Movie reviews and information via social and electronic media are rapidly outpacing the printed page…
That goes for both newspapers and magazines. Last week I came across a survey conducted along those lines by the ONLINE TESTING EXCHANGE (OTX). It was published by the motion picture data research company MOVIELINE INTERNATIONAL.
I’ll share the interesting results here:
“The Internet is filled with information from movie review sites, offering articles, user-written feedback, message boards, thumbs and even vegetation.
And while reviews and recommendations from people moviegoers know are the most widely influential source when they are deciding whether or not to see a film at the theatre, online reviews and ratings do heavily sway with some portions of filmgoers.
* Younger males (those under 25) are the age/gender segment most receptive to reviews and ratings from people they don’t know with close to 2-in-10 saying they find this type of word-of-mouth VERY INFLUENTIAL.
* Interestingly, those on the fringe of their online social circles (people they don’t know well from social networking sites) are considered just as influential as groups of reviewers on sites like IMDb and from individuals posting on message boards.
* These under 25 males visit these types of sites more often than others and show a preference for well-reviewed movies at levels higher than others as well.
* For younger females, group sites hold the same level of influence as they do with younger males.
However these women are less likely to trust the word of those on the outskirts of their online social group or individual’s postings.
* None of those sites are as influential to older males as they are to the younger set of moviegoers while older women seem the only group immune from the sway of reviewers in whatever form, depending instead on opinions from people they know.
* Those who typically catch a movie on its opening weekend (‘URGENTS’) are close to 3 times more likely than those who see films later in their run to look to these types of sites for consensus on the quality of the movie they are about to see.
* Avid filmgoers (those who see 24+ movies a year) are also more apt than attendees overall to trust those they don’t know for recommendations, though not to the extent of ‘URGENTS!’ “
Very interesting.
So the big question: next to word-of-mouth what reviewer, critic
smartman
Lots of “reel time” Tweeters and Instant Messegers are delivering info straight from their seats at 10 minute intervals. Usually by 30 minutes in they can call the move as a hit or miss. Within 10 years BIG NAME movie reviewers in print and on TV will be impotent.
greg
I first check RottenTomatoes.com but I often check the public’s rating of a new movie at Netfix after the first weekend. I have found my taste runs pretty close to that consensus.
Jupiter
Roger Ebert had an excellent and I think well reasoned post about the future of film critic. Basically there will be a lot more of them, but very few will make any money.
http://blogs.suntimes.com/ebert/2010/04/the_golden_age_of_movie_critic.html
There will always be a professional critic, because there will always be someone who really knows their stuff and can put it elegantly into words, and it will be worth paying for their opinion. But they will have to be one of the elite. I’m not sure if Robert Butler is one. Certainly no other local film critic is.
Most paid critics today are just big studio promoters, just like when the local news does a story on the big movie opening that weekend. Considering we’ve just had the crappiest decade in film history, the critics should be up in arms.
bschloz
Meta-Critic….and KCC of course.
jjskck
My tastes tend to fall more in line with critical reviews than those of my friends. In fact, I have more friends whose endorsement of a movie would make me NOT see it than vice versa.
Tracy
Jack, I tend to trust YOUR opinions. After all, you’ve seen them all. The worst movie critic we ever had in this town was Giles Fowler. He was an inverse barometer. If he hated it, I made sure to see it! Butler’s pretty good at knowing what is worth the $8. I also like Keith Cohen the Movie Guy, but now he’s only online, not in the Sun newsprint version, which was a big mistake in my opinion.
jon
Interesting story and I agree with Tracy about your takes on new movies. Bob Butler’s too far to the left for my tastes and forgets why people go out to a show. And Shawn Edwards? Well he’s just way WAY out there and just looking for someone to quote him or send him on a junket.
How to get a 5 popcorn box rating from Shawn? Put a lot of Afrikaners in the cast.
His partner Russ Simmons though has it together.
ron
Those guys on Walt Bodine are a joke. They’re usually trying to impress each other with their supposed knowledge. All the while old Walt drewling in his soup.
So Jack why aren’t you doing your movie reviews on Channel 9 or 5? They don’t have a reviewer.
katy
I usually try not to read any reviews before seeing a movie. But I do go back and check them afterwards.
Don’t want to make your head swell but I usually agree with your reviews, Jack.