Frequently Asked Questions & Answers
Q: What sets Movie Review Intelligence apart from other movie review web sites?
A: The site is unique because it looks at movie reviews the way they are presented in the real world. The critics and publications covered represent what moviegoers see and read every day. Every effort is made to stay faithful to what the critics say, including the grades they give each movie and the words they write. The site's layout is simple and clean; no gadgets, games or gizmos. Movie Review Intelligence is independent; it is not affiliated with a movie company or other entertainment corporation. No other movie review web site has this set of credentials.
Q: Which movies does Movie Review Intelligence cover?
A: The site covers all movies at the time of their commercial release. The site covers big movies, small movies, independent movies, foreign language movies and documentaries. Every effort is made to cover all types of movies.
Q: Which reviews does Movie Review Intelligence cover?
A: The site collects and analyzes movie reviews from more than 52 U.S. and Toronto newspapers, magazines, alternative weeklies, web sites and NPR (and many more than that if the reviews are counted when they are syndicated to additional newspapers and web sites). These media and critics are included because they are the most representative of their kind. These publications comprise the body of professional reviews moviegoers are seeing, reading and hearing. Years were spent working on the model of these publications and critics. For a complete list of the publications covered, please click here...
Q: How comprehensive are the reviews Movie Review Intelligence covers?
A: The site covers the key national media, as well as the top 25 local markets in the U.S. and Toronto. The top 25 markets represent approximately 50 percent of the U.S. population and 60 percent of U.S. moviegoers. The site looks at the leading alternative/indie weeklies, as well as NPR. Together, these publications and programs reach an audience of over 150 million. Great care was taken putting this together.
Q: Does Movie Review Intelligence cover online movie reviews?
A: Yes. All of the publications and critics covered on the site are leaders online as well as in print and on-air. The newspapers alone attract over 200 million unique visitors per month to their sites and are included in the list of top web sites of any kind. Additionally, 12 online-only web sites are covered, including RogerEbert.com, MSN Movies, AV Club, Cinema Blend, Pop Matters, Reel Views, Salon, Slant, Slate, CommonSenseMedia.org, Flick Filosopher and Cinema 24/7. Movie Review Intelligence takes each web site's traffic into consideration when analyzing the figures. For example, the Associated Press gets extra weight because of its enormous online traffic, and Roger Ebert's reviews are weighted separately on RogerEbert.com and in the Chicago Sun-Times. The site takes a unique, statistical approach in order to reflect the movie marketplace in the real world, including online.
Q: How are the reviews organized?
A: Movie Review Intelligence organizes the reviews into seven categories that reflect moviegoers’ tastes and parallel how movies are released. The eight categories are: 1) Broad National Press; 2) Local Newspapers; 3) Alternative/Indie; 4) Highbrow Press; 5) The Movie Industry; 6) New York/Los Angeles/Chicago/Toronto; and 7) Key Cities. You will not find this level of detail anywhere else.
Q: What are the keys to covering the reviews accurately and completely?
A: In order to make sure the full range of reviews is taken into account, Movie Review Intelligence…
1) Covers more than 52 of the most representative publications, programs and web sites;
2) Weights the reviews in proportion to their readership/audience;
3) Covers the top 25 local markets;
4) Covers the alternative/indie weeklies in the top markets;
5) Analyzes the key subgroups of reviews according to taste and geography;
6) Updates the information 24/7/365 in real time.
Q: How does Movie Review Intelligence evaluate the reviews?
A: Approximately 76 percent of the reviews come with a grade from the film critic. For the other 24 percent, two analysts grade each review. If there is a discrepancy about the grade, the analysts discuss it and analyze the review until a consensus is reached. No other web site is as faithful to the critics' grades as Movie Review Intelligence is.
Q: Is Movie Review Intelligence disrespecting fan sites and bloggers by not including them?
A: No! There are many great fan sites and bloggers! But fan sites write for fans, who are often predisposed toward a movie or toward a type of movie or a star, and bloggers sometimes have specific points of view that may or may not relate to the movie itself.
Q: How many moviegoers follow movie reviews?
