Template:Use American English Template:Use mdy dates Template:Infobox company
CinemaScore is a 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
Ed Mintz founded CinemaScore in 1979 after disliking The Cheap Detective despite being a fan of Neil Simon, and hearing another disappointed attendee wanting to hear the opinions of ordinary people instead of critics. A Yom Kippur donation card with tabs inspired the survey cards given to audience members.[1] The company conducts surveys to 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.[2]
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.[2]
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.Template:R A website was launched by CinemaScore in 1999,[3] 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.[4] 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.[5]
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.[5]
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.[6]
Since July 2014, CinemaScore reports its results also on Twitter.[7]
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.[8] 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 distributer Pure Flix Entertainment).
Rating

CinemaScore describes itself as "the industry leader in measuring movie appeal".[9] 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.[10]Template:RTemplate:R 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.[11] CinemaScore typically receives about 400 cards per film;[12] the company estimates a 65% response rate and 6% margin of error.Template:R
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).[5] 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.Template:RTemplate:RTemplate:R
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".[11] 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 ConjuringTemplate:'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".Template:R
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.Template:R From 2000 to January 2020, there were 53 movies with "A+".[13][14] Template:As of, 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".Template:R (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.)Template:R
Template:Asof, 22 films have received an "F" grade.[16]Template:R[17][18][19] Vulture wrote that besides horror,[20]
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.Template:R
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."[21] Mintz rejected being lumped in with Rotten Tomatoes, and defended their 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, and further defended the accuracy of their data and the correlation to box office results.[22]
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.[11] Hollywood executives are divided on CinemaScore's accuracy. One told Deadline Hollywood "It's not always right, but it's a pretty good indicator. I rely on it", while another said that competitor PostTrak was "much better...more thorough and in-depth".Template:R[23]
List of "A+" films
As of 2023, only Jon Erwin has made the list four times: thrice with his brother (2015, 2018, and 2021) and once with Brent McCorkle (2023). Three directors have made the list three times: Rob Reiner (1987, 1989, 1992), Alex Kendrick (2011, 2015, 2019), 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), and George Tillman Jr. (1997, 2018).
List of "F" films
References
- ↑ Las Vegan's polling company keeps tabs on Hollywood. Las Vegas Review-Journal(2016-08-30). Retrieved March 19, 2017.
- ↑ 2.0 2.1 In Springs, Everybody's a Critic. South Florida Sun-Sentinel(March 20, 1993). Retrieved March 19, 2017.
- ↑ The 21 movies that audiences have hated the most in the past 2 decades, Clark, Travis. Business Insider(January 27, 2020). Retrieved February 19, 2020.
- ↑ Brad Peppard Salary Information 2012. ERI Economic Research Institute. Retrieved February 19, 2020.
- ↑ 5.0 5.1 5.2 CinemaScore expands to Internet to offer moviegoers current information. Las Vegas Review-Journal(September 16, 1999). Retrieved February 19, 2020.
- ↑ [{{{url}}} Movies make the grade with fans, critics alike]. USA Today(2002-08-01).
- ↑ CinemaScore's account on Twitter.
- ↑ CinemaScore, Rotten Tomatoes, and movie audience scores, explained(August 13, 2018). Retrieved August 18, 2018.
- ↑ Cinemascore :: About Us. www.cinemascore.com. Retrieved 2018-12-15.
- ↑ Why CinemaScore Matters for Box Office(August 19, 2011). Retrieved March 28, 2013.
- ↑ 11.0 11.1 11.2 CinemaScore's box-office swami. Los Angeles Times(October 13, 2009). Retrieved February 25, 2018.
- ↑ CinemaScore Gets 'A' From Studios, Especially When It Counters Critics. TheWrap(June 18, 2013). Retrieved February 25, 2018.
- ↑ 53 Movies With A+ CinemaScore Since 2000, From 'Remember the Titans' to 'Just Mercy' (Photos). TheWrap(January 12, 2020). Retrieved January 14, 2020.
- ↑ 10 Recent Movies With An A+ CinemaScore That Are Worth Checking Out, Carbone, Gina(July 10, 2019). Retrieved November 22, 2019.
- ↑ B Grade For 'Turtles': What CinemaScores Mean And Why Exit Polling Matters. Deadline Hollywood(August 9, 2014). Retrieved August 20, 2014.
