I caught the midnight show in New York, and the teaser played. The audience reaction? Stunning.
Seriously, I got on here expecting to see the same reaction but was puzzled when I saw that it wasn't largely reciprocated.
For those who said that the casual viewer wouldn't be interested in the film after seeing the teaser, I'd advise you to stop being such a negative ****ing internet fan boy who thinks he can speak for the general public. The audience clapped, and in my 22 years as a film buff, I have never seen any crowd actually clap after a trailer was shown. I couldn't even tell you what the next trailer was because the entire crowd was busy talking about the "Dark Knight" trailer. The clapping began after the laugh came through.
The laugh was more audible in the theater than it was on the leaked version. Honestly, it reminded me of Mark Hamill, the man who I consider to be the definitive representative of the Joker. Ledger's voice sounds like a cross between Hamill and Nicholson, which I can more than live with.
As said, I've never witnessed an audience actually clap after a trailer. Especially a teaser trailer that didn't show anything. Everyone was buzzing over Michael Caine's lines and how well written, and performed, they are. You have to realize that I'm talking about New York, where we have some of the harshest audiences around. If a New York city, at midnight, would clap after a trailer like that, then I know it was effective. The fan boys need to speak only for themselves, and not for the rest of us. We all loved it. It was great.