelling tool is used.
What is a Cold Open?
A cold open is the first scene that precedes the title slate and opening credits, or the theme song of a film or show. Here’s an example from the pilot episode of Breaking Bad:
The cold open of a film is often known as the pre-credit scene. We will examine some popular cold opens from shows and movies to break down this common cinematic technique.
Cold Opens: What They Are Not
Cold opens are not a recap of the previous episode in a series, and they do not have to be related to the plot of the episode they are a part of. Like The Office USA and Brooklyn Nine-Nine show, cold opens are funny gags that have nothing to do with the storyline.
Also, cold opens are not limited to any genre or medium. You will find them not just in shows and films but also in podcasts and YouTube videos now. Cold opens can set up stories in a plethora of diverse genres, from hilarious and intense to romantic and thrilling; there are no rules.
Why Are Cold Opens Used?
The primary purpose of a cold open is to capture the audience’s attention within the first few minutes so that they keep watching.
With viewers’ attention span dwindling (to an average of ~40 seconds, according to a study by an academic from the University of California) in the doom-scrolling era, the cold open has become a crucial determinant of whether the viewer will try to find something else that immediately hooks them.
How Do Cold Opens Hook Viewers?
Here are three ways in which cold opens capture a viewer’s attention:
Build suspense/curiosity
Some cold opens exist to build intrigue about what’s to come in a specific episode or film; a “taster” of sorts. This opening scene in Mission: Impossible – Fallout (2018), which runs a little shy of six minutes before the theme song and title credits start playing, creates suspense:
Scream (1996) is an example of an extended cold open, clocking in at 12.5 minutes. Featuring Drew Barrymore as Casey, this cold open creates a chilling atmosphere and serves as a “mini-prologue” to the horrors that unfold in the rest of the film.
During the press interviews, Barrymore was positioned as the protagonist of the film, so the cold open, which shows her brutal death, was an instant shock for viewers. A Hollywood Reporter piece quotes screenwriter Kevin Williamson’s objective behind casting a big name in the cold open:
“You wanted the biggest star to be in the first moment of the movie. That’s why the scene is so long, because I wanted to keep Casey Becker alive just long enough where you think she’s the lead of the movie, and that she’s going to survive this moment.”
Subverting these viewer expectations was the goal of the cold open.
Encourage sharing and recall
Then there are those cold opens that are meant to go viral as they provide a perfect snippet that is reel-worthy. People may forget the rest of the episode, but the cold open will be memorable. Multiple cold opens of the popular cop show, Brooklyn Nine-Nine, are made for their meme potential, with this particular cold open in Season 5 Episode 17 making its way to social media virality and T-shirt merch too:
Provide a predictable opening rhythm
One of the reasons why a particular series may make it to your comfort watchlist is that it has a sense of rhythm. The characters feel familiar, and you know the general range of emotions you can expect. A cold open, as a narrative tool, is also part of it.
For example, in a 2016 interview, Michael Schur, one of the creators of The Office USA, said this about Greg Daniels (executive producer):
“At The Office, Greg always wanted to celebrate and accurately portray the small moments of everyday office life, and cold opens were a perfect medium for that.”
So each episode of the show opens in a way that feels familiar, either with a gag or a common workplace situation.
How Do Filmmakers and Showrunners Use Cold Opens?
Cold opens can be used in various ways as a storytelling tool. Here are some narrative milestones that shows and films achieve through cold opens:
Introducing a relevant character
In The Dark Knight (2008), directed by Christopher Nolan, the cold open jumpstarts the film with a bank robbery and the introduction of Joker in all his unhinged glory:
The following comment under the video accurately represents the impact of this cold open:
Setting up a sub-plot that will unfold gradually
This is one of the most common usages of cold opens. In the first episode of Season 4 of The Office USA, Michael Scott (Steve Carell) runs over Meredith (Kate Flannery), and this incident sets up the shenanigans in the rest of the episode and the one after that:
Incorporating flashbacks or flash-forwards to add depth to the story
Cold opens are a great opportunity to show time jumps. The cold open in Season 2, Episode 6 of The Last of Us, takes viewers back to 1983, almost two decades before the outbreak, to provide much-needed context for the episode involving Joel (Pedro Pascal) and his father-like relationship with Ellie (Bella Ramsey).
A film that does a flash-forward well is Martin Scorsese’s Goodfellas (1990). The cold open not only shows the setup of a pivotal scene but also does the following:
- Highlights character quirks that become instrumental later
- Hooks the viewers with a gruesome act
- Sets expectations for what’s to come
First Impressions Last
Multiple showrunners and directors have utilized cold opens as a powerful storytelling tool across both films and shows. By drawing viewers into the narrative instantly (either through suspense or gags), cold opens have become a vital cinematic technique for shaping first impressions and building momentum.
What’s the most memorable cold open you have watched?
