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Wan LixinOpinion deputy editor of Shanghai Daily
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Studios all a'twitter over fast film critics
Source: Agencies |
July 19, 2009, Sunday
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Print Edition
Print Edition
AUDIENCES are voicing snap judgments on movies faster and to more people than ever before on Twitter, and their ability to create a box office hit or a flop is forcing major studios to revamp marketing campaigns.
The stakes are especially high this summer season when big budget movies like "Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince," which opened last Wednesday, play to a core audience of young, plugged-in moviegoers.
Box office watchers say Twitter, a micro-blogging service that allows anyone to post on-the-fly wisecracks for all the world to see, is the latest weapon in an arsenal of cell phones and computers that audiences use to critique films quickly, often when they are still sitting in theaters.
Such word-of-mouth publicity from fan to fan can boost, or bomb, ticket sales.
Last Friday, actor Sacha Baron Cohen's gay-themed comedy "Bruno" made an impressive one-day debut of US$14.4 million at US and Canadian box offices, but the next day it suffered a large single-day drop, falling 39 percent to US$8.8 million.
Media reports speculated that "Bruno" suffered from the "Twitter effect," meaning audiences reacted quickly as online messaging was awash with comments on raunchy scenes of sex and nudity, scaring people away.
The stakes are especially high this summer season when big budget movies like "Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince," which opened last Wednesday, play to a core audience of young, plugged-in moviegoers.
Box office watchers say Twitter, a micro-blogging service that allows anyone to post on-the-fly wisecracks for all the world to see, is the latest weapon in an arsenal of cell phones and computers that audiences use to critique films quickly, often when they are still sitting in theaters.
Such word-of-mouth publicity from fan to fan can boost, or bomb, ticket sales.
Last Friday, actor Sacha Baron Cohen's gay-themed comedy "Bruno" made an impressive one-day debut of US$14.4 million at US and Canadian box offices, but the next day it suffered a large single-day drop, falling 39 percent to US$8.8 million.
Media reports speculated that "Bruno" suffered from the "Twitter effect," meaning audiences reacted quickly as online messaging was awash with comments on raunchy scenes of sex and nudity, scaring people away.
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