A: Proprietary research conducted on behalf of Movie Review Intelligence shows that 81 percent of moviegoers follow movie reviews. This represents 71,485,980 moviegoers and is an indication that for the majority of moviegoers, movie reviews, the critics who write them and the publications that publish them are extremely important in the decision making process. For a complete run-down on the research, please click here...
Q: What makes Movie Review Intelligence different?
A: The site is objective based on statistical methodologies designed to reflect the real world. Moviegoers, filmmakers and critics deserve the best, and that is what Movie Review Intelligence aims to provide.
Q: Are all movie reviews the same?
A: No, not all movie reviews are the same. Reviews in larger publications are seen and read by more people than reviews in smaller publications. They have a bigger voice. Not a better voice, but a bigger voice. Therefore, we weight the reviews according to the readership levels published by the Audit Bureau of Circulation, which is the industry standard. Other sites weight reviews according to their personal taste, i.e., what they think is more important. This injects another layer of personal subjectivity into the equation. We believe that readers should determine which reviews get heavier weighting, according what they choose. That is what counts -- what the public sees and reads. That is how Movie Review Intelligence approaches it; as objectively as possible.
Q: Do movie reviews influence the box-office?
A: Every movie comes with its own marketing and box-office potential based on its story, genre, cast, source material and execution. Some movies have stronger commercial potential than others. However, irrespective of a movie’s commercial potential, a movie with stronger reviews always performs better at the box-office than the same movie with poor reviews. Moviegoers are smart about the information they take in, including reviews. Movie reviews influence every movie in some way. They are extremely important.
Q: What about movie reviews and opening weekend box-office?
For some movies, reviews influence the opening weekend box-office, and for some movies reviews influence the box-office over time. Opening weekends are driven by months and sometimes years of marketing. Distributors do an excellent job of generating interest among their target audience. Still, movie reviews are usually the first word about how well a movie plays. Reviews influence how a movie is perceived at the start of its release. Reviews set the tone. They are an opinion-maker.
Q: Do movie critics reflect the taste of moviegoers?
A: Critics in different kinds of publications speak to different kinds of tastes. For instance, critics in the Broad National Press speak differently than critics in the Alternative/Indie press, who speak differently than critics in the Highbrow Press. Movie Review Intelligence looks at the different kinds of reviews in different kinds of publications in order to cover the full range and understand reviews from all different points of views.
Q: Back up. What are critics talking about? What should I expect to hear from them?
A: For the most part, movie critics are interested in the quality of a story, the richness of its characters, and the artistry of the filmmaking. Critics also like originality, although they often seem willing to overlook a lack of originality if the story, characters and filmmaking are of a high order. After all is said and done, that is what critics generally look for: well-told stories, rich characters and accomplished filmmaking technique.
Q: Are movie critics fair?
A: According to the figures on Movie Review Intelligence, the average review rating for a wide release movie opening on 700 or more screens is currently 51.7% percent positive reviews. This is a fair standard. As a body of criticism, the overall results from movie critics are fair.
Q: How did Movie Review Intelligence come about?
A: Movie Review Intelligence was conceived and founded by David A. Gross, a movie marketing professional with 25 years of experience. Mr. Gross became interested in reviews when he was head of international theatrical marketing at 20th Century Fox. After a movie opened in several overseas markets, the head of publicity would bring a 2” or 3” stack of clippings and say, “Here are the reviews.” Because Mr. Gross spent the early part of his career in movie market research, it was natural for him to think, “Is there a way to summarize this information meaningfully, quantitatively and succinctly?” After leaving Fox, Mr. Gross started doing research on the topic. He would work on it for several months, put it down, pick it up again, work on it for several months, then put it down. During these years he developed the publication model, the statistical weighting schema, and the computer algorithms on which this web site is based. In the meantime, the tools for gathering the information – data collection – improved as the internet matured. In early 2008, Mr. Gross decided there were enough resources to turn the research into a web site, which is Movie Review Intelligence. With input from film marketing executives, market researchers, computer programmers and lots and lots of moviegoers, the site was launched in June 2009.
MovieReviewIntelligence.com, Inc.
Santa Monica, California
tel: 310.453.2868; fax: 310.828.9126
email: editor@MovieReviewIntelligence.com
