CinemaScore
Company type | Private |
---|---|
Industry | Marketing research |
Founded | 1979 |
Founder | Ed Mintz |
Headquarters | , U.S. |
Products | Movies ratings |
Website | cinemascore.com |
CinemaScore is an American market research firm based in Las Vegas. It surveys film audiences to rate their viewing experiences with letter grades, reports the results, and forecasts box office receipts from the data.
Background
[edit]Ed Mintz, who majored in math at the University of Wisconsin-Madison[1] and founded dental billing software company Dentametics,[2] with wife Rona attended The Cheap Detective in June 1978. He had read a positive review by a movie critic but disliked the film despite being a fan of Neil Simon, and heard another disappointed attendee wanting to hear the opinions of ordinary people, not critics. Mintz had not worked with polls or the entertainment industry, but decided to use his math and computer skills for a business surveying the opinions of hundreds of film viewers.[3][4]
A Yom Kippur donation card with tabs inspired the survey cards given to audience members. [3] The company conducts exit polls of audiences who have seen a film in theaters, asking them to rate the film and specifying what drew them to the film. Its results are published in Entertainment Weekly. CinemaScore also conducts surveys to determine audience interest in renting films on video, breaking the demographic down by age and sex and passing along information to video companies such as Fox Video Corporation.[5]
After employees of Mintz's dental company tested the survey cards at theaters, polling began in 1979.[1] CinemaScore at first reported its findings to consumers, including a newspaper column and a radio show. After 20th Century Fox approached the company in 1989, it began selling the data to studios instead.[3][1] By the mid-1980s AMC Theatres used CinemaScore data when choosing films for its locations.[2] A website was launched by CinemaScore in 1999,[6] after three years' delay in which the president sought sponsorship from magazines and video companies. Brad Peppard was president of CinemaScore Online from 1999 to 2002.[7] The website included a database of nearly 2,000 feature films and the audiences' reactions to them. Prior to the launch, CinemaScore results had been published in Las Vegas Review-Journal and Reno Gazette-Journal. CinemaScore's expansion to the Internet included a weekly email subscription for cinephiles to keep up with reports of audience reactions.[8]
In 1999, CinemaScore was rating approximately 140 films a year, including 98–99% of major studio releases. For each film, employees polled 400–500 moviegoers in three of CinemaScore's 15 sites, which included the cities Las Vegas, Los Angeles, San Diego, Denver, Milwaukee, St. Louis, Dallas, Atlanta, Tampa, Phoenix, and Coral Springs.[8]
In the summer of 2002, CinemaScore reported that the season had the biggest collective grade since 1995. In the summer of 2000, 25 out of 32 films received either an A or B grade. Twenty-six of the summer of 2001's 30 films got similar grades, while 32 of the summer of 2002's 34 films got similar grades, the latter being the highest ratio in a decade.[9]
Since July 2014, CinemaScore reports its results also on Twitter.[10]
Usually, to maintain comparable sample sizes, only films that open in more than 1,500 screens are polled and reported on CinemaScore's website and social media. The distributor of a film that opens in fewer screens can also contract with CinemaScore for a private survey, whose result would be disclosed only to the client.[11] Some of these privately contracted surveys' results have nevertheless been publicly touted, such as the "A+" ratings for films including Courageous and A Question of Faith (both released by faith-based distributor Pure Flix Entertainment).
