PR firm pays critics to manipulate Rotten Tomatoes, says report.
Manipulation Allegations Surrounding Rotten Tomatoes
A new report has shed light on a controversial incident involving Rotten Tomatoes, the popular movie site relied upon by millions to determine whether a film is worth watching. It appears that the site was allegedly manipulated by a public relations company in order to boost the critical reception of a particular movie.
The Role of Bunker 15
Bunker 15, a PR firm, was enlisted to assist with the promotion of the 2018 film “Ophelia,” starring Daisy Ridley. Initially, the movie received a lackluster rating of 46% on Rotten Tomatoes. However, according to Vulture, Bunker 15 took matters into their own hands by paying obscure critics on the Rotten Tomatoes website to post positive reviews. These critics were allegedly compensated with $50 or more per review.
An email from a Bunker 15 employee to a potential reviewer revealed their intentions: “It’s a Sundance film and the feeling is that it’s been treated a bit harshly by some critics (I’m sure sky-high expectations were the culprit) so the teams involved feel like it would benefit from more input from different critics.”
When the reviewer expressed concern about potentially disliking the film, the Bunker 15 employee assured them that negative reviews could still be published on a smaller blog that Rotten Tomatoes would not see. They even described it as a “very cool thing to do.”
The Impact on “Ophelia”
As a result of Bunker 15’s efforts, Rotten Tomatoes added eight reviews to “Ophelia’s” score between October 2018 and January 2019. Seven of these reviews were favorable, and most of them came from critics who had previously reviewed other movies associated with Bunker 15, as reported by Vulture.
Consequently, “Ophelia” saw its rating climb to 62%. The following month, IFC Films acquired the distribution rights for the film.
Response from Bunker 15
When approached by Vulture, Daniel Harlow, the founder of Bunker 15, dismissed the allegations, stating, “Wow, you are really reaching there. … We have thousands of writers in our distribution list. A small handful have set up a specific system where filmmakers can sponsor or pay to have them review a film.”
The Flawed Rotten Tomatoes System
One of the issues with Rotten Tomatoes scores is that they are posted after only a few reviews have been submitted. This allows film companies to screen their movies for selected critics and delay the review embargo, ensuring that positive reviews can influence the Rotten Tomatoes score before a majority of critics have a chance to weigh in.
Vulture highlighted the case of “Ant-Man and the Wasp: Quantumania,” which initially had a score of 79% on Rotten Tomatoes and enjoyed a successful opening. However, as more reviews came in, the score dropped to the 40-50% range, resulting in a significant decline in the film’s box office performance during its second weekend.
Filmmaker Paul Schrader, who was once a critic himself, commented on the situation, saying, ”The studios didn’t invent Rotten Tomatoes, and most of them don’t like it. But the system is broken. Audiences are dumber. Normal people don’t go through reviews like they used to. Rotten Tomatoes is something the studios can game. So they do.”
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