Movie Rating Site Changes Format To Try & Rescue Disney
Disney's new live-action version of "The Little Mermaid" got a major boost at the box office over Memorial Day weekend, despite receiving mixed reviews from critics and suspicion of “review bombing” on popular movie database IMDb.
IMDb reportedly changed the way it reports audience scores for the film by applying an alternate weighting calculation to preserve the reliability of its rating mechanism. The movie currently has a 7.0/10 rating out of 43,000 votes with a small disclaimer, though the exact method used to generate the rating is undisclosed.
The film features lead actress Halle Bailey in the role of Ariel, praised by viewers for her performance, though some have commented on the unsettling live-action versions of the sidekicks Scuttle, Sebastian, and Flounder, which they found unnecessary.
Reviews on the popular film-rating site Rotten Tomatoes reflect the mixed response to the movie, with a 68% critic score and a 95% audience score.
“Halle Bailey and Melissa McCarthy save an otherwise BLAND Disney retread,” one reviewer wrote, with another commenting: “Meh. I was SO looking forward to this and while it brought moments of laughter and joy, it fell a little flat. Loved Ursula though, thought she was awesome!”
The box office earnings of more than $117 million over Memorial Day weekend demonstrate the success of the movie, despite the mixed reviews. While some might not have liked the film, they still went out to watch it, attesting to the power of the Disney name.
Review bombing is an attack on a movie or other work that happens when a large number of people, or a few people with multiple accounts, post negative user reviews online. It is difficult to know if this happened with "The Little Mermaid," however, it shows the power of public opinion and how film reviews can have a major impact on viewers' decisions to watch it or not.
In conclusion, it appears that the new live-action version of "The Little Mermaid" is off to a good start at the box office despite reviews that have been largely mixed. As for IMDb's ratings, the reason behind their new weighting calculation is not known, making it hard to gauge exactly how the film will fare in its next round of ratings.