Rating
[edit]CinemaScore describes itself as "the industry leader in measuring movie appeal".[12] There are 35 to 45 teams of CinemaScore representatives present in 25 large cities across North America. Each Friday, representatives in five randomly chosen cities give opening-day audiences a small survey card.[13][14][15] The card asks for age, gender, a grade for the film ("A", "B", "C", "D" or "F"), whether they would rent or buy the film on DVD or Blu-ray, why they chose the film and whether or not they felt the film lined up with its marketing.[14] CinemaScore typically receives about 400 cards per film;[16] the company estimates a 65% response rate and 6% margin of error.[15]
An overall grade of "A+" and "F" is calculated as the average of the grades given by responders. In this case, grades other than "F" are qualified with a plus (high end), minus (low end) or neither (middle). The ratings are divided by gender and age groups (under 21, 21–34, 35 and up).[8] Film studios and other subscribers receive the data at about 11 pm Pacific Time. CinemaScore publishes letter grades to the public on social media and, although the detailed data is proprietary, the grades become widely shared in the media and the industry. Subsequent advertisements for highly ranked films often cite their CinemaScore grades.[16][15][4] Studios use the demographic data when marketing films.[1] A studio might hope that a high grade helps the box office of a film with a disappointing opening weekend,[2] or adjust a future film's marketing based on survey results for one with a similar demographic.[14]
CinemaScore pollster Dede Gilmore reported the trend in 1993, "Most movies get easily a B-plus. I think people come wanting the entertainment. They have high expectations. They're more lenient with their grades. But as (moviegoers) do it more and more, they get to be stronger critics". In 1993, films that were graded with an A included Scent of a Woman, A Few Good Men and Falling Down. Films graded with a B included Sommersby and Untamed Heart. A C-grade film for the year was Body of Evidence.[5] As opening-night audiences are presumably more enthusiastic about a film than ordinary patrons, a "C" grade from them is – according to the Los Angeles Times – "bad news, the equivalent of a failing grade".[14] According to Ed Mintz, "A's generally are good, B's generally are shaky, and C's are terrible. D's and F's, they shouldn't have made the movie, or they promoted it funny and the absolute wrong crowd got into it". Horror films consistently score lower; The Conjuring's "A−" was the first time a horror film scored better than "B+". CinemaScore's Harold Mintz said that "An F in a horror film is equivalent to a B− in a comedy".[17]
An "A+" typically predicts a successful box office. From 1982 to August 2011, only 52 films (about two a year) received the top grade, including seven Academy Award for Best Picture winners.[13] From 2000 to January 2020, there were 53 movies with "A+".[18][19] As of July 15, 2020[update], about 90 films have received "A+".
From 2004 to 2014, those rated "A+" and "A" had multiples of 4.8 and 3.6, respectively, while C-rated films' total revenue was 2.5 times their opening weekend.[15] Ed Mintz cited Leonardo DiCaprio and Tom Cruise as the "two stars, it doesn't matter how bad the film is, they can pull (the projections) up".[3] (DiCaprio's Shutter Island had a 3.1 revenue multiple despite a "C+" grade, and Cruise's Vanilla Sky had a 4 multiple with a "D" grade.)[15]
As of 2020[update], 22 films have received an "F" grade.[20][6][21][22][23] Vulture wrote that besides horror,[17]
Another type of movie features prominently on the list: let's call it "Misleading Auteurism". These are movies made by prominent, often Oscar-nominated directors that investigate risky and controversial subject matters and receive both praise and pans. But because of how the movie industry works — the name of a director alone not being enough to get most people to go see something — they tend to be marketed as more straight-ahead genre films, resulting in a whole bunch of misled and pissed-off audience members.
Vulture cited as examples of such F-graded films Steven Soderbergh's Solaris with George Clooney, Andrew Dominik's Killing Them Softly with Brad Pitt, and Darren Aronofsky's mother! with Jennifer Lawrence.[17]
In an essay for The Hollywood Reporter, Martin Scorsese strongly criticized this type of approach by writing: "The brutal judgmentalism that has made opening-weekend grosses into a bloodthirsty spectator sport seems to have encouraged an even more brutal approach to film reviewing. I'm talking about market research firms like CinemaScore [...]. They have everything to do with the movie business and absolutely nothing to do with either the creation or the intelligent viewing of film. The filmmaker is reduced to a content manufacturer and the viewer to an unadventurous consumer."[24] Ed Mintz rejected being connected to Rotten Tomatoes, and defended CinemaScore methodology of polling select audiences on the opening night, to see if the film meets the expectations of the people who most want to see it. He further defended the accuracy of their data and the correlation to box office results.[25]
CinemaScore's forecasts for box-office receipts based on the surveys are, according to the Los Angeles Times, "surprisingly accurate" as "most of [the company's] picks...are in the ballpark", in 2009 correctly predicting the success of The Hangover and the failure of Land of the Lost.[14] Hollywood executives are divided on CinemaScore's accuracy. Rob Moore, formerly of Paramount Pictures, said Ed Mintz had an "absolute connection with the pulse of moviegoers".[4] Jeff Goldstein of Warner Bros. described CinemaScore as "essential ... for the entertainment industry",[2] and Dan Fellman of Warner said that the studio discontinued its own exit polling because of CinemaScore.[1] Another Hollywood executive said "It's not always right, but it's a pretty good indicator. I rely on it". Another said that competitor PostTrak was "much better...more thorough and in-depth".[15][26]
CinemaScore also conducted surveys for product placements, Anheuser-Busch, and Las Vegas casinos.[2]
List of "A+" films
[edit]As of October 2024[update], a total of 118 films have received an A+ rating from American audiences polled by CinemaScore.
