Buzz and Recommendations on the Internet. What Impacts on Box-Office Success?

Abstract

Potential moviegoers may find information on the Internet on movie critics' recommendations and web users' comments on movies they have seen. The more a recommendation is shared by a large number of individuals, the greater is the buzz. This research explores to what extent this online buzz can be a predictor and/or modifier of box-office results, particularly the week following the launch. A field experiment on 534 movies shows that the buzz, and more specifically critics' recommendations appearing on the allocine.com website, is significantly correlated with box-office results after the first week. Various developments show that these online recommendations may not only predict but also influence box-office results.