Box office performance: Influence of online word-of-mouth on consumers’ motivations to watch movies

Content created by the movie industry is high-risk, as production costs and marketing budgets are massive but box office results can be volatile. We examined the effect of online word-of-mouth on consumers’ motivation and intention to watch movies. The proposed model was tested in a survey with 337 consumers using a structural equation modeling approach. The results showed that movie reviews by professional movie media writers had a substantial positive impact on consumers’ intrinsic motivation for presenting themselves, via transmitting their values and expressing personal favor by watching movies. Popular media also had a positive influence on the intrinsic motivation of perceived enjoyment, and social media had the broadest influence on consumers’ intrinsic motivation. Thus, movie makers and marketers should focus on the critical platform of online word-of-mouth to enhance consumers’ motivation to watch movies.