A nationally representative sample of 2,050 regular moviegoers was asked: “How often do you follow movie reviews in a newspaper, magazine, on television or online?”

Research says that four out of five moviegoers do follow reviews, and:

- 81% of moviegoers follow film reviews in a newspaper, magazine, on television or online. – 81% of moviegoers follow film reviews in a newspaper, magazine, on television or online. Roughly half of these moviegoers simply follow the reviews of movies either once a week or more (22%) or several times a month (16%). The other half follow reviews occasionally when there is a movie they are interested in (43%).

- 19% of moviegoers never follow the reviews. In all, 71,485,980 moviegoers follow reviews.

In the most recent U.S. census estimates available, in 2007 the total U.S. population was 301,621,157. Approximately 77% of the population was ages 12 to 70 years, or 232,248,170 persons. 38% of potential respondents who were randomly contacted in this research qualified as moviegoers as defined by having seen 4 or more movies in the last year. That means that 38% of 232,248,170, or 88,254,300, are moviegoers between the ages of 12 and 70. Since we know that 81% of moviegoers follow reviews, it is fair to say, then, that approximately 71,485,983 are moviegoers who follow movie reviews.

To follow movie reviews more frequently correlates with attending more movies. Moviegoers who follow reviews more frequently attend more movies per year:

Moviegoers 30 years and older follow reviews more frequently than do their younger counterparts. Also, males in their 20’s follow movie reviews somewhat more frequently than do females in their 20’s:

Four out of five moviegoers – 81% – follow movie reviews regularly. Half of them follow movie reviews frequently, that is, once a week or more (22%) or several times a month (16%). The other half follow movie reviews occasionally when a movie interests them (43%).

In terms of numbers, 71,485,983 U.S. moviegoers simply follow the reviews of movies. 19,415,946 moviegoers simply follow the reviews of movies once a week or more. 14,120,688 moviegoers simply follow the reviews of movies several times a month. And 37,949,349 moviegoers simply follow the reviews of movies occasionally when a movie interests them.

Importantly, following movie reviews more frequently correlates with attending more movies per year.

By age and gender, males older than 20 years and both males and females older than 30 years follow movie reviews more frequently than teenagers do.

In conclusion, movie reviews matter.

This research was conducted in February 2009 among 2,000 regular moviegoers ages 12 to 70 years. 33% of these moviegoers were teens; 33% were in their 20’s; and 33% were 30 years and older. This sample of moviegoers was spread among the top 50 U.S. city-markets in proportion to moviegoing in each city-market. Half of these moviegoers were reached by random digit dial telephone and half were reached on general interest non-movie web sites.

“How often do you follow movie reviews in a newspaper, magazine, on television or online?” To follow means, “To accompany; attend. To move along the course of. To be attentive to. To grasp the meaning or logic of; understand.” (The American Heritage Dictionary, New Second College Edition, 1983.)

A movie review gives indication as to whether or not others will find the movie worth watching. The purpose of most movie reviews is to help the reader in determining whether they want to watch, rent or buy the movie. The review should also give enough details about the movie so that the reader can make an up-to-date decision as to whether to watch the movie or not. At the same time, the review should not give away too much of the essential plot of the story.

In this article we will be discussing the guidelines that should be followed while writing a movie review. Before starting to write a review, the writer should remember the following procedure:

- Selecting the movie

- Knowing the context of the movie, such as it’s director, actors, story and many more

- Formulating the writers opinion in one sentence

- Selecting special scenes from the movie or other facts that will support the writer’s opinion.

The first step in writing the review is to watch the movie. Most movie reviewers take notes as they watch the movie. Watching the movie a second time helps to absorb a lot more detail about the movie. Most movie reviewers give their personal opinion of the movie in their review. In all good journalism, the reviewer should always give impartial details, and allow the reader to make their own opinion as well.

Reviewer’s opinions should be explained to allow the reader to determine whether the readers would agree or not. The reviewer also needs to consider the audience. Writing a movie review for children requires a different approach than if writing for a general movie audience. The review should always be written keeping the targeted audience in mind. The main essence of the movie should be retained in an outlined sketch — but it should always be remembered not to give away any essential details like surprises or a sudden turn in the plot.

Details of actors, crew members, directors should be mentioned in the review. It should also be mentioned how well they have acted and how well the movie has been made technically. The technicalities are an important part of the movie review. Technicalities include art direction, music, editing lighting, cinematography and many more.

Movie reviews even include a little bit of criticism if needed. Criticism says what could have been done to make the film better or what the weak points of the movie are. Though critical analysis is not always needed, a word or two can serve the purpose in a movie review.

Conclusion

A reviewer must always remember to give an outline of the whole story, but not give away details which hold surprises or the special essence of the film. It should be kept untold for the audience to watch the film. The movie review should be written keeping a note of the types of readers who would be reading the review. The language, presentation and technicalities of writing would also depend on the types of readers. The medium which the review will be published is also important, because if the review is published on the net, the reviewer will get mostly youth readers. However, if it is going to be published in a local language in a local daily newspaper, then the approach should be different.