- ↑ 20 Movies With Deeply Confusing CinemaScores. Lifehacker(November 10, 2021). Retrieved May 31, 2022.
- ↑ All 21 Movies That Flunked CinemaScore With F Grade, From 'Solaris' to 'The Turning' (Photos). TheWrap(January 25, 2020). Retrieved February 15, 2020.
- ↑ CinemaScore: 21 Movies Audiences Hated Most, Schedeen, Jesse. IGN(January 27, 2020). Retrieved February 15, 2020.
- ↑ There Have Only Been 21 Movies That Have Ever Gotten "F" Ratings From CinemaScore — How Many Have You Seen?, Stopera, Matt. BuzzFeed(January 31, 2020). Retrieved February 15, 2020.
- ↑ What the 19 Movies to Ever Receive an 'F' CinemaScore Have in Common. vulture.com(September 20, 2017). Retrieved May 8, 2018.
- ↑ Martin Scorsese on Rotten Tomatoes, Box Office Obsession and Why 'Mother!' Was Misjudged (Guest Column), Scorsese, Martin. The Hollywood Reporter(October 10, 2017). Retrieved December 28, 2019.
- ↑ CinemaScore Fires Back at Martin Scorsese, Accuses Him of 'Censoring His Fans' from 'Voicing Their Opinions', Sharf, Zack. IndieWire(7 May 2018).
- ↑ CinemaScore in Retreat as Studios Turn to PostTrak, McClintock, Pamela(September 18, 2013). Retrieved May 8, 2018.
- ↑ ‘Mandela’s’ Long Walk To Oscar Race: With Renewed Heat And A+ CinemaScore Now Was Rushing It To Make Toronto Fest A Misstep? (Video), Hammond, Pete(December 3, 2013). Retrieved December 25, 2022.
- ↑ Dinesh D'Souza's Doc 'America' Can't Match Box-Office Lightning of His '2016: Obama's America'. The Wrap(July 6, 2014).
- ↑ Specialty Box Office: ‘The Good Lie,’ ‘Men, Women & Children’ Open Soft, Brueggeman, Tom(October 5, 2014). Retrieved December 25, 2022.
- ↑ Box Office: Thanksgiving Holiday Moviegoing Plummets, McClintock, Pamela(November 28, 2014). Retrieved December 25, 2022.
- ↑ 'At Room Finds More Followers on Sunday, But 'Compton' is Still King - Monday Box Office Finals. Deadline(August 31, 2015). Retrieved April 28, 2019.
- ↑ Faith-Based 'War Room' to Halt 'Straight Outta Compton's' Box-Office Run(September 5, 2015).
- ↑ Hidden Figures(January 6, 2017). Retrieved April 10, 2017.
- ↑ Patriots Day(January 13, 2017). Retrieved February 26, 2018.
- ↑ 'Boss Baby' Crawls Ahead Of 'Beauty' With $26M+; 'Smurfs' Lost in 3rd With $14M, D'Alessandro, Anthony. Deadline Hollywood(April 9, 2017).
- ↑ Girls Trip(July 21, 2017). 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).
- ↑ Wonder(November 18, 2017). Retrieved February 26, 2018.
- ↑ Coco(November 23, 2017). Retrieved February 26, 2018.
- ↑ Black Panther(February 16, 2018). Retrieved February 26, 2018.
- ↑ I Can Only Imagine(March 16, 2018). Retrieved March 16, 2018.
- ↑ Love, Simon(March 16, 2018). Retrieved March 16, 2018.
- ↑ Incredibles 2(June 15, 2018). Retrieved July 30, 2018.
- ↑ The Hate U Give(October 19, 2018). Retrieved October 20, 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, D'Alessandro, Anthony. Deadline Hollywood(November 25, 2018). Retrieved February 9, 2019.
- ↑ Spider-Man: Into the Spider-Verse(December 14, 2018). Retrieved December 19, 2018.
- ↑ 'Spider-Verse' Catching $36M, 'The Mule' Carrying Near $18M, 'Mortal Engines' Fails To Start With $7M+(December 15, 2018). Retrieved December 15, 2018.
- ↑ Unplanned(April 1, 2019). Retrieved June 22, 2019.
- ↑ Weekend Box Office: 'Dumbo' Disappoints With $45M U.S. Debut. The Hollywood Reporter(March 31, 2019). Retrieved March 31, 2019.
