Does a bad review ruin the films chances?

The success of a film is determined by many factors, good reviews being a key factor in the success of a film. If there is a substantial amount of bad reviews about a movie, it is quite obvious the film is bad or simply aimed at a small target group. If a film gets the odd bad review, it usually has an effect but not a substantial one. If a film gets a huge amount of bad review the chances of more people seeing the film is quite low. Really it all depends on the franchise of the film, if it is known, famous actors/crew and another big factor being good reviews. No one wants to go to the cinema and waste nearly ten pounds of a film that is poor, especially in times of huge amounts of deficit. Many people use film reviews to one, make sure it is a good film by looking at the rating. Then seeing if it is appealing to their taste and need at the time. Even if a film has got a bad review, but has a great cast, some people will see the film just because of the cast. For example, the John Wayne films were arguably bad movies, but because John Wayne was in the movies it was an instant hit. Big well loved actors can easily make or break a movie.

This is a perfect example of how John Wayne would sell the movies even if they are mediocre films.

However not every film is graced by the presence of a big, well loved star like John Wayne. They have to rely on other ways to appeal, such as film reviews. Film reviews can easily make or break a film, however they can also portray the film in a completely different light to other reviews. All reviews are going to be diverse and appeal to a certain group of people, its a well known fact that not everyone has the same taste in film. But there is a majority holder known as mainstream films. Big hit action movies are listed under the category of mainstream films. Most big budget films will  include some element of mainstream ideology. The aim to please the masses.

Many films have a diverse reviewing opinion, for example "Real Steel" has had mixed reviews on a huge variety of different websites. On the likes of IMDb the movie has a 7.4 rating, this is a respectable rating and its created by thousands of users voting for the rating, this is also quite reliable as it gives a wide opinion of many people, instead of a standard review in a magazine developed by one person or a team of people.