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Bunker 15 went to work.
I think its a very cool thing to do.
If done right, the trick would help ensure that Rotten Tomatoes logged positive reviews but not negative ones.
Between October 2018 and January 2019, Rotten Tomatoes added eight reviews toOphelias score.
Seven were favorable, and most came from critics who have reviewed at least one other Bunker 15 movie.
TheOpheliaaffair is a useful microcosm for understanding how Rotten Tomatoes, whichturned 25in August, has come to function.
The site was conceived in the early days of the web as a Hot or Not for movies.
The studios didnt invent Rotten Tomatoes, and most of them dont like it, says the filmmakerPaul Schrader.
But the system is broken.
Normal people dont go through reviews like they used to.
Rotten Tomatoes is something the studios can game.
Im told, Manohla Dargis, shes excellent.
Because they dont care!
Brett Ratner hascalled itthe destruction of our business.
But insiders acknowledge that it has become a crucial arbiter.
Publicists say their jobs revolve around the site.
(According to the studios, the predictions are very close, says another publicist.
Ill refer to these informers, who asked for anonymity to speak candidly, as Publicists Nos.
1 and 2.)
But despite Rotten Tomatoes reputed importance, its worth a reminder: Its math stinks.
If a review straddles positive and negative, too bad.
To me, thats a good review, but it would count as negative on Rotten Tomatoes.
That means a film can score a perfect 100 with just passing grades.
But with Rotten Tomatoes, if you get all three-star reviews, its fantastic.
Its a film publicists job to organize these screenings and invite the writers they think will respond most positively.
Granted, that is not rocket science or even particularly new.
(No offense tocomicbookmovie.com.)
Days later, after more critics had weighed in, its rating sankinto the 40s.
What they shouldve done, says Publicist No.
1, was have simultaneous screenings in the States for critics who mightve been more friendly.
It happens all the time, says the indie-distribution exec.
Later, back on dry land, sanity prevailed as other critics downgraded those ratings to64and42.
Naturally, studios have learned to exploit this dynamic.
The film won an Oscar.
Rotten Tomatoes outlasted the dot-com bubble and was passed from one buyer to another, most recently in 2016.
That year, Warner Bros.sold most of it to Fandango, which shares a parent company with Universal Pictures.
Misogynist trolls hadhijacked the platform, coordinating to tank women-led movies likeCaptain Marvelbefore they opened.
Today, that score is83.)
A bigger change came in 2018 when Rotten Tomatoesloosened the restrictionson whose reviews could be indexed.
Once, the site had required its contributors to write for publications with substantial web traffic or print circulations.
But the change helped with another issue.
Studios blamed Rotten Tomatoes.
The critic aggregation site increasingly is slowing down the potential business of popcorn movies, reportedDeadline.
Intentional or not, this looks like it’s what happened.
By 2021, that average had climbed to a fresh 60 percent.
The benefits have not been universally distributed.
Some whom I spoke with complained that Rotten Tomatoes larger pool has been tougher on art-house movies.
And yet it was their lowest Rotten Tomatoes score ever.
Maybe that indiedirector shouldve hired Bunker 15.
Rotten Tomatoes new membership rules might have enabled the publicity companys M.O.
But Bunker 15 has worked on medium-size titles, too.
We have a dedicated team who monitors our platforms regularly and thoroughly investigates and resolves any suspicious activity.
And yet manipulation still happens.
The question might be, Is it making a difference where it counts?
Attempts to evince a relationship between movies Tomatometer scores and their financial success have yielded conflicting results.
They might check that out.
Maybe theyd have better luck if they read the reviews.
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