What's Happening?
PopcornGap, a new platform, highlights discrepancies in Rotten Tomatoes audience scores by comparing verified and unverified ratings. The site reveals that since 2019, Rotten Tomatoes has shown a 'push' score, influenced by ticket-buyers prompted by apps
like Fandango, which often skews more positive. In contrast, the 'pull' score, derived from self-selected users who seek out the site, tends to be harsher. This difference is exemplified in films like 'The Odyssey,' where the verified score was 97%, but the unverified score was only 56.2%. PopcornGap aims to provide a more transparent view of audience opinions by focusing on these unverified ratings.
Why It's Important?
The discrepancies highlighted by PopcornGap raise questions about the reliability and transparency of audience scores on major review platforms like Rotten Tomatoes. As these scores can significantly influence public perception and box office performance, understanding the potential biases in how they are calculated is crucial. This development may prompt platforms to reconsider their rating systems and encourage more transparency in how scores are presented to the public. It also underscores the importance of diverse and independent sources of film criticism.
