Turning Followers into Dollars: The Impact of Social Media on a Movie’s Financial Performance

Authors

Joshua J. Kaplan, State University of New York at GeneseoFollow

Abstract

This paper examines the impact of social media, specifically Twitter, on the domestic gross box office revenue of 207 films released in the United States between 2009 and 2011. We find that under two different specifications the impact of Twitter on gross revenue and gross revenue per theater is statistically significant when accounting for several control variables. The models show statistical significance of runtime, and production budget. We also find that a film’s release period, genre, rating received, and whether or not it is based on previous material proved to be statistically significant factors in determining a film's domestic gross.

Recommended Citation

Kaplan, Joshua J. (2012) "Turning Followers into Dollars: The Impact of Social Media on a Movie’s Financial Performance," Undergraduate Economic Review: Vol. 9: Iss. 1, Article 10.
Available at: https://digitalcommons.iwu.edu/uer/vol9/iss1/10