How social media determines film success

In today’s film industry, a viral TikTok trend can sometimes be more valuable than a positive review. For example, there was the Barbie hype in the summer of 2023 that seemed to have contributed massively to the films success with everyone

using the Barbie audio and dressing up in pink to go to the movies.

It also contributed to the success of Oppenheimer as the “rise of Barbenheimer” began online according to an article from The Guardian.

The article explains how Barbie became a cultural event partly through online

trends and viral imagery.

Social media is known to create FOMO (fear of missing out) and online discussions can strongly influence ticket sales.

An article from CNBC states that there is “a fear of missing out on a cultural moment and a desire to experience movies on the biggest screen possible”. Therefore, “Barbenheimer” succeeded partially because audiences feared missing out on a major cultural moment.

The Time explains why simultaneous release of Barbie and Oppenheimer became much bigger than normal film marketing. Social media transformed two separate films into a shared online event known as “Barbenheimer”.

People made memes, posted outfit trends, compared the films online and encouraged double screening. This creates a sense that audiences needed to participate or risk “missing out”.

Therefore, social media no longer just advertises films – it creates cultural events that directly influence cinema attendance.

A Tik Tok research article by SocialMediaToday displays strong statistics such as how 47% of users discovered new movies through Tik Tok. 36% were inspired to buy tickets after seeing films on Tik Tok.

Over time, there has been a noticeable shift in how films and television are created. Productions now seem to be designed for social media. Studios actively create “memeable” moments, aesthetic visuals, and scenes likely to trend online such as the dance scene in the hit series Wednesday that went viral. They also contain aesthetic visuals and “Tik Tok scenes”.

Films are no longer marketed through trailers. They are marketed through reaction videos, edits and online discourse. A strong example of this is Saltburn. Although the film received mixed reactions from critics, it became hugely popular online because clips, edits, and reactions spread rapidly across TikTok and other platforms. According to the BBC, much of the film’s popularity came from viral online discussion and audience reactions rather than traditional marketing alone.

However, there are disadvantages to viral culture. Films risk becoming “content” designed mainly for online attention as aesthetic-over-storytelling culture rises. Some films trend because of one scene, meme or controversy; not because they are good films. Critics also argue that younger audiences are developing shorter attention spans due to constant exposure to fast-paced online media.

The growing influence of social media could change the future of filmmaking by encouraging studios to prioritise viral moments and online engagement. Studios increasingly prioritise online engagement, memes and “social sentiment” because internet reactions can spread faster and reach wider audiences than traditional film criticism. While this can make films culturally successful, it also raises concerns that studios may begin prioritising viral attention over originality and storytelling.

References

Beckett, L. (2023). How did Barbie do it? Warner’s head of marketing on creating a ‘pink movement’. The Guardian. [online] 28 Jul. Available at: https://www.theguardian.com/film/2023/jul/28/warner-bros-marketing-head-josh-goldstine-barbie-pink-movement.

Whitten, S. (2023). The secret to the huge ‘Barbenheimer’ box office take? FOMO. [online] CNBC. Available at: https://www.cnbc.com/2023/07/27/the-secret-to-the-huge-barbenheimer-box-office-take-fomo.html.

Newkey-Burden, C. and published, T.W.U. (2024). A ‘deplorable tactic’: why film studios are pitting influencers against critics. [online] theweek. Available at: https://theweek.com/culture-life/film/a-deplorable-tactic-why-film-studios-are-pitting-influencers-against-critics.