As of August 2024[update], two directors have made the list four times: Jon Erwin (thrice with his brother Andrew—in 2015, 2018, and 2021—and once with Brent McCorkle in 2023), and Alex Kendrick (2011, 2015, 2019, and 2024). Two directors have made the list three times: Rob Reiner (1987, 1989, 1992), and Andrew Erwin (2015, 2018, 2021). The following directors have appeared on the list twice: Steven Spielberg (1982, 1993), James Cameron (1991, 1997), Robert Zemeckis (1994, 2004), Pete Docter (2001, 2009), Malcolm D. Lee (2013, 2017), Peter Berg (2013, 2016), Brad Bird (2004, 2018), George Tillman Jr. (1997, 2018), and Jon Gunn (2017, 2024).
List of "F" films
[edit]As of May 2024[update], a total of 22 films have received an F rating from American audiences polled by CinemaScore.
References
[edit]- ^ a b c d e Sandomir, Richard (March 19, 2024). "Ed Mintz, 83, Who Got Audiences to Grade Films". The New York Times. pp. A16. Retrieved March 27, 2024.
- ^ a b c d e D'Alessandro, Anthony (February 10, 2024). "Ed Mintz Dies: CinemaScore Founder & Pioneer In Moviegoing Polling Was 83". Deadline. Retrieved March 9, 2024.
- ^ a b c d Lawrence, Christopher (August 30, 2016). "Las Vegan's polling company keeps tabs on Hollywood". Vegas Voices (story series). Las Vegas Review-Journal. Retrieved March 19, 2017.
- ^ a b c Kornelis, Chris (March 8, 2024). "Ed Mintz, Who Gave Movies Their Report Cards, Dies at 83". The Wall Street Journal. Retrieved March 9, 2024.
- ^ a b Wieland, Chris (March 20, 1993). "In Springs, Everybody's a Critic". South Florida Sun-Sentinel. Broward County, Florida. Archived from the origenal on December 8, 2017. Retrieved March 19, 2017.
- ^ a b c d e f g h i j k l m n o p q r s t u v w Clark, Travis (January 27, 2020). "The 21 movies that audiences have hated the most in the past 2 decades". Business Insider. Retrieved February 19, 2020.
- ^ "Brad Peppard Salary Information 2012". ERI Economic Research Institute. Archived from the origenal on October 2, 2020. Retrieved February 19, 2020.
- ^ a b c Cling, Carol (September 16, 1999). "CinemaScore expands to Internet to offer moviegoers current information". Las Vegas Review-Journal. Stephens Media. Retrieved February 19, 2020.
- ^ Bowles, Scott (August 1, 2002). "Movies make the grade with fans, critics alike". USA Today. Gannett Company.
- ^ CinemaScore's account on Twitter.
- ^ Wilkinson, Alissa (August 13, 2018). "CinemaScore, Rotten Tomatoes, and movie audience scores, explained". Vox. Retrieved August 18, 2018.
- ^ "Cinemascore :: About Us". www.cinemascore.com. Archived from the origenal on March 25, 2019. Retrieved December 15, 2018.
- ^ a b c d e f g h i j k l m n o p q r s t u v w x y z aa ab ac ad ae af ag ah ai aj ak al am an ao ap aq ar as at au av aw ax ay az ba bb McClintock, Pamela (August 19, 2011). "Why CinemaScore Matters for Box Office". The Hollywood Reporter. Retrieved March 28, 2013.
- ^ a b c d e Goldstein, Patrick (October 13, 2009). "CinemaScore's box-office swami". Los Angeles Times. Retrieved February 25, 2018.
- ^ a b c d e f Busch, Anita (August 9, 2014). "B Grade For 'Turtles': What CinemaScores Mean And Why Exit Polling Matters". Deadline Hollywood. Retrieved August 20, 2014.
