Everyone's a critic: The power of expert and consumer reviews to shape readers’ post-viewing motion picture evaluations

• We tested a model about the influence of movie reviews on post-viewing evaluation.
• Differences between professional reviews and consumer reviews were tested.
• Negative reviews can reduce enjoyment and involvement.
• Credibility of the reviews does not play a significant role in their effectiveness.
• The model indicates promise in charting mediators of influences on enjoyment.

With the advent of online consumer reviews, research into the way consumer and traditional reviews relate to mainstream popularity of entertainment media has been predicated on aggregate results, such as box-office figures for movies. The current study adds to this field by proposing an exploratory model that charts the influence of both types of review on individual readers’ post-viewing evaluations. A controlled experiment was performed, observing credibility, trait empathy and viewer involvement with content. Results indicated that polarized, negative reviews lower enjoyment through reducing involvement. Moreover, credibility of reviews did not play a role in the effects found, with the least trustworthy review exerting the biggest influence. Recommendations are made from the data to develop a confirmatory model that can unite findings and theories from psychological, sociological, and market research.