Quality time at the movies

Academic research pertained to the marketing of motion pictures has identified the importance of quality on the commercial success of popular movies with indicators as consumer evaluations, expert ratings and peer-recognized awards as the Academy Awards. However, most researchers fail to analyze the quality of a movie as a measurement of performance of a movie. The current study extents previous research by aiming to measure the perceived quality of consumers, experts and peers for popular movies, based on the assumptions made on the success factors for commercial performance in previous marketing literature. Through a quantitative internet content analysis, data was gathered on the motion picture industry. The models were tested with a sample of 320 movies released between 2000-2015. Results show that the perceived quality of consumers overlap with the perceived quality of experts, which contradicts statements about the ‘little taste’ of consumers. Moreover, the data shows that there is a difference between the perceived quality of consumers and the commercial success of a movie, measured in box office revenue. However, for both commercial success and the perceived quality of consumers, popular appeal is still important for the satisfaction of the consumer. Managerial and theoretical implications, as well as limitations and directions for future research are offered.