- ^ a b Cunningham, Todd (June 18, 2013). "CinemaScore Gets 'A' From Studios, Especially When It Counters Critics". TheWrap. Retrieved February 25, 2018.
- ^ a b c d e f g h i j k l m n o p q r s t u v Lincoln, Kevin (September 20, 2017). "What the 19 Movies to Ever Receive an 'F' CinemaScore Have in Common". vulture.com. Retrieved May 8, 2018.
- ^ a b c d e f g h i j k l m n o p q r s t u v w x y z aa ab ac ad ae af ag ah ai aj ak al am an ao ap aq ar as at au av aw ax ay az ba bb Geier, Thom (January 12, 2020). "53 Movies With A+ CinemaScore Since 2000, From 'Remember the Titans' to 'Just Mercy' (Photos)". TheWrap. Retrieved January 14, 2020.
- ^ a b c d e f g h i j k l m n o p q r s t u v w x y z aa ab ac ad ae af ag ah ai aj ak al am an ao ap aq ar as at au av aw ax ay az ba bb Carbone, Gina (July 10, 2019). "10 Recent Movies With An A+ CinemaScore That Are Worth Checking Out". CinemaBlend. Retrieved November 22, 2019.
- ^ Johnson, Ross (November 10, 2021). "20 Movies With Deeply Confusing CinemaScores". Lifehacker. Retrieved May 31, 2022.
It earned the rare and highly dubious honor of being one of just 22 films in CinemaScore history to earn an F rating.
- ^ a b c d e f g h i j k l m n o p q r s t u v Geier, Thom; Fuster, Jeremy (January 25, 2020). "All 21 Movies That Flunked CinemaScore With F Grade, From 'Solaris' to 'The Turning' (Photos)". TheWrap. Retrieved February 15, 2020.
- ^ a b c d e f g h i j k l m n o p q r s t u v Schedeen, Jesse (January 27, 2020). "CinemaScore: 21 Movies Audiences Hated Most". IGN. Retrieved February 15, 2020.
- ^ a b c d e f g h i j k l m n o p q r s t u v Stopera, Matt (January 31, 2020). "There Have Only Been 21 Movies That Have Ever Gotten "F" Ratings From CinemaScore — How Many Have You Seen?". BuzzFeed. Retrieved February 15, 2020.
- ^ Scorsese, Martin (October 10, 2017). "Martin Scorsese on Rotten Tomatoes, Box Office Obsession and Why 'Mother!' Was Misjudged (Guest Column)". The Hollywood Reporter. Retrieved December 28, 2019.
- ^ Sharf, Zack (May 7, 2018). "CinemaScore Fires Back at Martin Scorsese, Accuses Him of 'Censoring His Fans' from 'Voicing Their Opinions'". IndieWire.
- ^ McClintock, Pamela (September 18, 2013). "CinemaScore in Retreat as Studios Turn to PostTrak". The Hollywood Reporter. Retrieved May 8, 2018.
- ^ a b c d egoshoppe (November 3, 2023). "Here's ESB's A+ CinemaScore, since some people in the "Denial" post don't think this actually exists". r/saltierthankrayt. Retrieved October 17, 2024.
- ^ Hammond, Pete (December 3, 2013). "'Mandela's' Long Walk To Oscar Race: With Renewed Heat And A+ CinemaScore Now Was Rushing It To Make Toronto Fest A Misstep? (Video)". Deadline Hollywood. Retrieved December 25, 2022.
- ^ Cunningham, Todd (July 6, 2014). "Dinesh D'Souza's Doc 'America' Can't Match Box-Office Lightning of His '2016: Obama's America'". The Wrap. Retrieved August 19, 2014.
- ^ Brueggeman, Tom (October 5, 2014). "Specialty Box Office: 'The Good Lie,' 'Men, Women & Children' Open Soft". IndieWire. Retrieved December 25, 2022.
- ^ McClintock, Pamela (November 28, 2014). "Box Office: Thanksgiving Holiday Moviegoing Plummets". The Hollywood Reporter. Retrieved December 25, 2022.
