Abstract
This article examines how the sentiment embedded in online comments and the quantity of comments available on a movie influence the movie's box office sales. We extend prior research in several ways. First, we show that experience attribute information available from online comments, when they become available and prevalent, appear to substitute, rather than complement the search attribute information like movie budget, cast and directorship, in influencing peoples' decisions to watch a movie. Second, comparing between comments from different types of online media, source factors appear to be important as we find that experts are less persuasive compared to peers, with whom consumers identify more. Finally, we find that the currency of the online comments should also be considered when evaluating the persuasiveness of online comments. The data for the study was collected from a wide variety of online media sources, including expert reviews and consumer comments from more than 1000 websites. This study not only proffers advice for the industry, but also contributes to the literature. Our research demonstrates that online comments are not always persuasive and useful, and our findings provide insights into when consumers are likely to pay attention to online comments.
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