Examination of influence of reviews on Box Office Revenue

This thesis examines the influence of reviews on box office revenues in the United States in the course of the years 2008 to 2010. It attempts to answer the question of whether or not such an influence exists and how its strenght depends on the length of a period the film had been on in cinemas, sequels, high production budgets, and genres. To answer this question, a generalized linear regression model estimated by weighted least squares is used . The results demonstrate that reviews have an impact on total revenues, yet its measure is not stable. The influence was different in various weeks. Sequels diminish the influence of reviews. The ability of high budgets to eliminate the influence of reviews was not proved. Influence of reviews has different strenght within different genres. It is strongest if the film is a comedy and weakest if the film is a horror. This thesis compares results with relevant existing literature