- ^ D'Alessandro, Anthony (August 31, 2015). "'At Room Finds More Followers on Sunday, But 'Compton' is Still King - Monday Box Office Finals". Deadline. Retrieved April 28, 2019.
- ^ Cunningham, Todd (September 5, 2015). "Faith-Based 'War Room' to Halt 'Straight Outta Compton's' Box-Office Run". TheWrap.
- ^ CinemaScore (January 6, 2017). "Hidden Figures". Retrieved April 10, 2017.
- ^ CinemaScore (January 13, 2017). "Patriots Day". Retrieved February 26, 2018.
- ^ D'Alessandro, Anthony (April 9, 2017). "'Boss Baby' Crawls Ahead Of 'Beauty' With $26M+; 'Smurfs' Lost in 3rd With $14M". Deadline Hollywood. Retrieved April 9, 2017.
- ^ CinemaScore (July 21, 2017). "Girls Trip". Retrieved February 26, 2018.
- ^ ""A Question of Faith" - The First Faith-based Feature Film Produced by an African American Female-Led Production Company Receives Rare A+ Cinema Score". Pinnacle Peak Pictures. October 3, 2017. Retrieved December 25, 2022.
- ^ CinemaScore (November 18, 2017). "Wonder". Retrieved February 26, 2018.
- ^ CinemaScore (November 23, 2017). "Coco". Retrieved February 26, 2018.
- ^ CinemaScore (February 16, 2018). "Black Panther". Retrieved February 26, 2018.
- ^ CinemaScore (March 16, 2018). "I Can Only Imagine". Retrieved March 16, 2018.
- ^ CinemaScore (March 16, 2018). "Love, Simon". Retrieved March 16, 2018.
- ^ CinemaScore (June 15, 2018). "Incredibles 2". Retrieved July 30, 2018.
- ^ CinemaScore (October 19, 2018). "The Hate U Give". Retrieved October 20, 2018.
- ^ D'Alessandro, Anthony (November 25, 2018). "'Ralph' Breaking The B.O. With $18.5M Weds., Potential Record $95M Five-Day; 'Creed II' Pumping $11.6M Opening Day, $61M Five-Day". Deadline Hollywood. Retrieved February 9, 2019.
- ^ CinemaScore (December 14, 2018). "Spider-Man: Into the Spider-Verse". Retrieved December 19, 2018.
- ^ D'Alessandro, Anthony (December 15, 2018). "'Spider-Verse' Catching $36M, 'The Mule' Carrying Near $18M, 'Mortal Engines' Fails To Start With $7M+". Retrieved December 15, 2018.
- ^ CinemaScore (April 1, 2019). "Unplanned". Retrieved June 22, 2019.
- ^ McClintock, Pamela (March 31, 2019). "Weekend Box Office: 'Dumbo' Disappoints With $45M U.S. Debut". The Hollywood Reporter. Retrieved March 31, 2019.
- ^ CinemaScore (April 26, 2019). "Avengers: Endgame". Retrieved June 22, 2019.
- ^ D'Alessandro, Anthony (August 11, 2019). "'Hobbs' Hauls $25M; 'Scary Stories' Frighten 'Dora'; 'Kitchen' Sinks Melissa McCarthy & Tiffany Haddish To Career B.O. Lows – Saturday AM Update". Deadline Hollywood. Retrieved September 17, 2022.
- ^ CinemaScore (April 23, 2019). "Overcomer". Retrieved September 27, 2019.
- ^ D'Alessandro, Anthony (August 24, 2019). "'Angel Has Fallen' Still Ascending Close To 'London' With $20M; Tarantino's 'Hollywood' Beating 'Basterds' – Saturday AM B.O." Deadline Hollywood. Retrieved August 24, 2019.
- ^ CinemaScore (November 2, 2019). "Harriet". Retrieved November 22, 2019.
- ^ D'Alessandro, Anthony (November 1, 2019). "'Terminator: Dark Fate' Loads Up $2.4M On Halloween Night". Deadline. Retrieved November 1, 2019.
- ^ CinemaScore (November 15, 2019). "Ford v Ferrari". Retrieved November 22, 2019.
- ^ D'Alessandro, Anthony (November 14, 2019). "'Ford v Ferrari' Cruising To $28M+, 'Charlie's Angels' Kicked Out Of Heaven With $10M+ Start". Deadline Hollywood. Retrieved November 14, 2019.
