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.

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