10 Movie Trends That Have Been Killing Cinema For Longer That You Think

2. Fan Backlash Ruining A Movie

The 'Modern' Problem: Although much of the bitching and moaning on the internet tends to be aimless, if it's focused enough it can have an effect. And sometimes it can be for the better; the earliest example of this is Batman And Robin, which spent its first weekend savaged online and its second screening to empty auditoriums. But because fans are fickle beings it can go the other way; perfectly adequate films can be destroyed if you point out Jar Jar isn't funny enough times. With the Star Wars prequels this didn't have an immediate impact - the backlash didn't start until well after release - but other films can now flop simply if its detractors can be vocal quick enough. But Actually: This is only new in a world where the film makes most of its box office gross in the first couple of weeks of release. And that's only been the case for the past few decades. Before Jaws and Star Wars created the blockbuster model, movies tended to be released in a more staggered way. Rather than being screened in thousands of screens across the country/world at the same time, films would gradually roll out, building momentum thanks to a mixture of marketing hype and good old word-of-mouth. And obviously if the word-of-mouth was negative then the film wouldn't spread. Sadly we're still waiting for that modern positivity; internet impact tends to always be on the negative side.