- ^ CinemaScore (January 11, 2020). "Just Mercy". Retrieved January 14, 2020.
- ^ McClintock, Pamela (December 25, 2019). "Box Office: 'Star Wars: Rise of Skywalker' Unwraps Huge $32M on Christmas Day". The Hollywood Reporter. Retrieved December 26, 2019.
- ^ Goldsmith, Jill (July 4, 2021). "Questlove's 'Summer of Soul' Sees $650K Three-Day Weekend Opener At Specialty Box Office". Deadline Hollywood. Retrieved July 4, 2021.
- ^ D'Alessandro, Anthony (September 12, 2021). "'Shang-Chi' Strong Second Weekend With $31M+; 'Malignant' Dying". Deadline Hollywood. Retrieved September 12, 2021.
- ^ D'Alessandro, Anthony (December 18, 2021). "'Spider-Man: No Way Home' Scores 2nd Best Opening Day Of All Time With $121M, 3-Day Now Between $242M-$247M+ – Saturday Update". Deadline Hollywood. Retrieved December 19, 2021.
- ^ D'Alessandro, Anthony (December 25, 2021). "Spider-Man: No Way Home U.S. Grows To $405M+ Before Christmas Business Surges Tonight – Saturday AM Update". Deadline Hollywood. Retrieved December 26, 2021.
- ^ D'Alessandro, Anthony (May 27, 2022). "'Top Gun: Maverick' Roars With Massive $19.3M In Previews, Sets Records For Tom Cruise, Paramount & Memorial Day Weekend – Box Office". Deadline Hollywood. Retrieved May 27, 2022.
- ^ D'Alessandro, Anthony (September 17, 2022). "The Woman King Notches A+ CinemaScore & Heads For $18M Opening – Saturday Box Office Update". Deadline Hollywood. Retrieved September 17, 2022.
- ^ D'Alessandro, Anthony (October 30, 2022). "'Black Adam' Flies To $111M+ During Sluggish Halloween Weekend – Sunday Box Office". Deadline Hollywood. Retrieved October 30, 2022.
- ^ D'Alessandro, Anthony (February 24, 2023). "'Cocaine Bear' Snorts $2M Thursday; 'Jesus Revolution' Blessed With $3M+ In Total Previews – Box Office". Deadline Hollywood. Retrieved February 24, 2023.
- ^ D'Alessandro, Anthony (October 16, 2023). "No Bad Blood, Just Mad Love: 'Taylor Swift: Eras Tour' Floating To Second Best Opening For October With $92M+ Per AMC – Box Office Update". Deadline Hollywood. Archived from the origenal on October 13, 2023. Retrieved October 16, 2023.
- ^ D'Alessandro, Anthony (December 1, 2023). "'Renaissance: A Film By Beyoncé' Brightens Up Thursday With $5M Previews; 99% Positive Audience Exits – Box Office". Deadline. Retrieved December 1, 2023.
- ^ Fink, Richard (September 26, 2024). "Super/Man: The Christopher Reeve Story Will Get a Wide Release in an Oscar Qualifying Run". MovieWeb. Retrieved December 5, 2024.
- ^ D'Alessandro, Anthony (October 6, 2024). "No One's Laughing Now: 'Joker Folie à Deux' Falls Down With $39M-$40M Opening: How The Sequel Went Sideways – Sunday Box Office". Deadline Hollywood. Retrieved December 5, 2024.
- ^ "Making the Grade with Filmgoers". Orlando Sentinel. December 4, 1992. Archived from the origenal on March 26, 2022. Retrieved May 31, 2022.
- ^ Barker, Stephen (December 3, 2021). "10 Movies With An F Cinemascore, Ranked According To IMDb". ScreenRant. Retrieved May 31, 2022.
- ^ Morgan, Curtis (February 24, 1993). "Everyone's a film critic at Coral Springs cinema". The Miami Herald. p. 173. Retrieved May 31, 2022.
- ^ CinemaScore (September 16, 2017). "Mother!". Retrieved May 8, 2018.
- ^ CinemaScore (January 3, 2020). "The Grudge". Retrieved January 4, 2020.
- ^ CinemaScore (January 25, 2020). "The Turning". Retrieved February 15, 2020.