- ↑ Avengers: Endgame(April 26, 2019). Retrieved June 22, 2019.
- ↑ 'Hobbs' Hauls $25M; 'Scary Stories' Frighten 'Dora'; 'Kitchen' Sinks Melissa McCarthy & Tiffany Haddish To Career B.O. Lows – Saturday AM Update, D'Alessandro, Anthony. Deadline Hollywood(August 11, 2019). Retrieved September 17, 2022.
- ↑ Overcomer(April 23, 2019). Retrieved September 27, 2019.
- ↑ 'Angel Has Fallen' Still Ascending Close To 'London' With $20M; Tarantino's 'Hollywood' Beating 'Basterds' – Saturday AM B.O., D'Alessandro, Anthony. Deadline Hollywood(August 24, 2019). Retrieved August 24, 2019.
- ↑ Harriet(November 2, 2019). Retrieved November 22, 2019.
- ↑ 'Terminator: Dark Fate' Loads Up $2.4M On Halloween Night, D'Alessandro, Anthony. Deadline(November 1, 2019). Retrieved November 1, 2019.
- ↑ Ford v Ferrari(November 15, 2019). Retrieved November 22, 2019.
- ↑ 'Ford v Ferrari' Cruising To $28M+, 'Charlie's Angels' Kicked Out Of Heaven With $10M+ Start, D'Alessandro, Anthony(November 14, 2019). Retrieved November 14, 2019.
- ↑ Just Mercy(January 11, 2020). Retrieved January 14, 2020.
- ↑ Box Office: 'Star Wars: Rise of Skywalker' Unwraps Huge $32M on Christmas Day, McClintock, Pamela(December 25, 2019). Retrieved December 26, 2019.
- ↑ Questlove's 'Summer of Soul' Sees $650K Three-Day Weekend Opener At Specialty Box Office, Goldsmith, Jill. Deadline Hollywood(July 4, 2021). Retrieved July 4, 2021.
- ↑ 'Shang-Chi' Strong Second Weekend With $31M+; 'Malignant' Dying, D'Alessandro, Anthony. Deadline Hollywood(September 12, 2021). Retrieved September 12, 2021.
- ↑ 'Spider-Man: No Way Home' Scores 2nd Best Opening Day Of All Time With $121M, 3-Day Now Between $242M-$247M+ – Saturday Update, D'Alessandro, Anthony. Deadline Hollywood(December 18, 2021). Retrieved December 19, 2021.
- ↑ Spider-Man: No Way Home U.S. Grows To $405M+ Before Christmas Business Surges Tonight – Saturday AM Update, D'Alessandro, Anthony. Deadline Hollywood(December 25, 2021). Retrieved December 26, 2021.
- ↑ 'Top Gun: Maverick' Roars With Massive $19.3M In Previews, Sets Records For Tom Cruise, Paramount & Memorial Day Weekend – Box Office, D'Alessandro, Anthony. Deadline Hollywood(May 27, 2022). Retrieved May 27, 2022.
- ↑ The Woman King Notches A+ CinemaScore & Heads For $18M Opening – Saturday Box Office Update, D'Alessandro, Anthony. Deadline Hollywood(September 17, 2022). Retrieved September 17, 2022.
- ↑ 'Black Adam' Flies To $111M+ During Sluggish Halloween Weekend – Sunday Box Office, D'Alessandro, Anthony. Deadline Hollywood(October 30, 2022). Retrieved October 30, 2022.
- ↑ ‘Cocaine Bear’ Snorts $2M Thursday; ‘Jesus Revolution’ Blessed With $3M+ In Total Previews – Box Office, D'Alessandro, Anthony. Deadline Hollywood(February 24, 2023). Retrieved February 24, 2023.
- ↑ Making the Grade with Filmgoers. Orlando Sentinel(December 4, 1992). Retrieved May 31, 2022.
- ↑ 10 Movies With An F Cinemascore, Ranked According To IMDb. ScreenRant(December 3, 2021). Retrieved May 31, 2022.
- ↑ Everyone's a film critic at Coral Springs cinema. The Miami Herald(February 24, 1993). Retrieved May 31, 2022.
- ↑ Mother!(September 16, 2017). Retrieved May 8, 2018.
- ↑ The Grudge(January 3, 2020). Retrieved January 4, 2020.
- ↑ The Turning(January 25, 2020). Retrieved February 15, 2020.