Twitter can be powerful - that we know - but as a film fan, how does one make sense of it? TwitCritics is a new site that aims to help us do this by measuring the pulse surrounding new film releases and in doing that, also illustrates the viewing preferences and tendencies of the Twitterverse.
The micro-blogging site can, to some extent, be credited for the success of films such as Inglourious Basterds (a film we worked on), and the demise of others, like Bruno. While much of the “Twitter Effect” is still up for debate, it’s safe to say that the site has become a mechanism by which real people can share information, and movie reviews for that matter, in real time.
TwitCritics aspires to organize the thousands of 140 character movie reviews out there by scanning tweets that mention titles in a positive or negative way. The overall percentage of favorable tweets is then used to give the film a score, essentially making the site the Rotten Tomatoes or Metacritic of the Twitterverse.
In concept, I love the idea, but in execution TwitCritics still needs some work. There certainly needs to be some “human touch” implemented in categorizing the tone of the tweets, however, the site is certainly on its way, particularly given the fact that it allows outside users to moderate various comments. The site is also clever not for just the fact that it gives readers a temperature of Twitter chatter surrounding a film, but it also allows us a look into the various behaviors and trends emerging with the micro-blogging portal. A few quick observations:
- Positive Twitter Buzz = Box Office Success. Three of the five top-rated TwitCritics films won their respective opening box office weekends, with the fourth finishing second (Law Abiding Citizen). The remaining film, Whip It, garnered rave reviews but failed to find an audience (film generated 5,833 tweets, compared to the top tweeted film’s 23,519).
- High Volume Is Good. Four of the five top tweeted films have found, and are finding, great success at the box office. Now, this leads me to ask what matters more, the number of tweets, or the tone of those tweets… this is something I hope TwitCritics can help us answer.
- All Genres Equal in the Twitterverse. Films receiving a 70% or higher rating run the genre gamut on TwitCritics, with everything from documentaries to romantic comedies having some sort of representation. Comedies make up 21% of the top-rated movies, while dramas and action/thrillers each comprise 17%.
- However, Horror Films Didn’t Fare So Well. Despite having some moderate success at the box office, the four lowest ranked films on TwitCritics are Whiteout (41% - not a horror film), Halloween II (45%), The Final Destination (48%), and Paranormal Activity (49%). That being said, of the films rated over 70%, 10% are horror flicks.
I’m a big fan of Rotten Tomatoes and MetaCritic and often take a look at both sites before heading to the theater (I recently was dissuaded from seeing a film I had been anticipating due to multiple “0” ratings on MetaCritic, opting instead to wait for the DVD). I certainly see myself using TwitCritic in the same way, and look forward to seeing how the site can better help us fully understand the “Twitter Effect.”